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One viral post with over 2.7 million views just features the audio from Leviathan’s song as the lyrics scroll by. Search “Chug Jug With You” on the app and you’ll find some staggering viewership numbers.
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While the song first debuted in 2018, it’s having a second resurgence now on TikTok (despite the fact that the Chug Jug isn’t even in Fortnite anymore). The answer requires a deep dive into the communal world of meme-making, where the line between sincerity and irony is so razor-thin that a cringey joke can become a pop culture sensation people can’t help but enjoy. So, where did "Chug Jug With You" come from? That’s a complicated question, as it turns out. People can’t stop posting videos featuring the earworm, and they’re racking up millions of views for it. Whether or not it’s sincere or a self-aware joke, TikTok users don’t seem to care.
#Chug jug with you tiktok pro
At one point, he tries to end a verse with, “I’m a cool pro Fortnite gamer,” which ends in a melodic disaster.īut first: How did gaming get you through the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Take this quick Inverse survey. The singer mostly stays true to the original song’s melody, except when he tries to force a few extra syllables in with comedic results. Now replace “Weird Al” with a squeaky child’s voice that cracks under the pressure of Estelle’s “la la"s. Imagine, if you will, a “Weird Al” Yankovic style parody of a 2008 pop hit with lyrics that name check the digital currency V-Bucks and virtual locations like Tomato Town. TikTok users can’t stop posting about a bizarre song called “ Chug Jug With You ” that rewrites the lyrics of Estelle’s banger “ American Boy” to be about the battle royale sensation Fortnite. If the songs that become viral on TikTok are really a result of the internet's global id, then the music industry will never be able to monetize it.“Number one victory royale / Yeah, Fortnite we ‘bout to get down (get down).”ĭepending on how dialed in you are to the internet these days, those words either mean nothing or have just gotten a tune hopelessly stuck in your head. That's an optimistic outlook, and one I hope is true. YourLocalLibrary says that the way that these two ironic modes are canceling each other out shows that the internet at large is beginning to move away from a culture of calling things cringey or making fun of sincerity. But there's a second layer of irony in not putting your enjoyment of something behind a wall of ironic detachment and just liking something even if it is a little bit embarrassing, using the song as a way to make fun of that kind of ironic detachment where you can't like anything unless you're doing a bit. There's a kneejerk reaction to like the song as a way of saying that it sucks-essentially, to like it ironically. One TikToker who goes by YourLocalLibrary said that in their estimation, people are enjoying the song on two levels of irony. It's about being so endeared by this person's creativity that you love it despite of, or because of, it's flaws.
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What's remarkable about the response to "Chug Jug With You" on TikTok is that it's not about making fun of the person behind the song, who most users believe to be an actual child. Changing the lyrics to be about Fortnite does not diminish that. I listened to that song every day of my life in the year in 2008 when it was released, and it's still a bop now. Part of it has to do with the fact that "American Boy" by Estelle is a stone cold banger.
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