Davido’s Fall finds American success

The song was released shortly after the Nigerian act released ‘If’, one of a series of songs that sparked his renaissance in 2017 after his poorly received Son of Mercy EP. The song’s funny lyrics also sparked a series of jokes, a development that might have contributed to the song's popularity.

By the end of the year, it was acknowledged that he had dominated the pop space. Now, music lovers in the US are catching on – at least, according to a report in respected music publication Rolling Stone.

In a report titled Davido’s ‘Fall’ Is Finally Catching On in the U.S, But It Should Be Bigger, the publication says radio programmers in the US have begun to give the Naija pop song significant plays.

“’Fall,’ a springy, 19-month-old track from the Nigerian singer Davido, is currently gaining traction on the airwaves,” says the publication. “The growth has been gradual: 482 plays to date, spread across 36 stations, according to Nielsen BDS, which tracks radio activity. BDS reports that four new stations added ‘Fall’ into rotation last week.”

Despite the popularity of western songs incorporating the African pop sound, American radio has embraced neither the music nor its culture on a notable scale. Drake’s 2016 hit ‘One Dance’, which featured Wizkid, was massively successful but failed to lead to solo success or widespread A-list collaborative opportunities for the Nigerian star.

There are other examples. “Columbia signed “Pana,” a 2016 single from Tekno, but wasn’t able to transform it into a U.S hit,” says Rolling Stone. “RCA signed Wizkid, the guest on Drake’s “One Dance,” but hasn’t been able to get a hit either. (RCA is also working with DaVido now.) Burna Boy, another Nigerian singer with impressive talent, is now affiliated with Atlantic, but his “Rock Your Body” didn’t reach a wide audience in America.”

Two years later, it appears that might be changing. Davido’s manager Asa Asika said the team is now “attacking US radio properly”.

For his part, Davido shared a screenshot of the news. "Thank you, Rolling Stone," he tweeted tersely. He might not care too much: the song has already been proven successful. Besides its popularity across the continent, the YouTube video for 'Fall' has received over 100 million views online.