Tones and I drags Tik Tok viral hits and dances

[Werk 13,166]

Spoiler

 

The viral dance that helped to turn "Dance monkey" into a worldwide hit aren't funny for the music owner.  "The G1 Ouviu" podcast heard that the Australian artist Tones and I isn't satisfied with this "TikTok success" story. 
In an interview with the brazilian website G1, Tones and I complained about the wave of "hits to move your ass" that are successful in the video app. "If you write anything that is really serious and makes sense, it doesn't matter," she says.

 

She says: "Today, everything is remixed and ends up sounding the same." 

Interview highlights:
G1: "Here in Brazil you were very marked by this dance music, but not much is said about your lyrics, which are serious. Is there this intention to make you dance and think?"
Tones and I: [...] I think it's important to write songs with content. ""Dance monkey"" is about when I played on the street. I just repeated what people said to me. Literally all music is annotations. I don't know how it got so danceable. I wanted to do a chorus with "bass drop" [....] with a minimalist chorus with a bass line. It ended up being in that song. And it worked.

G1: ""Dance Monkey"" was hit on TikTok before breaking into other services. Why did people like it so much there?
Tones and I: "To be honest, I had never used TikTok, and when people told me what it was and that the song was there, I had no idea. I started watching more recently, but I don't understand. I even know how it works. But what I don't understand is why you get thousands of people to do the same thing, the same dance, a million times, and you call it entertainment. I don't understand this concept."

G1 : "But did you tried to understand?"
Tones and I: "Yes, really ... I know that somehow you think I should be grateful for. The app itself is ok. But it has become something that is brutally affecting the music industry. In a way that if you write anything that is really serious and makes sense, it doesn't matter. Just write a song about moving your ass and you have a hit. And that is not the influence I want to have in the studio. [...] I need to write for myself. I think there's a lot of music on TikTok with no content, so when you write, you can't think about it."

 

G1: "But it seems that there are a lot of people thinking about it. Can this make pop music more superficial for you?"
Tones and I: "I think so. If I think: ""Hmm, I have to write a viral song on TikTok"", I could do another one if I wanted to. But I was going to have to live with myself. It's not worth it.  Because I wouldn't respect myself if I wrote a song just for TikTok, so I'm never going to do it."

 

G1: "Here in Brazil, at the end of 2019, your label ordered an official brazilian funk rhythm remix of ‘Dance Monkey’. Did it pass you? Because, in the end, the song never came out ..."
Tones and I: "The reason is that I personally said that if my music got anywhere, it would be 100% because of me and the way I wrote it. I think it's completely fair. The song achieved so many things, and I'm sure it was never because of a remix. It was the second song I released, and I wanted to have something for myself. Even if I never got to where I got to, at least I would know that the way I wrote the song, the way I sang, that I recorded, was what led to the success. So I said no to all the remixes."

G1: "And was it difficult for an artist so young, in her first steps, to say no? What was the reaction when you said no? Because it seems like an important and difficult thing to say, for an artist who has become great like you. How was it?"
Tones and I: "Look, there it is. I heard that no one in the UK was going to listen to my music on the radio unless I did a remix. And I said no, I said that I trusted music. And four weeks later, it was a number one hit. [...]  If someone wants to write a song like “Dance Monkey”, go ahead, do it. But don't take my music, accept it as it is. If someone wants to write a great song to drink and dance, there are a million songs like this out there. [..]. But in terms of what I want to do for myself, and what is important to me, I think I made the right decision. [...] I don't care if I never have another hit. I wanted to be a street artist, that was my dream. So I'm proud, and I don't want to feel pressured."

https://g1.globo.com/pop-arte/musica/noticia/2020/08/17/tones-and-i-critica-hits-para-mexer-a-bunda-e-explica-veto-a-versao-funk-de-dance-monkey.ghtml

[Red 98,107]

Doesn't she have a career because of TikTok hits and dances?

[SLAG 7]

Did she lie tho? She didn't drag TikTok.

[Chesescake 4,007]

She do make the point, tons of people keep show same dance move in one app is somehow stupid, I just can't understand the entertainment of it.

[KURUSHITOVSKA 20,451]

Her song is crap and was made famous thanks to those dances. Don't bite the hand that gives you food, dear one hit wonder. She might be right but she and the song aren't famous because they're great artists and an amazing song.

[Pharamon 6,839]

She spilled tbf

[Chesescake 4,007]

Just now, KURUSHITOVSKA said:

Her song is scrap and was made famous thanks to those dances. Don't bite the hand that gived you food, dear one hit wonder

Wow, that rude

[SLAG 7]

1 minute ago, KURUSHITOVSKA said:

Her song is scrap and was made famous thanks to those dances. Don't bite the hand that gived you food, dear one hit wonder

Must be a TikTok user.

[KURUSHITOVSKA 20,451]

Just now, OBO said:

Wow, that rude

Not trying to be rude, the song is basic af and would've never been what it's been if it wasn't for those crappy tiktoks.

[KURUSHITOVSKA 20,451]

Just now, SLAG said:

Must be a TikTok user.

Ew never

[Pennywise 36,079]

11 minutes ago, Red said:

Doesn't she have a career because of TikTok hits and dances?

 

2 minutes ago, KURUSHITOVSKA said:

Her song is crap and was made famous thanks to those dances. Don't bite the hand that gived you food, dear one hit wonder. She might be right but she and the song aren't famous because they're great artists and an amazing song.

Does this mean she can't criticize that culture? Y'all sound like people who are like "Don't like the country? You are free to leave sweetie :)" 

Repeat after me: JUST BECAUSE YOU PARTICIPATE IN OR BENEFIT FROM SOMETHING, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CANNOT CRITICIZE IT

thank u.

[Bubblegum Bitch 18,934]

1 minute ago, Pennywise said:

Y'all sound like people who are like "Don't like the country? You are free to leave sweetie :)" 

Or

"If you don't like everything Gaga does, why do you use this website?" 

[KURUSHITOVSKA 20,451]

Just now, Pennywise said:

 

Does this mean she can't criticize that culture? Y'all sound like people who are like "Don't like the country? You are free to leave sweetie :)" 

Repeat after me: JUST BECAUSE YOU PARTICIPATE IN OR BENEFIT FROM SOMETHING, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CANNOT CRITICIZE IT

thank u.

She can critizice it but also be thankful. She's being judgmental with something that helped her have a hit. It's like James Charles critizicing YouTube.

[Wet Fire 7,724]

She's right.

Also, I think the song is a bop.

[Pennywise 36,079]

Just now, KURUSHITOVSKA said:

She can critizice it but also be thankful. She's being judgmental with something that helped her have a hit. It's like James Charles critizicing YouTube.

She doesn't have to be thankful for anything. Also, maybe she is thankful but simply didn't express it on that occasion? You are starting to sound like a boomer.