Akon’s ‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’ Joins YouTube Billions Club
The milestone marks the fourth video by the artist to hit one billion views on YouTube.
Akon’s video for hit single “Right Now (Na Na Na)” is the latest to join the YouTube Billions Club. The recognition goes to videos that have surpassed more than one billion views on the platform.
Released in September 2008, the Euro club-inspired smash is the lead single from Akon’s third studio album, Freedom. The music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, finds the singer playing an agent on a mission to extract a memory card from a woman (who played his lover in 2007’s “Don’t Matter” video). Clips of Akon reminiscing on happier times with another ex-girlfriend are interspersed throughout the video, which ends with him completing his mission.
“Right Now (Na Na Na)” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified Platinum by the RIAA. The video is Akon’s fourth to join YouTube’s Billions Club, following his 2005 video for “Lonely”, 2006’s “Smack That” featuring Eminem, and 2011’s “Play Hard” by David Guetta, which features both Akon and Ne-Yo. “Lonely” and “Smack That” hit this milestone in 2023, with “Play Hard” hitting it in 2020.
Last October, Akon released his latest solo single, “Akon’s Beautiful Day.” It reached No. 8 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50. In January, the singer dropped the Trouble: The MTG Remixes compilation. It features Brazilian DJ Wallace Vianna’s spins on the singer’s classics like “Lonely,” “Locked Up,” and “Banaza (Belly Dancer).” All three are singles from Akon’s 2004 debut album Trouble, which is certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA and has sold 1.6 million copies. In 2024, to celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary, UMe released a digital deluxe of the record along with limited edition and expanded vinyl. The digital deluxe featured new-to-streaming tracks like “Locked Up (Remix)” featuring Styles P & Taz, “Locked Up (Remix)” featuring Azad, “Locked Up (Remix)” featuring Booba, and “Ghetto (Remix).”
