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American YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed reached a historic milestone on January 21, 2026, when his YouTube channel crossed 50 million subscribers. The moment came on his 21st birthday while he was live streaming from Nigeria as part of his ongoing Africa tour. As the subscriber count ticked over live, Speed was surrounded by fans in traffic, standing on top of a car with a birthday cake as people cheered around him. The celebration quickly went viral across social media, with fans calling it one of the most memorable subscriber moments on YouTube.The achievement also made history beyond the numbers. IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., became the first Black individual creator to reach 50 million subscribers on YouTube. Known for his loud, high-energy streams, gaming content, and viral real-life moments, Speed has built one of the fastest-growing channels on the platform. During the celebration, he thanked his fans and called the milestone the “gift” he wanted most for his birthday.
IShowSpeed reaches 50M subscribers live in Nigeria during Africa tour
As his stream continued, Speed shouted, “Let’s go! 50 million! 50 million on my birthday,” before telling fans how much their support meant to him. He also looked ahead to his next major goal, saying that 50 million was only “halfway there” and that he now wants to reach 100 million subscribers. The moment captured everything that defines his brand, raw emotion, chaos, and a deep connection with his audience. The achievement of reaching 50 million subscribers is something significant for any content creator who mainly operates with live streaming content instead of edited videos. Within only 2025, Speed was one of the top gaming streamers on YouTube. The content creator registered over 64 million hours of watch time on the platform. All these milestones have been fueled by his tours across the globe, fan engagement, and viral content.The beginning was humble for IShowSpeed in 2016, but the year 2021 saw a very swift increase in his subscribers. He attained 100,000 subscribers in April 2021, 1 million in June 2021, and broke the 10 million mark in July 2022 due to the vast popularity of his football broadcasts and his love for Cristiano Ronaldo. In January 2026, his subscribers suddenly increased from 48 million to 50 million within 10 days while touring countries such as Kenya, Algeria, and Nigeria.While MrBeast remains the most-subscribed individual creator in the world, IShowSpeed now stands out as one of YouTube’s fastest-growing solo streamers. With his Africa tour still ongoing and bigger goals ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be another huge year for him. Go to Source
