The power of the internet knows no bounds. Back in May, Weezer released a cover of Toto‘s ‘Africa‘. This week, the band have hit #1 on Billboard’s Rock Airplay chart for the first time and the Alternative Songs chart for the fourth time with their cover.
Toto’s original ruled the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1983. ‘Africa’ is the first cover to top the Rock Airplay ranking. Their other Billboard Alternative Songs No. 1’s were Pork and Beans ruling for for 11 weeks in 2008, Perfect Situation for four weeks in 2006, and Beverly Hills for one week in 2005.
If you’ve missed the whole debacle, let us catch you up: Last year, a 14-year-old named Mary set up a Twitter account, petitioning for Weezer to cover none other than ‘Africa’ by Toto. Then, the band trolled fans by covering ‘Rosanna’ instead. Howeverm in May operation #WeezerCoverAfrica came to fruition for fans, when the band dropped their bloody fantastic Africa cover.
The band have gone all-in with the joke, using Mary’s original tweet as the cover art, pressing the single on vinyl, and performing it live with Weird Al Yankovich. Toto also got in on the shenanigans, covering Weezer’s ‘Hash Pipe‘ in response.
It’s been a wild ride from start to finish. Enjoy the stunning cover below:
Listen: Weezer ‘Africa’
