Not only does Baauer create a huge phenomenon with his dance anthem 'Harlem Shake', but he also causes Billboard Hot 100 to revise its way to rank a song's popularity.
- Mar 4, 2013
AceShowbiz - Baauer enjoys a massive success as he creates a dance craze with his goofy fun song "Harlem Shake". The track's overwhelming popularity on YouTube even pushes Billboard to do a new digital makeover on Hot 100 which has already been revised a year ago.
The U.S. single chart now takes into account data from the video-sharing website, in addition to including streaming-music sites, an element added last year; radio-airplay ratings; and digital song sales into calculation, to determine which the most popular song of the week is.
The song christened the revamped chart at No. 1, selling 262,000 units, garnering 103 million weekly video streams and inspiring many people to do "Harlem Shake" videos of their own. It's dubbed the biggest viral sensation since PSY's "Gangnam Style" invaded internet late last year.
Although receiving low airplay due to lack of major-label promotional support, the song held the first position firmly the following week due to the bona fide phenomenon it created. It later got an extra significant amount of airplay after Warner Bros. Records agreed to promote it worldwide.
Amidst the song's huge success, Azealia Banks released a remix that featured her vocals. The revamped song was subsequently removed at the request of Baauer, prompting a dispute between the two stars.
The female rapper claimed the DJ gave her permission to use the song, but he offered a different story. The disc jokey admitted he did plan to release a version of the song with her but later scrapped the plan because he felt her verses didn't meet their expectations.
