Top 10 Most Watched Naija Music Videos 2021

Photo source: YouTube

By Khisa CJ

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2021 has been a year of many positives in the Naija music industry. From seeing several new faces emerge, multiple music projects released to records being broken.

As we hope for even a more exciting 2022, we look back at some of the biggest music videos that Naija musicians have released this year based on the number of views on YouTube. 

10. Lie – Kizz Daniel

‘Lie’ is a banging love song that Kizz Daniel released towards the last quarter of 2021. This single quickly gained popularity, almost becoming a love anthem, and its cinematic video released on September 2, 2021, has over 12.3 million views.

9. For You – Teni ft Davido

Taken off Teni’s debut album ‘Wondaland’ released in February 2021, ‘For You’ is the best performing single in the project. The love song features Davido, and its music video, which has a catchy storyline, released on February 12, 2021, has over 15.7 million views.

8. Sip (Alcohol) – Joeboy

Barely a month after it was released, ‘Sip (Alcohol)’ had already been labelled one of the year’s biggest Afrobeats singles of the year. Its video directed by Dammy Twitch has also performed very well, amassing close to 16 million views in under two months of the premier.

7. Bounce – Ruger

Ruger is a new kid on the block and this single perhaps performed beyond his expectations.

‘Bounce’ whose music video released was released on May 12, 2021, has over 18 million views. It's a regular song on many music lovers' playlists, not only in Nigeria but also across the globe.

6. Understand – Omah Lay

After an impressive 2020 that saw Omah Lay test success with two impressive EPs, he continued his growth in 2021 by releasing several songs with ‘Understand’ being the stand-out one.

The single’s official video has attracted over 24 million views within about four months of release.

5. Soundgasm – Rema

After announcing his self-styled music genre Afrorave, Rema released ‘Soundgasm’ an addictive hit single that guarantees musical pleasure.

The song has an equally enticing video that has been watched over 25 million times on YouTube in under six months of the premier.

4. Ginger – Wizkid ft Burna Boy

This would have easily gone down as the biggest collaboration song for 2021, had there been no ‘Essence’ another Wizkid song featuring Tems.

‘Ginger’ video released early in January 2021, has also performed well, now with close to 28 million views.

3. Chike & Simi – Running (To You)

Chike had an impressive 2020 thanks to his debut album and he picked up the pace in 2021 by dropping a refix of ‘Running (To You) - one of ‘Boo of the Booless’ album fan-favourite, teaming up with Simi for the record. 

The video, released early in January, has over 32.6 million views.

2. Love Nwantiti – Ckay ft. ElGrandeToto [North African Remix]

2021 has been a breakthrough year for Ckay all thanks to the hit single ‘Love Nwantiti’. Surprisingly it's the remixes for the single that has earned him global attention, and as he enjoys the success, Ckay dropped the video for the North African Remix on November 5, 2021, and it blew over, getting over 30 million views within a month.

1. Essence – Wizkid ft Tems

There is no doubt that this is the biggest song of 2021 in Nigeria, and it is no surprise that it also has the most-watched music video in Nigeria.

‘Essence’ video had, at the time of going to press, 53.7 million YouTube views, and it’s still counting.