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Chocolate Rain
"Chocolate Rain" is a song by American singer Tay Zonday. It quickly became popular after the music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube on April 22, 2007, and has since been viewed more than 140 million times as of May 2025. "Chocolate Rain" was ranked as the hottest viral video of summer 2007 by CTV and was awarded the 2008 YouTube Award in the category "Music". Lyrically, the song is a metaphor for racism against African Americans.
The official music video for "Chocolate Rain," lasting 4 minutes and 52 seconds, was uploaded on April 23, 2007, to Tay Zonday's official YouTube channel. The video portrays Zonday in a recording studio wearing a white T-shirt and singing into a condenser microphone. Occasional cuts to Zonday playing a digital piano are also shown. From time to time, Zonday moves away from the microphone inbetween lines; an explanation is provided via a caption that appears early in the video – "**I move away from the mic to breathe in".
The music video was ranked as the hottest viral video of summer 2007 by CTV. The video has garnered 140 million views as of February 2025[update].
Garth Montgomery of The Daily Telegraph described the song as having a "hypnotic quality," with "curious vocals that sound like a man much older than the young artist," playing over a "cheesy" drum loop.
During a brief interview on The Opie and Anthony Show, Zonday called the song "cheesy" and commented how its lyrics dealt with racism.
The initial spread of the popularity of the song was due to 4chan. Zonday said, "I'm pretty sure the 'Chocolate Rain' attention started as a joke at 4chan.org, an internet forum that is credited with starting lots of popular internet phenomena. It spread to a general audience and people started uploading spoofs. I don't know what causes people to listen to my music. If I could speak it, there would be no reason to write songs."
Clips of the video have been played or referenced on television and radio shows, including G4TV's Attack of the Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Maury and Online Nation. On August 9, 2007, Zonday performed the song on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as part of its "Internet Talent Showcase". It has also been performed live on the BBC Radio 1 Chris Moyles Show. Later, Zonday came out on Lily Allen and Friends, where he sang in a live performance of Lily Allen's song "Smile". Zonday performed Chocolate Rain during the autism education benefit Night of Too Many Stars on October 2, 2010. During some 2007 and 2008 performances, LeRoi Moore, the saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, integrated the melody into an outro on the band's song "The Dreaming Tree". Zonday also got a "Web Redemption" on Daniel Tosh's show Tosh.0.
"Chocolate Rain" is the subject of numerous parodies, tributes, remixes, and covers on the Internet. Major musical artists such as John Mayer and Green Day drummer Tre Cool have spoofed the song on TV and YouTube.
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Chocolate Rain
"Chocolate Rain" is a song by American singer Tay Zonday. It quickly became popular after the music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube on April 22, 2007, and has since been viewed more than 140 million times as of May 2025. "Chocolate Rain" was ranked as the hottest viral video of summer 2007 by CTV and was awarded the 2008 YouTube Award in the category "Music". Lyrically, the song is a metaphor for racism against African Americans.
The official music video for "Chocolate Rain," lasting 4 minutes and 52 seconds, was uploaded on April 23, 2007, to Tay Zonday's official YouTube channel. The video portrays Zonday in a recording studio wearing a white T-shirt and singing into a condenser microphone. Occasional cuts to Zonday playing a digital piano are also shown. From time to time, Zonday moves away from the microphone inbetween lines; an explanation is provided via a caption that appears early in the video – "**I move away from the mic to breathe in".
The music video was ranked as the hottest viral video of summer 2007 by CTV. The video has garnered 140 million views as of February 2025[update].
Garth Montgomery of The Daily Telegraph described the song as having a "hypnotic quality," with "curious vocals that sound like a man much older than the young artist," playing over a "cheesy" drum loop.
During a brief interview on The Opie and Anthony Show, Zonday called the song "cheesy" and commented how its lyrics dealt with racism.
The initial spread of the popularity of the song was due to 4chan. Zonday said, "I'm pretty sure the 'Chocolate Rain' attention started as a joke at 4chan.org, an internet forum that is credited with starting lots of popular internet phenomena. It spread to a general audience and people started uploading spoofs. I don't know what causes people to listen to my music. If I could speak it, there would be no reason to write songs."
Clips of the video have been played or referenced on television and radio shows, including G4TV's Attack of the Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Maury and Online Nation. On August 9, 2007, Zonday performed the song on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as part of its "Internet Talent Showcase". It has also been performed live on the BBC Radio 1 Chris Moyles Show. Later, Zonday came out on Lily Allen and Friends, where he sang in a live performance of Lily Allen's song "Smile". Zonday performed Chocolate Rain during the autism education benefit Night of Too Many Stars on October 2, 2010. During some 2007 and 2008 performances, LeRoi Moore, the saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, integrated the melody into an outro on the band's song "The Dreaming Tree". Zonday also got a "Web Redemption" on Daniel Tosh's show Tosh.0.
"Chocolate Rain" is the subject of numerous parodies, tributes, remixes, and covers on the Internet. Major musical artists such as John Mayer and Green Day drummer Tre Cool have spoofed the song on TV and YouTube.