Cape Town — "Jerusalema ikhaya lami, Ngilondoloze, Uhambe nami, Zungangishiyi lana..."
How many of you have heard these beautiful lyrics being belted out?
When Limpopo-born music producer Master KG, real name Kgaogelo Moagi, released the song in 2019, he didn't anticipate international success or even having a chart-topping song on YouTube. He featured vocalist Nomcebo Zikode, who managed to keep fans across the world captivated with her electrifying voice. The song gained huge international traction and has more than 125 million views on its official YouTube page.
Since its release, the gospel-house influenced song, Jerusalema, has become a global phenomenon, even inspiring its own dance challenge.
Around the world, celebrities, students, construction workers and healthcare workers have posted videos getting in on the #JerusalemaChallenge . Even our own Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni joined in on the Internet craze, even though his moves left many in stitches.
Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo also showed his love to the song on his Instagram page.
U.S. singer Janet Jackson also posted a shoutout to Master KG and shared a video of men performing a choreographed dance to the song. She captioned it: "Happy Sunday you guys" and also tagged Master KG. It would have been nice if she did the challenge too so we could see her moves!
The challenge is bringing much-needed positivity during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But, how did the song become such a sensation and a viral hit ?
According to Master KG, the Jerusalema dance challenge took off after a group of Angolan dancers posted a video of their choreography to the song. "The dance video went viral... After that a lot of people wanted to participate... Everyone started doing the Jerusalema dance," he said during an interview with South African newspaper Sowetan in July.
"I'd say the first one that was done in Angola remains my favourite because it gave birth to all the dance challenges all over the world," KG said.
Even multi-awarding winning Nigerian musician Burna Boy jumped on a remix which peaked on music charts like the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in the U.S.
The song keeps stacking up the records. According to Shazam, #Jerusalema is now the most Shazamed song in the world, and the #Jerusalema craze continues to sweep the world.
