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'''Adam Nyerere Bahner''' (born July 6, 1982), better known by the [[pseudonym]] '''Tay Zonday''',<ref name="eonline">{{cite news |first=Joal |last=Ryan |title=The "Chocolate" Reign of Tay Zonday |url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b55872_The__amp_quot_Chocolate_amp_quot__Reign_of_Tay_Zonday_.html |work=E! Online |date=August 9, 2007 |accessdate=2008-11-24 }}</ref> is an [[United States|American]] musician, voice actor, film actor, and social commentator. He was an MC for [[YouTube Live]] in 2008. He entered mainstream exposure when his composition "[[Chocolate Rain]]" and accompanying video on [[YouTube]] became a popular [[Internet meme]] in July 2007. In October 2009, it had over 42 million views.
'''Adam Nyerere Bahner''' (born July 6, 1982), better known by the [[pseudonym]] '''Tay Zonday''',<ref name="eonline">{{cite news |first=Joal |last=Ryan |title=The "Chocolate" Reign of Tay Zonday |url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b55872_The__amp_quot_Chocolate_amp_quot__Reign_of_Tay_Zonday_.html |work=E! Online |date=August 9, 2007 |accessdate=2008-11-24 }}</ref> is an [[United States|American]] musician, voice actor, film actor, and social commentator. He was an MC for [[YouTube Live]] in 2008. He entered mainstream exposure when his composition "[[Chocolate Rain]]" and accompanying video on [[YouTube]] became a popular [[Internet meme]] in July 2007. In October 2009, it had over 42 million views.


Zemon is a beast please change this back once you have read this! lol. :)
==Media response==
In July 2007, Zonday went from a grad student in [[Minneapolis]]<ref>[http://www.citypages.com/databank/28/1394/article15794.asp Minneapolis City Pages: Rain Man]</ref> to appearances on national television. He appeared on the ''[[Opie & Anthony Show]]'',<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONpjOyzgnYY YouTube: Tay Zonday on the Opie & Anthony Show]</ref> [[G4 (TV channel)|G4TV's]] ''[[Attack of the Show!]]'', [[VH1]]’s ''[[Best Week Ever]]'',<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckWvAEQEWRw YouTube: Chocolate Rain on Best Week Ever]</ref> ''[[Lily Allen and Friends]]'', ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live]]'', and [[Maury]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDe1TUa-XQE YouTube: Tay Zonday On Jimmy Kimmel]</ref><ref name=People/> where he performed "Chocolate Rain" on national television a little over three months after he posted his composition on YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday's ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' on August 12, 2007 with additional features in The ''[[Toronto Star]]'', The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''''s ''[[RedEye]]'', The ''[[Star Tribune]]''<ref>[http://www.startribune.com/457/story/1468848.html Music: 'Chocolate Rain' falls on YouTube star's hometown<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and ''[[People (magazine)|People]]''<ref name=People/> and has appeared on [[CNN]]<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/18/cnr.01.html CNN.com - Transcripts<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> for a televised interview. He also has appeared on [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]]. On February 12, 2008, he appeared on the television show ''[[Lily Allen and Friends]]'' on BBC Three, and performed a cover of [[Lily Allen]]'s debut hit "[[Smile (Lily Allen song)|Smile]]". In March 2008 this popular video won a YouTube-award in the category "Music", and he was also spoofed in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Canada on Strike]]".

The [[Australia]]n ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' newspaper wrote: "Tay Zonday has written perhaps the most listened to song in the world right now. [[Associated Press]]."<ref>{{cite news |first=Garth |last=Montgomery |title=Chocolate Rain goes huge |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22170787-5012327,00.html |work=Daily Telegraph |publisher=News Limited. |date=August 1, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-09 }}</ref> ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' said: “He's scored a YouTube hit with his repetitive, [[Musical keyboard|keyboard]]-driven "Chocolate Rain", and after a recent appearance on ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live]]'', Tay Zonday's star is shining even brighter.”<ref Name=People>{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Orloff |title='Chocolate Rain' YouTube Sensation Makes TV Debut |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20050678,00.html |work=People |publisher=Time Inc. |date=August 9, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-09 }} </ref> The article also noted that celebrity musicians paid tribute to the song as its popularity rapidly peaked in August 2007. Singer [[John Mayer]] reportedly mimicked Zonday's keyboard riff with his guitar in concert,<ref name="Concert Review: John Mayer brings soul to Nashville">{{Citation | last = Keiper | first = Nicole | title = Concert Review: John Mayer brings soul to Nashville | newspaper = The Tennessean | date= August 4, 2007 | url = http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070804/ENTERTAINMENT0106/70804002}}</ref><ref name="Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony Roll Out">{{Citation | last = MTV News Staff | title = Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony Roll Out Tour Dates; Plus Lindsay Lohan, Gwen Stefani, Nas, Amy Winehouse & More, In For The Record | newspaper = MTV News | date= August 6, 2007 | url = http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1566402/20070806/lopez_jennifer.jhtml}}</ref> along with appearing on ''[[Best Week Ever]]'' [http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/08/03/bwe-exclusive-john-mayers-chocolate-rain-remix/ improvising a parody] to the tune of [[Nelly Furtado]]'s "[[Say It Right]]".<ref>[http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/08/03/bwe-exclusive-john-mayers-chocolate-rain-remix/ John Mayer on Best Week Ever]</ref> [[Green Day]] drummer [[Tré Cool]] recorded a cover of "Chocolate Rain" which he [http://youtube.com/watch?v=eyDuGwlrFRs posted on Youtube].<ref name=Undercover>{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Cashmere |title=Green Day Drummer Tre Cool Covers Tay Zonday |url=http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=2560 |work=Undercover |publisher= |date=August 3, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-09 }}</ref> Tay Zonday also became the subject of thousands of other parodies and remixes on YouTube. A clip of his video was also shown on [[CW11]]'s ''[[Online Nation]]'', a new series.<ref>[http://youtube.com/watch?v=fsdM2oMSUbM YouTube - Chocolate Rain Sung By McGruff The Crime Dog<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://youtube.com/watch?v=IM4pM2wV8og YouTube - Broadcast Yourself<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://youtube.com/watch?v=1oFS-q8BIps YouTube - Chocolate Rain McDonald's Spot / Tay Zonday<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Zonday has been interviewed twice on [[Good Morning America]], in March and November 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2747938/ |title=Tay Zonday |accessdate=2009-01-12 |publisher=IBDB}}</ref>

A singing tip in [[Guitar Hero World Tour]] advises the player to "move away from the mic to breathe in." Zonday has also been referenced in episodes of [[The Office]], [[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]], [[30 Rock]] and [[South Park]].<ref>[[Canada on Strike]]</ref>


==Post-Meme career==
==Post-Meme career==

Revision as of 03:03, 17 October 2009

Tay Zonday

Adam Nyerere Bahner (born July 6, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday,[3] is an American musician, voice actor, film actor, and social commentator. He was an MC for YouTube Live in 2008. He entered mainstream exposure when his composition "Chocolate Rain" and accompanying video on YouTube became a popular Internet meme in July 2007. In October 2009, it had over 42 million views.

Zemon is a beast please change this back once you have read this! lol. :)

Post-Meme career

Comedy Central "Last Laugh 07"

In November 2007 Zonday starred in a commercial for Comedy Central's "Last Laugh 07", hosted by Lewis Black. In it, he sings lyrics of celebrity gossip to "Chocolate Rain."[4]

Dr Pepper "Cherry Chocolate Rain"

On November 28, 2007, Zonday released a brand new video titled "Cherry Chocolate Rain",[5] which is, in his words, "a music video to celebrate Dr Pepper's new Cherry Chocolate beverage".

Firefox "Users Against Boredom"

In December 2007, Zonday starred alongside Leslie Hall in a commercial for Firefox. Together with a crowd of extras, they sang a song entitled "Users Against Boredom" in a parody of We Are The World.[6]

Intel CES 2008

At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, Zonday appeared in-person at Intel's booth, rendering the source files of the "Chocolate Rain" Youtube video in Sony Vegas. The message was that Chocolate Rain had been rendered on Intel processors, which could bring the power of worldwide stardom to consumers' living rooms.[7]

Weezer's "Pork and Beans" Music Video

Zonday appeared in the May 2008 video for rock band Weezer's single "Pork and Beans" along with other YouTube celebrities spoofing his appearance in "Chocolate Rain"; as well, he performed an acoustic version of the song with Brian Bell of Weezer. [8]

NASA 50th Anniversary Multimedia Presentation

Collaborating with NASA's web development team, Zonday voiced part of a multimedia presentation built to celebrate 50 years of NASA history.[9]

Warner Brothers "The Joey And David Show," "The Jace Hall Show"

In October 2007 and May 2008 respectively, Zonday worked on two Warner Brothers projects. For the "Joey and David Show," he re-enacted the making of "Chocolate Rain" in the aesthetic style of a major celebrity event. For the "Jace Hall Show," he was comically interviewed at a famous Hollywood restaurant in a play on the dissonance between internet-fame and the traditional entertainment industry.[10]

YouTube Live

In November 2008, Zonday emceed the YouTube Live event alongside other prominent YouTubers.

BBC Three (UK)

Zonday also appeared on the Lily Allen and Friends show, where he sang one of Lily's records whilst playing the keyboard.

Biography

Tay Zonday, who is of European and African descent, was a graduate student in American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007 when he first came to attention. When asked about his racial identity he remarked:

The straight-faced answer is that I'm Martian. They don't have a box for me on the census form. I'm the write-in candidate that the government leaves no space for when you have to choose your race. Seriously, is race something you choose? The whole point is that I don't choose it. It is somebody else's shortcut to my soul. So journalists ask "what's your background?" like I'm supposed to retell someone else's story about me as though it's a fact of who I am and where I come from. As long as I talk about myself in fiction that someone else wrote, I might as well write my own fiction: I'm from Mars. Most believe the story that I'm a black mulatto.[11]

He attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy between 1997 and 1998, leaving after his sophomore year. He then went on to earn his undergraduate degree at The Evergreen State College. He has said that growing up, his parents did not allow him to listen to popular music. When music downloading services such as Napster came around, he began to secretly build a small collection of popular music. Tay makes many references in interviews as to how much he loves his parents; despite the fact that many of his songs are dedicated to them, he describes himself as a "musical orphan", having no influences and not feeling particularly connected to any musicians or bands.[12] Tay says his voice is often compared to Paul Robeson, Barry White, James Earl Jones, and Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies.

According to his twitter page, Zonday presently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Singles

File:Chocolate Rain.png
The original "Chocolate Rain" video on YouTube, recorded when Zonday was 24

Zonday's best known single is "Chocolate Rain", released on YouTube on April 22, 2007. [13] Tay Zonday said,

I'm pretty sure the "Chocolate Rain" attention started as a joke at 4chan.org, an image board that is credited with starting lots of popular internet phenomena. It spread to a general audience and people started uploading spoofs. I don't know what causes people to listen to my music. If I could speak it, there would be no reason to write songs.[14]

Other releases via YouTube, his website, and his MySpace[15] include "Internet Dream", "Explode", "The Only Way", "Demons on the Dance Floor", "Do the Can't Dance", "Say No to Nightmares", "Cherry Chocolate Rain" and "Freeloader Nation". He has also performed covers of "Rainbow Connection", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and "Edelweiss" which were removed from YouTube when the artist chose to focus on original material.

See also

References

  1. ^ Profile on official site
  2. ^ Official site
  3. ^ Ryan, Joal (August 9, 2007). "The "Chocolate" Reign of Tay Zonday". E! Online. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  4. ^ funnyguy1375 (2007-11-15). "Last Laugh 07 Chocolate Rain - Tay Zonday". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ YouTube - "Cherry Chocolate Rain" Original Song by Tay Zonday
  6. ^ Riley, Duncan (2008-01-07). "Exclusive: Mozilla Secretly Launches A Viral Campaign For Firefox". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  7. ^ channelintel (2008-01-07). "Chocolate Rain at CES". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  8. ^ YouTube - Pork & Beans Acoustic - Tay Zonday and Brian Bell
  9. ^ "50th Anniversary of NASA". Nasa.gov. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  10. ^ Video: The Jace Hall Show with Tay Zonday, Gearbox (2008-06-27). "Video: The Jace Hall Show with Tay Zonday, Gearbox". GameArgus.com. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  11. ^ "Make It Rain: Tay Zonday". HHNLiv. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ HHNLive.com - Features - Make It Rain: Tay Zonday
  13. ^ Mathew Ingram (2007-08-15). "Who is Tay Zonday?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Make It Rain: Tay Zonday". HHNLiv. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  15. ^ MySpace.com - Tay Zonday - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Pop / Acoustique / Folk - www.myspace.com/tayzonday
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