Ayra Starr’s ‘Starrgirl’ Opens at No. 1 on Apple Music Nigeria
Ayra Starr’s third studio album, Starrgirl, is off to a strong start in Nigeria, reaching No. 1 on Apple Music’s Nigerian Top Albums chart days after its August 14 release.
The 16-track project marks the Nigerian singer’s first full-length album since 2024’s The Year I Turned 21 and expands her sound across Afropop, R&B and pop while bringing together collaborators from Africa, the UK, Europe and North America.
Guests include Wizkid, Rema, ZAYN, Leon Thomas, kwn, Theodora and Danny Ocean. Among the tracks attracting early attention are “Heaven Baby” with ZAYN, “Amazing” featuring kwn, “Gimme Dat” with Wizkid and the previously released Rema collaboration “Who’s Dat Girl.”
The release also comes with a wider international push. Universal Music’s official album announcement describes Starrgirl as a 16-song project designed around Ayra Starr’s increasingly global sound, while the singer herself used Instagram on August 13 to reflect on the personal growth behind the record ahead of its midnight release.
“I’m so proud of the woman I’ve allowed myself to become through the making of this album,” Starr wrote in her official Instagram post ahead of release.
The album is also drawing early international attention. In Billboard’s weekly new-music poll, Starrgirl received more than 87% of the vote, comfortably leading the publication’s reader poll for favourite new music released that week.
In Nigeria, TurnTable Charts currently projects Starrgirl to generate roughly 10 million to 12 million streams during its first tracking week. That projection is not yet a final chart result, but it points to a strong opening period as the album moves toward its first official Nigerian albums-chart placement.
The Apple Music performance is already confirmed. As of August 19, Apple’s Nigerian charts list Starrgirl at No. 1 on Top Albums, ahead of Asake’s M$NEY Live in London and M$NEY.
For Starr, the release extends a run that has increasingly positioned her beyond the Afrobeats category alone. In recent interviews around the album, she has spoken about experimenting more freely across R&B, pop and African music rather than allowing a single genre label to define her work.
Starrgirl is available now across major streaming platforms
