Tuesday, August 3, 2021

DANCE MONKEY



I have gotten a second infatuation with the song Dance Monkey lately.... and Toni Watson. As soon as she hit the scene in late 2019 I was immediately smitten with her. I am very much attracted to females that have very unique sounding voices.....the most notable has been my late goddess Amy Winehouse.  Not since her passing had I been seduced by a voice till Toni Watson hit the scene. But Billie Ellish and Lana Del Rey come very close.  No doubt you've seen her infamous baseball caps, fun glasses, and colorful puffer and track suits, and probably have heard at least a snippet of her huge hit, Dance Monkey and heard her most unusual voice.  She give this gay boy chills. The song went on to have a billion hits on streaming site Spotify since 2019. Her group, Tones and I,  became a globe conquering group and made history many times over since it first snuck onto the airwave in 2019, where she dethroned Camila Cabello's Havanas long run on Spotify... and has since taken the highest number of hits ever on that streaming service by a female, not to mention broke the record for the longest run at the top of the ARIA singles chart for a staggering 30 weeks....globally it was even bigger. Despite only being around for only a year and a half, Toni Watson has suddenly become Australia's biggest music export. Not bad for a chubby girl, who was a runaway and lived out of her car for almost a year.

Her performance at Splendor in the Grass helped kicked her career along, and people were quickly confused and puzzled by her voice, especially when Dance Monkey went viral. People confused that her vocals were very real,  and not created by autotune. She is THE autotune. I find it very fascinating like many successes,  she is a self taught producer. At 26 she begin making her own music, while working retail and living pay check to pay check in Melbourne. Her niche was in combining piano melodies with electronic beats. Years later, she took proper singing lessons and failed her scales. She was told she simply didn't have the range. But when she suggested to her coach to play her a song on the piano...she then hit all the same notes in a different kind of voice. A very distinct voice...one that was raspy and belting. That then foreshadowed Tones winning streak.

Toni wrote Dance Monkey after she left her native Melbourne and begun busking on the streets of Byron Bay, an artsy beach town where she lived in her car for months before taking residence in a hostel. Dance Monkey became a party starter song, a feel good banger for her friends to dance to at the hostel's talent shows. Then the break came when she met some in the industry like the electronic duo Peking Duck, who have become like brothers to her and then there was Macklemore, her idol, where they met at one of her shows and was invite to his studio... then rest was history.

And I totally love that this cool chubby gal, has a great sense of humor, a salty mouth, is socially aware, and is taking on a platform of anti-bullying and a body beautiful society. Appearance aren't everything. But that VOICE!!!! For me she arrived just in time. I love that her video are so full of life, quirky and plain fun.

36 comments:

  1. Cap Chasen8/03/2021

    Well I'm a 72 year old guy and I have no business being here in the comments of a young female artists but this girls voice has grown on me lately and I've ended up enjoying her stuff immensely. I agree too, she seems to have a great sense of humor.

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    1. I'm with you Cap. I like to think it makes us young.

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    2. Oh excuse me hipsters....didn't mean to interrupt

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  2. This woman has a talent that is truly special. I love her music and her voice and the stories she tells in her songs. It's not often a ""different "voice comes along. Never saw the video for Dance Monkey, how fun.

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  3. LOVE THIS! I am so glad she is not going to be a one hit wonder. So far everything she's released is excellent... if you really pay attention to what she is saying and what you are seeing. Her songs can be gut wrenching, in between and happy. You can really feel these emotions when you listen to her. I hope she keeps on truckin' henny.

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  4. I'm getting a little more upbeat, less bluesy Amy Winehouse vibe and I quite like it.

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  5. The moment I heard the song Dance Monkey here .. I cant stop listening to all the songs .. very unique and amazing. I get a Amy Winehouse with a pinch of Adele. But much more boisterous. Thank you for bringing her to my attention...you open new music to this old lady. Her videos make me feel happy. The fist is much like me when William took me golfing. I cause more chaos then did the sport.

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  6. LOVE the voice! And I still can't get enough of Dance Monkey. But man that voice... is one serious hook! Every song I've of hers I have liked. This GOT ME GOING TODAY!

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  7. Yeah, that's a catchy song, been a huge hit back in the day! 🎵

    Think it's a one hit wonder, though 😏🤷‍♂️

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    1. Oh I don't know, I don't see one hit with her. All her songs have done pretty good so far.

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  8. She's not Amy Winehouse...she's not Adele. She's a little Megan Trainor, though, isn't she? Now, if she doesn't get intimidated like Trainor did on the weight issue.... Toni Watson - a name and a voice to remember. 'Cause, if she plays her cards right, she'll be around for a while.

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    1. And the funny thing...I could take Megan Train or....at all.

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  9. So doubt I'm addicted to her. I have liked everything she puts out.

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  10. I hadn't heard of her or her music before, so thanks for introducing me! She's terrific! And I love those videos!

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  11. Interesting voice; it sounds unique to me. It's not my kind of music but I think you could have guessed that; I'm too old for that kind of beat....or maybe it just doesn't go with my beloved opera

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    1. Your at least open and that wonderful. I have been to the opera and know some opera performers....but otherwise have not much knowledge. I love classical though.

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  12. Amy Winehouse was a Legendary Voice and gone much too soon. But thank you for introducing me to this new Artist, I haven't heard a lot of the new ones since our Radio Stations here are lame and play the same shit over and over again... I don't think many people even listen to Radio anymore so it's gone downhill rapidly in the quality of Music they play and half the Stations now are Spanish Language Stations, tho' they do play some great Latin Music that Princess T and I like to groove to! She's got it in her Blood being half Latina. *Winks*

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    1. I hear you Dawn. The only thing I listen to on the radio is our public local station WRTI for classical and jazz in the evening. And I think it's pretty hip you enjoy Tones & I

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  13. I just listened to Dance Monkey and I've heard that one and liked it too, the Voice is Unique and very distinctive.

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  14. Trainer turned me onto Dance Monkey. He plays it practically every workout and has several mixes. I've come to love the song but was disappointed when I looked up the video. Seeing again here, I just don't get it. What am I missing?

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    1. I actually love the video. I read that Dance monkey is a metaphor for someone that is being forced to do something, either actively or passively without realizing it. So for this song the meaning of dance monkey becomes clear, especially after watching the music video. It is essentially describing the older folk's repetitive processes we do in life without a second thought because we either have to or feel we need to. So it's cool she shows the elderly wanting to have fun too.

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  15. I'm with Helen here. Her voice is interesting but it hurt my ears and made me grit my teeth. To each his own. I am now into acapella groups, mostly Pentatonix, Home Free and Voice Play.

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    1. I also seem to love the odd, unique, obscure, and outrageous, and rare I swear The only group I ever enjoyed with acapella was En Vogue. They were amazing when they did it in concert.

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  16. Yes! I've heard some of her songs played in the House mixes I listen to that Defected puts out. Very catchy. Love the man drag.
    She reminds me of Elle King, whom I love.

    XOXO

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  17. She is pretty cool, but the boy worships her.

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  18. I absolutely love her... all her music lifts me up and makes me feel tens time happier!! I hope she never stops

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  19. Absolutely LOVE this Toni's voice, talent and song writing. Amazing!!! That song Fly Away is my favorite.

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  20. Absolutely love her voice ! Unique. Her songs often lift me up.

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  21. You've sent me on a rabbit hole today! There's only one problem with her songs - they end too soon! I want an extended versions stat. Classic feel good music. Tones is amazingly talented. I have searched her songs all day...haven't found one I didn't like yet.

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    1. I went down the same rabbit hole listening.

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  22. I love her! The voice, the style, the music, the message.

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  23. So is that her in old age makeup in the "Dance Monkey" video? Very convincing.

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    1. Yes.....and in the Your so Fucking cool video...she is all the parts.

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  24. I like her POV. Her lyrics are very succinct. The Kewpie Doll voice? We've heard it before. Hers is a bit more pointed. As demonstrated in Fly Away, she has some lovely pipes. I hope she continues to explore her various sounds. Can you imagine her singing a set of standards? That would be awesome.

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  25. I have never heard of this person. I LOVED the "Dance Monkey" video. I'm going to check out more!

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  26. My freaking goodness ! Hear voice is like nothing I've ever heard. WOW ! I am loving her videos ! Thanks for sharing.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!