What good is a hit song during a pandemic?
It is no doubt that music has been a source of comfort for many during the current pandemic. The thing about music but in this case hit songs is that when they are released and eventually become popular we would instantly want to line them up for our next house party, farm house getaway or windows-down road trip.
More than a year since the entertainment industry came to a halt, one would think local artists are not churning out uplifting tunes with summery vibes. Even now as seasons change, one would even think the country does not have first-rate summer songs from favourite artists. That would be very far from the truth because last year has gifted us with hits even as we were confined in our little spaces during the lockdown periods.
Currently COVID-19 cases are rising, people are dying and some are suffering long-term injuries. Right now everything looks and feels different and people can no longer vide their favourite songs during an outing.
This as a result, has killed the vibe hit songs usually bring. Today more than ever, the lifespan of a hit song in the mainstream music market has reduced and all is left for music creators is the ‘what if?’ question. Most hitmakers Arts & Culture interviewed during the pandemic have bemoaned that their songs have not made the impact they would have had, had the pandemic not hit the world last year. Skelem key hitmakers Sour Man Bw and Chabuya Nature recently revealed in an interview that they were hoping for a big break but the pandemic challenges ruined everything. “Our challenge is that we recorded this album during the COVID-19 period and since we dropped it, we haven’t made any profit,” said the singer.
Usually some songs become instant hits while others build up over time before becoming household jams. Now that people do not enjoy songs for much longer periods because of the pandemic, certain songs never live up to their potential because of the short life span brought about by COVID-19.
Not so long ago, people were talking about the phrase ‘domina ditlhapi’ after one upcoming artist broke the social media scene with a song titled Ko Seronga. Real name Thato Kavinja, Koolkat admitted to Arts & Culture then that that Ko Seronga song is a magnificent achievement that opened doors for him.
However, he said as musicians they release hit songs to get bookings for shows but because of the pandemic and the absence of live shows, all that has now dried up. Usually, a song like Ko Seronga would have been a good one for families’ come togethers or homecoming road trips. But the excitement has been killed by the disease control measures of the pandemic such as curfews and regional lockdowns. Speaking of road trips, who would forget what could have been a festive banger late last year from Han C and Charma Gal in Itsatsaula? The combination of the talented and leading local vocalists produced a masterpiece but it will go down as one of those hits dampened by the pandemic. It is not only them but local artist Kealeboga Sedumedi also known as DJ KSB was robbed of what could have potentially been the song for the festive season.
DJ KSB released a hit single called Phendula featuring South African vocalist, Juizee late last year as well but it took quite some time for the song to get recognition.
Earlier this year, the song started making waves in South Africa and that was when the fever reached home in Botswana. DJ KSB later released hot visuals of the song shot by SA based Motswana renowned videographer, Jack Bohloko.
No one can be certain but Phendula, which has been a chart topping song since appreciation is one of those ‘could have been’, stories.
‘Volume ya radio ae okediwe, full blast e helediwe, mono ngwaga go sha legong go sale molora’ are some of the lyrics for controversial artist ATI’s
Stimamollo which is another item that makes it into the list of the local hits songs that were diminished too soon by the pandemic.
At the time of releasing the song in June last year, the Khiring Khiring Khorong hitmaker was arrested and charged with a single count of failure to comply with directions given by an Authorised
Officer in a Protected Area. Talented videographer Cyc Jouzy later shot a beautiful music video also capturing the arrest and later the release of the talented singer. Sometimes controversy works wonders for musicians but for ATI, a song that could have been a national anthem did not last much longer in the market.
There are so many hits and it would take some time and pages to narrate them all here but they were equally and meticulously produced and performed records.
Already the country is into a second year of living with the Corona virus, but as people increase their social distancing and continue being cooped up in their homes, some of these hit songs end up meaningless to them because they remind people of memories they cannot relive and time they cannot rewind.
The hit songs tease people about the parties, concerts, and trips that have been inevitably deleted from the calendar.
As curfews times are changed and lockdowns put up, these hit songs remind people that as much as they want to go out there is really nowhere else to go.
But there are some people who feel differently because they were not really outgoing before the pandemic. These are the people who are consistently clubbing in their living rooms and dancing on Tik Tok cams. This is an effort that artists who release music during this era would appreciate and it would certainly make one great to be alive.