On October 31, 1986, Bon Jovi released "Livin' On A Prayer" as a single off the album Slippery When Wet. Topping the charts at the time, the song would go on to become one of the band's biggest ever, an iconic song that continues to be played at bars and sporting arenas. However, last week "Livin' On A Prayer" landed back on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at number 25.
No, the song hasn't suddenly been reinserted into rotation at most radio stations. And none of the members of Bon Jovi have made major headlines in the past few months either. The cause for the sudden surge onto the charts? YouTube.
On October 17, a user named Jose Duran uploaded a video of a man, Jeremy Fry, dancing to "Livin' On A Prayer" during a Boston Celtics game. In it, Fry moves down several rows of the arena, dancing like a man possessed. His energy is infectious, and several other fans in the crowd join in when he approaches.
The video itself came from a game that took place in 2009. And yet this reuploaded video, titled "One Man Dances Like Nobody's Watching While Everyone Is He'll Crack You Up! Comedy Videos," has taken a life of its own, netting over 12 million views within one month.
And because Billboard modified its chart system last year to take digital streaming into account, "Livin' On A Prayer," with over 5 million streams two weeks ago, has charted once more. Online streaming was responsible for over 94% of its plays.
This is not the first time a viral video has revived a song's status on the charts. Just last month, a video of a woman quitting her job set to Kanye West's "Gone" brought that song onto the charts eight years after its release.
[via Mashable]
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