Chukwuka Ekweani popularly known as Ckay was presented a gold plaque for his 2021 song “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” the music certification award was given to him during his TikTok live performance on February 9, 2022, making it his first certification of such standard in the country.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) Gold music recording certification award is presented to artists whose single record has sold more than 400,000 units in the UK.
These awards are a big deal because they commemorate the number of albums or singles the artists have sold. Some may be wondering what constitutes a unit sale in this recent time of digital streaming services which according to a recent article generated 84 percent of all music revenue in the US in the first half of 2021.
The criteria for a unit sale differ in different countries, while in most countries, each permanent digital download counts as one unit, calculating a unit sale in terms of streaming differs. In the UK, one unit sale for audio and/or video streams is 100 for paid streams and 600 for free streams.
Although released in 2019 as part of the singer’s “CKay the First” EP, the song took off in 2021 when he featured Joeboy and Kuami Eugene and launched him to international stardom.
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The song also became a social media sensation as millions of TikTok users played the song for mini videos all over the world and has now hit over 15 billion views on the platform, the first Nigerian song to reach that feat on the app which has equally contributed to its huge streaming numbers.
It also gained him a place on Billboard Hot 100 Chart, making the song the second Nigerian song after Wizkid’s “Essence” to do so. The song has so far been on the US top 40 playlist for weeks.
In November, the Nigerian artist reached number one on the Billboard charts as an emerging artist, and he recently achieved his first top Thriller US and global number one.
Ckay joins artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, to earn a Gold certification in the United Kingdom.
