Etana queen in Kenya - Artiste’s ‘Love Song’ tops African country’s most streamed list
Published:Sunday | January 5, 2020 | 12:20 AMYasmine Peru - Senior Sunday Gleaner Writer
If there’s any reggae artiste who can confidently state that Kenya is their second home, it’s Etana. Not only do the Kenyans support her concerts and treat her like royalty when she visits, they also place their money where their adoration is, and purchase her music.
For 2020, one of Etana’s songs – Love Song – which is not even popular in Jamaica, topped the list of Most Streamed Songs in Kenya, beating out I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran and Nicki Minaj’s Megatron.
The Grammy-nominated reggae singer, in a recent interview, stated that one of her most riveting stage performances for 2019 took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in front of an estimated 7,000 fans. In an article headlined ‘Etana: A queen returns’, the concert at the Uhuru Gardens in the African state’s capital, Nairobi, was hailed by the media as “one of the most memorable reggae shows ever performed in Kenya, with nothing but sheer excellence, utter brilliance and absolute craftsmanship”.
In reference to two of Etana’s songs, the reviewer, who confessed to being “spellbound”, stated, “But it was when she launched into her smash hit Weakness in Me before morphing into Love Song that the crowd totally lost it … Singing the songs word by word, pause by pause, breath by breath.”
Felt the love
Etana told The Gleaner that she certainly felt the love.
“I saw Kenya’s love in 2016 and I saw it before that in 2012 when I performed while I was pregnant. However, in May 2019, it became clear to me that Kenya is my second home. The turnout was more than expected and the roar that came with songs like Weakness In Me, Love Song, I Am Not Afraid, People Talk and others was sometimes so loud that I couldn’t hear myself. I just allowed them to sing. I performed for two solid hours,” she said.
In Kenya, Etana is the third on the list of Top 10 Most Streamed International Artistes. Ed Sheeran and Nicki Minaj are one and two, respectively.
Etana’s popularity in Africa also extends to Tanzania, where Love Song is number four on the Top 10 Most Streamed International Songs for 2020 list, ahead of Forever and Always (Shania Twain); Work (Rihanna feat Drake); God’s Plan (Drake) and Chi Chi (Trey Songz, feat Chris Brown).
But what is it that makes the Kenyans, in particular, connect so solidly with the Warrior Princess?
“I think it’s the heart in the music that they can feel. Not just in the lyrics but in the songs as a whole,” she told The Gleaner.
Etana’s Reggae Forever World Tour closed in December with shows in Qatar, in western Asia and Carricou, located in the Grenadines. She is currently in preparation mode for her Spread Love World Tour which kicks off this month with shows in Sydney and Melbourne, both in Australia, and also in New Zealand.