Celebrity

Man Crush Monday: Senegalese Singer, Songwriter – Akon

Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam popularly known as Akon, is a Senegalese American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur.

He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of “Locked Up” (featuring Styles P). The first single from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single “Lonely”.

His second album, Konvicted (2006), received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Smack That” (featuring Eminem) and “I Wanna Love You” (featuring Snoop Dogg). Both singles became Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, followed up by “Don’t Matter” and “Sorry, Blame It on Me”. His third studio album Freedom (2008) was led by the single “Right Now (Na Na Na)”.

Credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs, he has 5 Grammy Award nominations.

He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice.

How many Certified songs does Akon have?

Akon has had four songs certified as 3× platinum, three songs certified as 2× platinum, more than ten songs certified as 1× platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold by the RIAA. He was listed by Guinness World Records as the number-one selling artist for master ringtones in the world.

Akon’s Other Achievements

Along with his own musical career, Akon later founded two record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. A multitude of successful acts, including Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star, and French Montana have been signed to Akon through these labels. Akon sports a concurrent career in producing and songwriting records mainly for artists on his respective labels, as well as for other mainstream artists including Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, and Whitney Houston.

Forbes ranked Akon 80th (Power Rank) in the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010 and 5th in the 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa list, in 2011.

Billboard ranked Akon No. 6 on the list of Top Digital Songs Artists of the decade.

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He started a project called Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 which provides electricity in 15 countries of Africa.

He also launched his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation.

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Chinaza Ogbachalu

My name is Chinaza Ogbachalu, and I am a writer. I have been writing news and opinion articles for five years plus and have always had a passion for storytelling. I grew up in Nigeria and graduated from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with a degree in linguistics and communication studies. I have written books that have been well-received by critics and readers alike. My work often focuses on culture and lifestyle, and I draw inspiration from my own experiences and observations of the world around me. As a news writer, I am responsible for researching and writing engaging and accurate news stories for our online audience. I have a strong passion for current events and am skilled at conducting interviews and gathering information from sources. I am grateful for the support of my readers and am constantly humbled by their enthusiasm for my work. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my writing.