Akon‘s ‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’ has become the latest song to surpass one billion views on YouTube.
- Read More: Soundtrack Of My Life: Akon
The Sengalese-American singer-songwriter has accrued his fourth single to achieve the milestone on the streaming platform, following 2004’s ‘Lonely’, 2006’s Eminem-featuring ‘Smack That’, and 2011’s ‘Play Hard’, the latter a collaboration with David Guetta and Ne-Yo.
‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’, taken from his third studio album ‘Freedom’, was first released in 2008. Currently, Akon’s 2007 single ‘Don’t Matter’ stands at over 700million views, making it the next possible Akon song to hit one billion.
In recent years, other songs that have hit one billion views on YouTube include Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ‘Californication’, Dr. Dre’s ‘Still D.R.E.’, Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and Cardi B’s ‘Bodak Yellow’.
Notably, at last year’s Glastonbury, King Krule performed a brief cover of ‘Don’t Matter’. It was not the first time Marshall has publicly linked himself to Akon. In 2018 he admitted that, when being interview whilst drunk, he falsely claimed Akon wrote the Sonic The Hedgehog theme tune.
In NME‘s 2023 interview with Akon, he revealed that the song that makes him cry is his megahit ‘Lonely’.
“I was extremely lonely when I wrote it – true story,” he told NME. “At the time, the only person who had my back was no longer there for me because of mishaps and decisions of my own. But for me, writing a song like this is a form of therapy. Once I get it out, I feel so much better. I feel even better again when I see other people can relate to it too.”
Akon also cited another song of his – ‘Freedom’, taken from the same album with ‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’ – as one that reminds him of home. “It reminds me of home in the States and home in Africa. When I wrote this song, it was reminiscent of my life story to an extent, but from the eyes of my mum and my dad,” he told NME.
“It’s [about] their journey and how they came to the United States to kind of search for freedom. But then when we came here, I experienced some difficulties trying to fit in – you know, just as an adolescent, and also the culture shock.
“Then once I got comfortable [in the US], I realised all the disadvantages that minorities face here. So I was always fighting for that freedom to an extent, and that’s still the feeling this song gives me.”