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DJ Regard
In 2008 The Inbetweeners was on our screens and Jay Sean was in the charts with Ride It.
Fast forward to now… The Inbetweeners is over but Jay Sean’s tune is back.
But Ride It’s had a reworking, thanks to the video sharing app TikTok and DJ Regard’s 20-second remix.
Yesterday the Kosovo-based DJ’s version reached number five in the UK Official chart.
#Rideit challenge
“He can’t describe the feeling, he’s speechless and very happy”, Hajriz Bajrami is Regard’s manager (and for the purposes of the DJ’s conversation with Radio 1 Newsbeat, his translator too).
Since DJ Regard’s version of Ride It was uploaded on TikTok, users have created more than 4.1 million videos using the song as a backing track.
This was helped by the apps #rideit challenge where users uploaded videos of themselves dancing to the song. And that’s when a record label stepped in.
Following the track’s success online, Sony’s Ministry of Sound Recordings signed and released Regard’s version of Ride It in July 2019.
In the first week, the track hit 1 million Spotify streams.
‘He said good job’
So how does the original artist feel about all this?
It seems all fine by Jay Sean too.
When we asked DJ Regard if Jay likes the song, he said ‘of course’!
“He said good job!” adds Hajriz. “Now they speak everyday. They compliment each other. They’ve started to be very good friends”.
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Jay Sean’s Ride It reached number 11 in the UK Official chart
And what about the haters?
DJ Regard isn’t worried about the people who prefer the original.
“If they like Jay Sean, one day they will like my mix.”
He confidently added: “I believe I will be number one eventually”.
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Getty Images
Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road had millions of views on TikTok
‘Everyone can be successful on TikTok’
This isn’t the first song to reach chart success because of TikTok.
Earlier this year Lil Nas X’s – Old Town Road become the longest-running number one in US chart history.
And that started on TikTok too, when thousands of people filmed themselves lip-syncing to the song in cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats.
DJ Regard says the platform is “very successful for musicians. It pushes different vibes for different people. Everyone can be successful on TikTok”.
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