Culture

`Chocolate Rain' Claims YouTube Award

by Rob Peters | March 21, 2008 at 12:48 pm

1077 views | 0 Recommendations | 5 comments

Photos

Tay Zonday makes the cover of Minneapolis City Pages "Best Music Of 2007" issue, December 2007

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uploaded by path2k7

If you haven't seen the 'Chocolate Rain' video yet--you probably have, it has more than 16 million views now--let me warn you before you do: The tune will stick in your head for days, you'll look like a dolt singing it, and you may eventually starting singing your life to it in weird ways. "I'm hung-gree." etc.

When asked why he was so successful with it, Tay Zonday said it was because he kept it real.

NEW YORK (AP) — And the winner for best music video: "Chocolate Rain."

Tay Zonday morphed from an unknown musician to an Internet superstar who got booked on national TV shows after his song "Chocolate Rain" — an amateur clip of his baritone crooning — went viral last year. Now he's among the 12 winners of the second annual YouTube Video Awards, recognizing the top user-created videos of 2007.

YouTube users voted on six nominees for each category: music, sports, comedy, instructional, short film, inspirational, commentary, creative, politics, series, eyewitness and "adorable."

"It's the new Emmys," Zonday, 25, said of the video-sharing site's awards in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It's the next Oscars. The next People's Choice Awards. It'll be interesting to see what happens five years, 10 years (from now)."

Zonday, who streams music from his YouTube channel, MySpace page and personal Web site, said he hopes to earn "a living making art and producing music," and is pursuing a voice-over career. He's flattered by the numerous online parodies of "Chocolate Rain," which has garnered nearly 16 million views.

"A lot of people see political commentary in (the song)," he said. "A lot of people find humor in it. A lot of people, they say their 2-year-olds can't stop repeating it at bedtime, so lots of people get different things out of the song. And I think the greatest consequence and the greatest mileage it can have is to get people asking questions."

What's the key to YouTube success?

"Just be very authentic and put yourself out there," he said in his mellifluous voice. "You'll never know what will happen."

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Tomfite

at 15:41 on March 21st, 2008

Chocolate Rain on display (in all of it's chocolately glory) at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, WA, August 2007.

Tomfite has contributed a photo to this story.

amusings

at 16:52 on March 21st, 2008

I first heard about Chocolate Rain on the Opie & Anthony radio show. Indeed, the song was stuck in my head for days and days and we would make up all sorts of alternate words and sing along. I thought it was pretty cool when Tay Zonday actually came on O&A for an interview. Very funny stuff. He seems to have a great sense of humor.

And I still can't get over the fact that his little body produces THAT voice. It's amazing.

Way to go Tay. Congrats!