Jawsh 685 has achieved viral success with his song. Photo / Supplied
Jawsh 685 has achieved viral success with his song. Photo / Supplied
A teenager from Manurewa High School has taken the music world by storm after posting one of his songs to video sharing platform TikTok, seeing it spark a global sensation including a viral dance and having it picked up by one of the biggest names in R&B.
Joshua Nanai, aYear 13 at the school who goes by Jawsh 685, originally posted the song Laxed (Siren Beat) on You Tube in 2019 but it was when it hit TikTok that it truly exploded.
It soon sparked a dance craze, with users around the world dancing to the song and shouting out their own culture.
Becoming known as the Culture Dance, the trend was hopped on by some of the biggest names on the platform and sees users transform mid-song into their traditional dress.
Nanai represents proudly himself on the island-themed track, with a shoutout to the Samoan dialling code and the rallying cry of "Lesgoooo" at the start of the song.
Global R&B powerhouse Jason Derulo, who has become a force on TikTok himself, did the dance and shared the video, which quickly racked up tens of millions of views.
"I was like, I'm not gonna try this ****, and then I did, and it exploded," Derulo told Forbes magazine.
Derulo told the Forbes that his maxim for posting to TikTok was "follow the trends".
"The trends are really important. People care about the trends," he said.
Taking his own advice, Derulo then released a song himself titled Savage Love which uses the viral beat.
The Herald contacted Nanai's agent for an interview and was told that the young beatmaker's schedule didn't allow for interviews but a quick search online shows that his talent may be reaping rewards for the youngster.
The song appears on popular music production site Beatport as being licensed to Sony and available for download.
Nanai's social media is full of unreleased bangers and it looks likely we haven't heard the last from Jawsh 685.
