After releasing the original version of “Calm Down” in 2023, Nigerian music star Rema saw the song gain traction on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.Hoping to take the track even further, he enlisted American singer Selena Gomez for a remix. The collaboration proved to be a game-changer, with the song climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. While Gomez already had several chart-topping records to her name, “Calm Down” remains Rema’s only Hot 100 hit, despite earning multiple top-10 entries on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart as of June 7, 2025.
The remix marked a major breakthrough for Rema and accelerated his rise on the global music scene.Born Divine Ikubor, Rema first gained widespread attention in 2019 with the hit single “Dumebi” and later signed to D’Prince’s Jonzing World label. His international breakthrough came with “Calm Down,” which became one of the biggest Afrobeats songs ever released. The track also set a record by spending 58 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. Billboard recently ranked “Calm Down” as the sixth greatest one-hit wonder of the 21st century. Below is the publication’s top 25 list:
- 25 Anna Kendrick, “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone)”
- 24 R. City (feat. Adam Levine), “Locked Away”
- 23 Capital Cities, “Safe and Sound”
- 22 GAYLE, “abcdefu”
- 21 Masked Wolf, “Astronaut in the Ocean”
- 20 Tones and I, “Dance Monkey”
- 19 BlocBoy JB (feat. Drake), “Look Alive”
- 18 Alex Clare, “Too Close”
- 17 Kevin Lyttle (feat. Spragga Benz), “Turn Me On”
- 16 Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa & Rhenzy Feliz (with Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast), “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
- 15 Baauer, “Harlem Shake”
- 14 Portugal. The Man, “Feel It Still”
- 13 Crazy Town, “Butterfly”
- 12 D.R.A.M. (feat. Lil Yachty), “Broccoli”
- 11 Jawsh 685 (with Jason Derulo x BTS), “Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat)”
- 10 Shop Boyz, “Party Like a Rockstar”
- 9 Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”8 Arizona Zervas, “Roxanne”
- 7 Passenger, “Let Her Go”
- 6 Rema (with Selena Gomez), “Calm Down”
- 5 OMI, “Cheerleader”4 Silentó, “Watch Me”
- 3 MAGIC!, “Rude”
- 2 Daniel Powter, “Bad Day”
- 1 Glass Animals, “Heat Waves”
Source: https://leadership.ng/
