Throwback: When “One Dance” Ruled the UK for 15 Straight Weeks — And Wizkid FC Never Left Kyla’s Side
Some songs come and go. “One Dance” became history. A decade on, the Drake, Wizkid, and Kyla collaboration remains one of the defining Afrobeats crossover moments of the 2010s and revisiting it says as much about Wizkid’s global fanbase as it does about the record itself.
The Chart Run That Nearly Broke a Record
When “One Dance” dropped in April 2016 as the lead single from Drake’s Views, nobody could have predicted just how dominant it would become. The track exploded internationally, hitting No. 1 in fifteen countries and becoming Drake’s first-ever lead-artist chart-topper in markets like the US, Canada, France, Germany, and Australia.
But it was in the United Kingdom where the song truly made history. “One Dance” spent 15 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart tying it with Wet Wet Wet’s “Love Is All Around” for the second-longest consecutive run at the top in UK chart history, trailing only Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.” By the time its run ended, the track had also become the most-streamed song of multiple weeks running and one of the best-selling singles of that entire year worldwide.
Wizkid’s Fingerprints Were All Over It
While Drake carried the single as lead artist, “One Dance” was built on a foundation laid by Wizkid, who contributed to production alongside Nineteen85, DJ Maphorisa, and Noah “40” Shebib, and lent his voice to a hook that helped define the song’s Afrobeats-meets-dancehall sound. It was, in many ways, one of the earliest and biggest moments of Afrobeats breaking fully into the global mainstream — years before the genre’s current wave of international dominance. Wizkid was later honoured with a U.S. songwriting award recognising his role in crafting the record.
Kyla’s Unexpected Front-Row Seat to History
For British singer Kyla, “One Dance” was a full-circle moment. Her vocals were sampled from her own 2008 UK funky track “Do You Mind,” earning her a co-writing credit and an unexpected return to the spotlight years after her initial run in music. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat backstage at Wireless Festival while the song was still riding its chart streak, Kyla was refreshingly candid about what the windfall could mean for her, joking that her goal was simply to pay off her mortgage.
She also described the surreal nature of suddenly performing to massive, energised crowds again after years away from that level of the spotlight, calling her return to the stage a “fairytale.”
The Fanbase That Showed Up Regardless
What made the “One Dance” era stand out wasn’t just the chart numbers, it was how Wizkid’s fanbase, popularly known as Wizkid FC, embraced everyone connected to the record. Despite Kyla not being a Nigerian artist and having no prior connection to Afrobeats before the song, the crossover success of “One Dance” meant she found herself pulled into a fandom known for its fierce loyalty a dynamic that’s remained a hallmark of Wizkid’s global support base in the years since, long after “One Dance” left the charts.
Kyla herself later marked the song’s continued legacy online, celebrating its milestone of crossing 3 billion Spotify streams — a number that places “One Dance” among the most-streamed songs in the platform’s history, years after its chart-topping run first ended.
Why It Still Matters
Looking back nearly a decade later, “One Dance” isn’t just a nostalgic chart trivia answer it’s a marker of how far Afrobeats’ global reach has come. What started as a UK funky sample and a Wizkid hook turned into a genuine cultural moment, one that helped pave the way for the wave of Nigerian artists now regularly topping global charts in their own right.
Ten years on, the 15-week reign remains one of the more remarkable feats in modern UK chart history and a reminder of just how far one song, three artists, and a devoted fanbase can travel together.
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