Adam Nyerere Bahner (born May 21, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday or as "Chocolate Rain Guy", is an American singer, songwriter, voice actor, and YouTube personality. He is known for his bass singing voice.
Zonday garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain" became a viral video in July 2007. As of May 2021, "Chocolate Rain" has over 130 million views on YouTube.
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.
Zonday released "Chocolate Rain", a viral song on race and race politics, on April 22, 2007. He was soon making appearances on national television. He appeared on the Opie & Anthony Show, G4TV's Attack of the Show!, VH1's Best Week Ever, Lily Allen and Friends, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Tosh.0 and Maury 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 and People and has appeared on CNN 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". 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". 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, along with appearing on Best Week Ever improvising a parody to the tune of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right". Green Day drummer Tré Cool recorded a parody of "Chocolate Rain" which he posted on YouTube. 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. Zonday has also been interviewed twice on Good Morning America, in March and November 2008.
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