The South African, now global, hit Jerusalema by Master KG/Nomcebo Zikode has more than 343 million views on YouTube at the time of writing, 155 million Spotify streams and 1.2 billion total Tiktok views. Jerusalema also went Platinum in France, Belgium and Italy and got to number one in numerous countries, including Romania, Hungary and The Netherlands. The song has smashed numerous other records and has been the inspiration for millions everywhere, ever since it was released. The song was first recorded two years ago. What’s the secret?
An Angolan dance video kicked off a #JerusalemaDanceChallenge, which garnered international reaction, including everything from tutorials to choirs to people all over the world rocking their African dance moves. Then came Nigerian hit-maker Burna Boy’s remix of Jerusalema, which propelled the song onto the US Billboard charts. Jerusalema also went to the top of the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart and held the top position for two weeks. Today, the song has clocked up, at the time of writing, more than 200 million YouTube views. Yes, I agree. Plenty of covers have been performed around the world, all using a diversity of instruments and performed in a variety of languages – you can watch many on YouTube.
“Some call it tavern music, and I said, ‘It’s okay, wait and let me show what tavern music can do to the world’”
Master KG
So what’s behind the huge, global success of producer Master KG’s upbeat, gospel-inspired, disco- house track Jerusalema?
Some initial thoughts:
1) The song’s haunting chorus line referencing the holy city of Jerusalem, seen as the spiritual, universal home of many religious believers, is an enduring message that has undoubtedly resonated with believers all over the world.
2) The extraordinarily powerful vocals by Nomcebo are one-of-a-kind. Per Music in Africa, she is the go-to singer if you want a hit at the moment. This is totally understandable – there are few powerful voices like Nomcebo’s currently on the SA house scene.’
3) A dance challenge, started by an Angolan dance troupe Phenomenos do Semba helped the song go viral online using the hashtag: JerusalemaChallenge. The song has been likened to the Macarena, as it, too, spawned dance videos all over the world. Notably, Angola is well known for being the engine of several viral crazes.
4) Burna Boy’s own international acclaim helped draw attention to Jerusalema, through his remix of the song. Master KG, describing working with Nigeria’s hitmaker as a ‘dream come true’ told Sowetan Live:
“He has the Nigerian groove that we mix with South African style which we keep the originality of the song intact.”
Personally, I love this song, with its catchy lyrics. Plus, there is just enough challenge to give me something to ‘learn’. And yes, I, too, have inflicted my Jerusalema dance moves onto the world whenever the song has blared from speakers – I can’t help it!
So why do you think Jerusalema was such a global hit? Tell us in the comments below!
