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Tay Zonday

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Tay Zonday

Adam Nyerere Bahner (born July 6, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday,[1] is an American YouTube Award winning, Webby Award winning, People's Choice Award nominated musician, voice actor, film actor, and social commentator.[1] [2]

His composition "Chocolate Rain" and accompanying video on YouTube[2] became a popular Internet meme in July 2007. It currently counts over 30 million views. This led to extensive mainstream exposure.

Media response

Within a month of releasing "Chocolate Rain", Zonday went from grad student in Minneapolis[3] to appearances on national television. He appeared on the Opie & Anthony Show,[4] G4TV's Attack of the Show!, VH1’s Best Week Ever,[5], Lily Allen and Friends, and Jimmy Kimmel Live,[6][7] 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[8] and People[7] and has appeared on CNN[9] for a televised interview. He also has appeared on Foxnews. 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". 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 Australian Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote: "Tay Zonday has written perhaps the most listened to song in the world right now."[10] People said: “He's scored a YouTube hit with his repetitive, keyboard-driven "Chocolate Rain", and after a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tay Zonday's star is shining even brighter.”[7] 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,[11][12] along with appearing on Best Week Ever improvising a parody to the tune of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right".[13] Green Day drummer Tré Cool recorded a cover of "Chocolate Rain" which he posted on Youtube.[14] 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.[15][16][17]

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." [3]

DrPepper "Cherry Chocolate Rain"

On November 28, 2007, Zonday released a brand new video titled "Cherry Chocolate Rain",[18] 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. [4]

Intel CES 2008

At the 2007 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.[5]

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. [19]

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. [6]

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.[7]

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.[20]

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. [21] 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, featuring Tay Zonday.

Zonday's best known single is "Chocolate Rain", released on YouTube on April 22, 2007. The spread of the song is partly attributed to 4chan.[22] 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. [20]

Other releases via YouTube, his website, and his MySpace[23] include "Internet Dream", "Explode", "The Only Way", "Demons on the Dance Floor", "Do the Can't Dance", and "Say No to Nightmares". 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tay Zonday.

References

  1. ^ Ryan, Joal (August 9, 2007). "The "Chocolate" Reign of Tay Zonday". E! Online. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  2. ^ YouTube - "Chocolate Rain" Original Song by Tay Zonday
  3. ^ Minneapolis City Pages: Rain Man
  4. ^ YouTube: Tay Zonday on the Opie & Anthony Show
  5. ^ YouTube: Chocolate Rain on Best Week Ever
  6. ^ YouTube: Tay Zonday On Jimmy Kimmel
  7. ^ a b c Orloff, Brian (August 9, 2007). [http:www.people.com/people/article/0,,20050678,00.html "'Chocolate Rain' YouTube Sensation Makes TV Debut"]. People. Time Inc. Retrieved 2007-08-09. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ Music: 'Chocolate Rain' falls on YouTube star's hometown
  9. ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
  10. ^ Montgomery, Garth (August 1, 2007). "Chocolate Rain goes huge". Daily Telegraph. News Limited. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  11. ^ Keiper, Nicole (August 4, 2007), "Concert Review: John Mayer brings soul to Nashville", The Tennessean
  12. ^ MTV News Staff (August 6, 2007), "Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony Roll Out Tour Dates; Plus Lindsay Lohan, Gwen Stefani, Nas, Amy Winehouse & More, In For The Record", MTV News
  13. ^ John Mayer on Best Week Ever
  14. ^ Cashmere, Tim (August 3, 2007). "Green Day Drummer Tre Cool Covers Tay Zonday". Undercover. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  15. ^ YouTube - Chocolate Rain Sung By McGruff The Crime Dog
  16. ^ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
  17. ^ YouTube - Chocolate Rain McDonald's Spot / Tay Zonday
  18. ^ YouTube - "Cherry Chocolate Rain" Original Song by Tay Zonday
  19. ^ YouTube - Pork & Beans Acoustic - Tay Zonday and Brian Bell
  20. ^ a b "Make It Rain: Tay Zonday". HHNLiv. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ HHNLive.com - Features - Make It Rain: Tay Zonday
  22. ^ 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)
  23. ^ MySpace.com - Tay Zonday - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Pop / Acoustique / Folk - www.myspace.com/tayzonday

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