he classic party hit “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex is the inspiration behind a groundbreaking new record. The viral event Gedagedigedagedago, which is based on the song, has already achieved a record three billion views in just 26 days. The count is 28 times as high as the top music video on YouTube, 13 times greater than the leading hit on Spotify, and twice as high as the most viewed artist in the world, Alka Yagnik.
Reaching one billion views within only eight days, Rednex precedes Adele’s “Hello” which generated the same number in 87 days. In the wake of YouTube Shorts’s explosive growth, this latest virality has generated 20 million hours of listening time in the 26-day period. That’s equivalent to 700 million traditional views, and enough to make a statement that Rednex is currently the most played artist in the world. By comparison, “Hello” had reached 500 million views within 34 days.
“A paradigm shift is happening where we’re asking: how is music success best measured?”, said Pat Reiniz, Rednex’s co-founder and producer of “Cotton Eye Joe.” “This event was created thanks to millions of video creators generating billions of fragmented plays of Rednex’s music, as opposed to the traditional way of listening. It will be a challenge for the music industry to reflect these various counts into charts and measurements and even leads to the question of ‘Is the basic use and concept of music itself changing?”.
Initially kicking off the frenzy was Danish singer Razi Irawani whose warped lyrics of “Cotton Eye Joe” earned 28 million views on TikTok. Shortly thereafter, a singing chicken nugget was added whereupon the phenomenon developed into millions of versions, including 500 videos on You Tube with more than one million views each, which is another example of how organic growth topples financial marketing power.
This year, the song has been heard by 12% of all You Tube viewers and 4% of the world population giving Rednex performer Pervis the Palergator a reason to brag: “With 3 billion views in 26 days, we claim a world record! Do you want to beat us? Share stats.” Fans of Rednex can also look forward to the group’s newest party song, “Another Round”, which was released today and features a music video of 80-year-old seniors getting barbarously drunk. With sample friendly catchphrases, it’s released with the Shorts audience in mind.
