“I’m a Friesian boy. I’m a little Friesian boy. And I live behind the dyke.” Otto starts his 1993 album “The CD – The Very Best” with these lyrics. The title song is based on the melody of Sting’s “Englishman in New York”. 30 years later, the “Friesenjung” experienced an amazing comeback in the official German single charts. Since this Friday it has been: First place.
In mid-May, the Berlin rapper Ski Aggu (19) posted several videos on the Tiktok social media platform. These are the first song snippets of his “Friesenjung” dance version, which he recorded with his Dutch colleague Joost Klein (25).
The musician from Berlin-Wilmersdorf, whose real name is August Jean Diederich, publicly asks Waalkes to give him the go-ahead for his cult hit. A little later, the East Frisian opens an account on Tiktok with his well-known “Holladahiti” and the collaboration begins.
“It is a common marketing strategy for artists to pre-release short, catchy snippets of a new song on the Tiktok platform. This makes the song popular and fans are encouraged to interact,” explains David Stammer from the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg .
The young users add songs that they can select from a list to their videos on Tiktok, which are usually only a few seconds long and are often skits or dance routines. They cut out a snippet that fits their clip. “Friesenjung” has appeared in more than 23,000 videos so far and is being distributed accordingly.
A new dimension
“I think wine is delicious. I’m not a connoisseur, but I’m a gourmet,” for example, that’s a concise line of text from “Friesenjung” that is shared en masse. Waalkes, who celebrates his 75th birthday in July, is already popular with children and young people. The viral hit has taken his success to new dimensions.
“I feel very flattered because for me every parody is the most honest form of worship,” Waalkes told the German Press Agency. He feels very comfortable on social media. “I can get along with Tiktok, I’m not that old.”
Around 370,000 fans already follow the comedian on the platform. Ascending trend. “A nice example of how the target groups of younger and older artists mix – because Ski Aggu and Joost Klein benefit from Otto’s popularity at the same time,” says music expert Stammer.
“Party Cream” became a hit
Ski Aggu, who appears in public with oversized ski goggles and a mullet hairstyle, has been promoting his party rap on the social platforms Instagram and Tiktok for years. With “Party Sahne” the 19-year-old already had a hit last year, which at least made it to number 32 in the charts.
Like Otto, the Dutchman Joost Klein is a “Frisian boy” and, in addition to his music, is also known as a YouTuber in his home country.
The two rappers definitely struck a chord with young people with their number one hit. The party song, which lasts around two and a half minutes, is reminiscent of the Dutch gabber techno of the nineties, so it has a fast beat and catchy lyrics. The iconic Otto chorus is mechanically alienated.
But the great success would probably not have existed before the Tiktok age. “Music pieces are no longer static and ‘only’ heard: users on Tiktok and other platforms remix songs, make faster or slower versions of them and use them to underline a certain mood or idea,” explains Stammer. “This is an opportunity for artists with well-known songs in their catalogues, who can thus reach new target groups in a new context.”
WG buddy Udo
Udo Lindenberg has also opened up a new target group this year – through the duet with the popular rapper Apache 207. The 77-year-old is something of the victim of the “Friesenjung” success. Because “Komet”, which has been number one in the charts almost continuously since February, only needs another week at the top position to break the record of pop singer Matthias Reim (65). His former flatmate Waalkes blocked him – at least for the time being.
Music Video Official Charts Otto Waalkes on TikTok Ski Aggu on TikTok Joost Klein on TikTok
