10.20.2025
Meet TKandz, the UK Teenager Whose Song “NOW OR NEVER” ft. CXSPER is Climbing Charts and Taking Over World Football
Surging Behind Notable Uses by Kylian Mbappe, IShowSpeed, FIFA, and Over 1.1 Million User-Generated Videos, the Inspirational Anthem is Climbing Charts in the UK (#28 on This Week’s Official Chart) and Worldwide, Generating Over 5 Million Streams Per Day on Spotify Alone
Key Stats for “Now Or Never”:
- #28 on the UK Official Charts
- 3+ Million worldwide streams per day
- #1 Peak on Spotify Global Viral 50
- #1 on Spotify Viral 50 in U.S., UK, and over a dozen more countries
- #9 on the Global Shazam Charts
- #28 on the UK Official Charts
- #152 on Billboard’s Global 200 Chart
- Over 1.1 Million video creations on TikTok (official audio)
- Posted by IShowSpeed, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, among others, and featured in videos by global football brands like FIFA, Paris St. Germain, FC Bayern, and more
The Rundown:
In the streaming and social media era, songs can explode before the artist even realizes what’s happening. It strikes the right mood, finds the right ears, and all of a sudden, it’s a global hit. Just six weeks ago, 18-year-old first generation British-Nigerian rapper TKandz was a talented artist, doing what he could to make his way through the industry. Today, with his song “NOW OR NEVER,” the young rapper has a global hit, generating millions of streams per day and earning co-signs from some of the biggest names in global music and sports. Just 18-years-old, TKandz is no stranger to rap game success, with hits like 2022’s “No Sleep” making waves in the UK scene. But none of his previous songs have come close to reaching the impact that “Now Or Never” has, which is well on its way to becoming the most viral rap hit of 2025.
Powered by TKandz’s relentless energy and the song’s global appeal, “NOW OR NEVER” quickly progressed beyond internet virality into chart success in the UK and beyond. The song debuted at #41 on the UK Official Charts, before moving up 13 spots to its new peak of #28 this week. The song reached #1 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50, also topping the Viral chart in the USA, UK, Spain, and several other countries. This week, “Now Or Never” entered the Billboard Global 200 chart at #152, and reached #9 on Shazam’s Global Top 200. Overall, “NOW OR NEVER” has generated over 50 million streams to date, and is growing at a rate of over 2 million streams per day.
Created in collaboration with German producer CXSPER, TKandz’s “NOW OR NEVER” is an energizing, invigorating rap song about seizing the moment and not letting opportunity pass you by. Weaving his hard-charging flow between heavenly backing vocals, TKandz positions himself as a talented everyman, determined to escape his circumstances and reach his potential: “You can’t tell me that I won’t make it, knew that I had this gift since birth/Grinding, came out the mud like Roddy, I had nobody, I came from dirt,” he spits. The core of the song, and the part that has caught on with the public, comes during the song’s intro, when TKandz exhorts, “If I can do it, why can’t you?”
Shortly after its release in mid-September, with assistance from TKandz’s diligent self-promotion on TikTok and an open-verse challenge, “NOW OR NEVER” started to pick up steam on social media in the international sports community, with soccer fans in the UK and Europe adding the song to fan edits of their favorite players and athletes using the song to soundtrack their own highlights and workouts. Quickly, some of the biggest accounts in world football tapped in, including FIFA’s official Ballon D’or account, and 18-year-old FC Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal (38 million TikTok followers). The rest of the sports world started to tap in, including noted football fan IShowSpeed, who played the song on stream on consecutive days, and Real Madrid superstar and France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe, who shared the song in his Instagram story to his 127 million followers. In recent days and weeks, official accounts for teams like FC Bayern and Paris-St. Germain
It can be easy for a young artist to get lost in this kind of whirlwind of popularity, but TKandz has been preparing for this moment his whole life. A natural spitter with an indefatigable spirit, TKandz knows exactly what he needs to do to capitalize on his newfound attention. It’s now or never.
Stay tuned for much more from TKandz in the coming weeks and months.
Stream “NOW OR NEVER” ft. CXSPER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2V5_ByLExk
Please contact Michelle or Kevin for more info.
Links:
instagram | tiktok | spotify | youtube | apple
“Now Or Never” ft. CXSPER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2V5_ByLExk