Adam Nyerere Bahner (born May 21, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday[3][4][5] or as "Chocolate Rain Guy",[6][7] is an American YouTube personality, singer-songwriter, and voice actor.[8] He is known for his bass singing voice.
Zonday garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain" became a viral video[7] in July 2007. As of May 2024, "Chocolate Rain" has over 138 million views on YouTube.[9]
Zonday enrolled in the University of Minnesota American studies PhD program in 2004, studying the history of theater and social change, with the intention of becoming a professor. After the viral success of "Chocolate Rain", he left university with a master's degree in 2008 and moved to Los Angeles, California.[15][16] He used a stage name because he wanted a separation between his academic and entertainment career. Bahner chose "Tay Zonday" because he thought it was catchy and nobody had claimed the name yet, according to a Google search.[15]
While a PhD student in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Zonday began performing at open mic nights in 2006. Looking for more feedback, he began uploading his performances online the next year.[17]
Zonday released "Chocolate Rain", a viral song on race and race politics, on April 22, 2007.[18] He was soon making appearances on national television. He appeared on G4TV'sAttack of the Show!, VH1's Best Week Ever,[19]Lily Allen and Friends, Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[20]Tosh.0 and Maury[21][22] where he performed "Chocolate Rain" on national television a little over three months after he posted his composition on YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday's Los Angeles Times on August 12, 2007, with additional features in The Toronto Star, The Chicago Tribune's RedEye, The Star Tribune[23] and People[22] and has appeared on CNN[24] for a televised interview. On February 12, 2008, he appeared on the television show Lily Allen and Friends on BBC Three, and performed a cover of Lily Allen's debut "Smile". In March 2008, the video won a YouTube award in the category "Music".
The Australian Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote: "Tay Zonday has written perhaps the most listened-to song in the world right now".[25]People said: "He's scored a YouTube hit with his repetitive, keyboard-driven 'Chocolate Rain', and after a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tay Zonday's star is shining even brighter".[22] The article also noted that celebrity musicians paid tribute to the song as its popularity rapidly peaked in August 2007. John Mayer reportedly copied Zonday's keyboard riff with his guitar in concert,[26][27] along with appearing on Best Week Ever improvising a parody to the tune of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right".[28]Green Day drummer Tré Cool recorded a parody of "Chocolate Rain" which he posted on YouTube.[29] Zonday also became the subject of thousands of other parodies and remixes on YouTube. A clip of his video was also shown on The CW's short-lived series, Online Nation.[30][31][32] Zonday has also been interviewed twice on Good Morning America, in March and November 2008.[episode needed]
In August 2011, Zonday released his only EP so far, titled "Chocolate Rain 2.0". In November he uploaded "Mama Economy (The Economy Explained)" in response to an economic crisis in the United States.[37] "Mama Economy" features Lindsey Stirling playing the violin.
On June 22, 2012, Zonday uploaded a cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's number one single "Call Me Maybe", which as of 2022 has reached over 6.7 million views.[38] It was featured on "The 10 Best 'Call Me Maybe' Covers" on Billboard.com. He is seen performing the single in front of a microphone in what he claimed to be "as low as I could [sing]".[39]
Zonday voiced "The King" in the Happy Wheels animated web series based on the video game of the same name, which premiered on Go90 in November 2016.[40]
In July 2017, Machinima, Inc. and Hasbro cast several YouTube personalities, including Zonday, for the animated web series Transformers: Titans Return to garner online attention.[41] Zonday was cast as "Chorus of the Primes".[42]
^ abFox News report about Numa Numa also mentions: ...fellow viral video star, 'Chocolate Rain Guy', aka Tay Zonday (Sep 22, 2010): Foxnews.comArchived April 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^Montgomery, Garth (August 1, 2007). "Chocolate Rain goes huge". Daily Telegraph. News Limited. Archived from the original on September 19, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
Media related to Tay Zonday at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Tay Zonday at Wikiquote
