Let's list them in the only the way that counts. The number of their YouTube views.
Leading the pack with 8,190,763 views is The Liar Tweets Tonight: Send Him Away. This parodies the well known folk song known variously as "Mbube" recorded in 1939 by the South African group, Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, "Wimoweh" covered by, at last count 18 groups, most notably the Weavers in 1952, and The Lion Sleeps Tonight, recorded by over 40 bands and a #1 hit for The Tokens in 1961 and England's Tight Fit who had a #1 UK hit in 1982.
In late April, Roy Zimmerman and his wife Melanie Harby, folk musicians and satirists who have been playing and recording for 30 years were watching The Tiger King and Harby came up with the riff of Don Exotic, The Lyin King. They added the 'sub hook' of "Vote Him Away" and began to recruit family and friends to create a "Virtual Sing-In."
A few side notes...Occupy Democrats whose FACEBOOK page has nearly 9 million followers posted this song on April 21 calling it "The anti-Trump anthem we ALL need right now!."
...Realizing the lack of diversity (the singers with a few exceptions are white), Zimmerman wrote, "A nostra culpa: We do recognize that the lack of diversity in the first iteration of “Vote Him Away” looks intentional and exclusionary, and just .... not good. "
...I was sent "The Liar Tweets Tonight" by more people than any nominee in any category.
Not a national name but led by professional musicians and filmed with best confinement practices "The Liar Tweets Tonight" is the national and hyperlocal people's choice for the Donnie.™
Chris Mann's "My Corona." has 6,883,177 views. "My Sharona" was a monster hit for The Knack in 1979 becoming the #1 pop single of the year. The tune launched the career of Mr. Alfred Mathew Yankovic with My Bologna.
Chris Mann got his big break by finishing 4th during Season 2 of The Voice in 2012. Since that time he has released 4 albums, 9 singles, and 4 EPs. He played the Phantom in the touring company of the eponymous musical for 700 performances.
The man definitely has the pipes and the production values but the song is too 'on the nose' for my taste.
Next comes the online phenomenon that is Randy Stewart Rainbow. His breakthrough video was Randy Rainbow is dating Mel Gibson in 2010, one of his bits where he incorporated celebrity voices into a telephone call. This one garnered 60,000 views in one week and an online career was born.
While never dropping the interview schtick, Rainbow has soared with his political parodies skewering President Trump, Melania, Ivanka, A.G. Barr, VP Pence and all things not-liberal.
His parody, "A Spoonful of Clorox" has had 5,776,674 views. The original "Spoonful of Sugar" is, of course, from Mary Poppins. To be honest, I can't decide which tune is more annoying. Not a fan of the Rainbow.
Rainbow doesn't need me. He has attracted the attention of millions of fans including many celebrities. He has over 400,000 Twitter followers, 450,000 YouTube subscribers, and 1.6 million FACEBOOK followers.
Now come the underdogs. Under the radar creators. Not as under the radar as Don's Basement but compared to the top three, these folks came out of nowhere.
At a robust 147,788 comes A Seder on the Zoom. This timely parody of Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof posted on the 17th of Nisan (April 11) two days into the observance of Passover. It features the Schon Wirtschafter family of Berkeley, California, a college town east of San Francisco.
Seder on the Zoom was a repeat performance as it were. “We were hosting two seders on Zoom, so I felt like we should give people a good show,” said Eli Wirtschafter who wrote the lyrics, sings and plays piano.
This video was an early favorite but may suffer because it is holiday specific. You normally don't watch It's A Wonderful Life in May unless you live in Brooklyn.
Rounding out the field, straight out of Long Island comes Keep Your Distance, from Andrea and Eric Niedarman. As it turned out, the couple released their parody of the Bette Midler classic a day after the Divine Miss M sent out this Tweet.
At 27,802 views, this spunky contender features a winning and charming vocal by Ms. Niedarman and the DIY green screen vibe that the Basement really digs.
Unavailable as an embed....copyright issues? Ouch
Keep Your Distance link
Can it compete with (pardon the expression) the big cats?
Tune in on May 17 to find out.
Just goes to show, it's a whole lot easier to come up with your own lyrics than to come up with your own tune..... Never heard of Randy Rainbow. A latter day Pee-Wee Herman. That original bit on Mel Gibson, though, is priceless. Where the *%!# did that audio come from?
ReplyDeleteThere is a resemblance. I prefer Pee Wee. Less in your face.
ReplyDelete