Chocolate Rain

"Chocolate Rain" is a song and music video written and performed by Tay Zonday, a 25-year-old songwriter and vocalist.

After being posted on YouTube on April 22, 2007, the song quickly became popular with over 20 million views as of April 17, 2008, and has gained further popularity thanks to the help of a recent South Park episode that features his likeness.[1] The music video portrays a bespectacled Zonday in a recording studio wearing a white T-shirt and singing into a condenser microphone. Occasional cutbacks to Zonday playing a digital piano are also shown. The song, and its writer/performer, attracted major media attention. "Chocolate Rain" is ranked as the hottest viral video of Summer 2007 by CTV.ca[2] and as the number 2 viral video in the world by utalkmarketing.com.[3] It was the winner in the Music category in the 2007 YouTube Awards.[4][5]

The song is known for the deep voice of its singer and his unique mannerisms while singing, telling the viewer "I move away from the mic to breathe in" via subtitles.[6][1] David Lowe of The Sun characterized Zonday's voice as being “gravelly as Rod Stewart but alas without the groove”, expressing no surprise at Zonday's lack of formal musical training.[7] Other reviews have been more favorable. Garth Montgomery of The Daily Telegraph praises the song's “hypnotic quality” while criticizing its “cheesy drum loop”.[6]