Nearly eight years after Toast helped take a teenage Koffee from Spanish Town to the global stage, the Jamaican star’s breakout anthem is still collecting major international victories. The Grammy-winning artiste has now earned gold certification in France after surpassing 15 million streams in the country, adding another chapter to the remarkable global journey of the song that changed everything.
The certification, issued by France’s Syndicat national de l’édition phonographique (SNEP), adds France to a growing list of markets where Toast has achieved major commercial success. The IzyBeats-produced hit, with Walshy Fire also credited as a producer, was previously certified platinum in the United Kingdom and gold in Canada. Released in 2018, the gratitude-centred anthem quickly became Koffee’s international breakthrough, eventually appearing on her five-track debut EP, Rapture, in March 2019.
The song’s impact stretched well beyond reggae audiences. In the UK, Toast peaked at No. 70 on the Official Singles Chart, while in the United States it reached No. 24 on Billboard’s Rap Airplay chart, No. 37 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and No. 47 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Meanwhile, its official music video, released in November 2018, has now amassed more than 291 million views on YouTube, underlining the extraordinary staying power of one of modern reggae’s biggest crossover hits.
Toast also played a central role in the success of Rapture, which won Best Reggae Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020. The victory made Koffee, born Mikayla Simpson, the first woman and, at 19, the youngest artist to win the category. Nearly eight years after its release, Toast continues to prove that its impact extends far beyond the moment that first made Koffee a global name, with France now becoming the latest country to raise a glass to the enduring Jamaican anthem.
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