New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Weezer continues to bless the rains! This past May, the band released two covers of Toto songs, a response to a Twitter campaign started by a then fourteen year old fan in Cleveland who thought the band would be a perfect candidate to play "Africa." Turns out everyone agreed with her -- the band's version of the song became an instant viral smash, hitting No. 1 on iTunes the week of its release and landing on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remains.
Since then, "
Africa" has shown no signs of slowing down: it is currently now a #1 Alternative radio hit for the second week in a row, breaking the record for most plays at Alternative radio in a single week, and giving
Weezer their FIFTH #1, TENTH Top 5, and SIXTEENTH Top 10 at the format. Weezer's last Alternative #1 hit was "Feels Like Summer," which topped Mediabase's Alternative
Radio Airplay Chart in 2017, from the band's last album, Pacific Daydream. "
Africa" is also currently Top 10 at Hot AC as well, in addition taking over pop radio at
Sirius XM's Hits 1, WBLI/Long Island, and WNCI/Columbus with Power Rotation!
On the streaming side, "
Africa" has amassed over 25 million streams to date, and has landed Top 25 at U.S. Shazam, while climbing steadily up the Shazam Worldwide Top 200.
The wildfire response to "
Africa" comes on top of Weezer's most successful summer tour to date, selling out venues like The Forum in Los Angeles and moving close to half a million tickets across the country. Last week,
Weird Al Yankovic made a guest appearance at the band's LA show to play "
Africa" with them as well. Earlier in the summer, the band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live with a guest spot from Toto's Steve Porcaro; the clip has been viewed on YouTube nearly two million times.