The latest viral video capturing the hearts of millions of users on social media is of a 10-year-old Jamaican boy singing about beauty and gratitude.
The song, “Beautiful Day,” along with its myriad remixes, has been shared globally across Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube.
While the video has only recently gone viral, the story of the song began nearly a decade ago when singer-songwriter Jermaine Edwards debuted “Beautiful Day” in Jamaica in 2014.
Several years later, 10-year-old Rushawn Ewears sang the song during lunchtime in 2017 at Top Hill Primary School in Jamaica. His teacher recorded the classroom performance in a video, which also captured Ewears’ classmates sweetly looking in from the next room.
Ewears croons in the chorus: “Lord, I thank you for sunshine / Thank you for rain / Thank you for joy / Thank you for pain / It’s a beautiful day!”
The video was posted to Facebook, where it was shared by users across Jamaica over the next several years.
However, it was not until recent weeks that the video went international with bands across the world creating their own remixes.
South African musician known as “The Kiffness” made a remix with a ukulele that has garnered more than 6 million views on YouTube.
Ewears is now 16 and is delighted by the worldwide interest in the video. He told the Jamaica Gleaner, “I don’t know how many people have viewed the song, but for me, music is an inspiration. Sometimes when you feel down, music helps you to motivate yourself.”
The song’s original creator, Edwards, has also benefited from the resurgence of his song, recently signing a deal with Song Music U.K., according to music website, DancehallMag.
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