Gospel takes lead as Gaise Baba’s ‘No Turning Back II’ tops Nigeria’s YouTube music chart
YouTube Africa has released its 2025 list of the most-viewed music videos, with gospel singer Gaise Baba’s song “No Turning Back II” emerging as the most-watched.
The remix, featuring Lawrence Oyor, was released in 2025 and outperformed several mainstream afrobeats releases.
“Big congrats to @gaisebaba
for the Most Viewed Music Video in Nigeria 2025!” the video-sharing platform wrote on Wednesday.
The achievement represents a rare moment for gospel music, a genre that rarely tops the end-of-year digital charts that are usually dominated by pop and afrobeats artistes.
Released in May 2025, “No Turning Back II” gained steady momentum across social media and church communities with over 40 million views.
Reacting to the milestone, Gaise Baba, in YouTube Africa’s comment section on Instagram, credited the song’s success to collaboration and faith, giving a shout-out to Lawrence Oyor and members of Davidic Generation Church.
He described the achievement as a result of “simple obedience” and said the song’s reception showed a shift in cultural tastes.
Nigerian singer Crown Uzama, popularly known as Shallipopi, followed in second place with his single “Laho,” one of the year’s most viral street-pop records, while Davido’s “With You,” featuring Omah Lay, placed third.
Beyond music, YouTube Nigeria’s 2025 list also recognised creator-owned channels across drama, comedy, and lifestyle content.
Omoni Oboli TV led the rankings, with a YouTube channel of over 1.7 million subscribers and her top video at 31 million views.
The actress-filmmaker steadily drops feature-length films that appeal to home and diaspora audiences.
Other Nollywood channels, including Itelediconstudio, Uchenna Mbunabo TV, Saira Movies, Maurice Sam TV, RuthKadiri247, APATATV+, Uche Montana TV and Sonia Uche TV, also made the list.
Content creator and skit maker Chukwuebuka Amuzie, popularly known as Brain Jotter, was the only skit-focused channel to appear in the top ten, showing the continued popularity of short-form comedy content among Nigerian viewers.
YouTube’s role as a major distribution outlet for Nollywood filmmakers and online comedians allows creators to bypass traditional television networks and reach audiences directly.
It also points to how Nigerians increasingly turn to YouTube for long-form entertainment, movies, and comedy content alongside music videos.
Top 10 most-watched YouTube music videos in Nigeria (2025
- No Turning Back II — Gaise Baba ft Lawrence Oyor
- Laho — Shallipopi
- With you — Davido ft Omah Lay
- 99 — Olamide ft Seyi Vibez, Asake and Young Jonn
- Why Love — Asake
- Baby Is It a Crime — Rema
- My Darling (Visualizer) — Chella
- Kese (Dance) — Wizkid
- Laho II — Shallipopi ft Burna Boy
- With You (Visualizer) — Davido ft Omah Lay
Top 10 creator channels in Nigeria (2025)
- Omoni Oboli TV
- Itelediconstudio
- Uchenna Mbunabo TV
- Saira Movies
- Maurice Sam TV
- RuthKadiri247
- APATATV+
- Uche Montana TV
- Sonia Uche TV
- Brain Jotter
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