At the close of the first quarter of this year, TechCity compiled a list of the most popular [tiktok] challenges for the time frame of January to March 2020, to include: #DontRushChallenge, #SomethingNewChallenge and #FlipTheSwitchChallenge. I’m sure that just brought back memories. In what I allude to the popularity and engagement of the #challenges being a coping mechanism to the novel coronavirus pandemic, there has been a ton more of them since then. It has also been quite a chore keeping tabs [especially for challenges targeted at promoting music] and would be a herculean task trying to compile 3 of the most popular challenges between April and June 2020.
Accredited to “Making Nigerian Comedy Go Viral” amidst other worthy headlines and reportage from Buzzfeed News and CNN; watched more than 500,000 times on Twitter and received more than 2 billion views on TikTok already, the #DontLeaveMeChallenge by josh2funny is a worthy one to cap off the mid year and second quarter of 2020 and perhaps begin the next. In other words, “No Cap“. *dontleaveme*
Prior to this feat, josh2funny had become quite famous for his numerous comic characters which transcend Instagram skits to become internet sensations. The characters which include the auditionee from #AllMyGuysAreBallers and Meme god, Brother Zakius are no strangers to Nigerian social media users. This time however, Nigerians were determined to give Joshua Alfred [real name] his flowers [sorry, leaves] and credit, as the trend gained popularity among global audiences.
The challenge which typically involves a lighthearted delivery on puns as a form of wordplay between two different [sometimes unrelated] items, has indeed captured social media audiences. Its easy to execute style for social media uploads, which involves you demonstrating your dry humour to the camera while being enagaged by your behind-the-scene “hypeman,” is arguably the number one driver of the enticement to mimick the comic act. As there are no rules or skills required; just sheer lightheartedness. Not forgetting its even easier alternative in form of text that flood posts and comments sections on Twitter.
The challenge which can be traced back to a skit posted on the 24th of March on the comedian’s Instagram page, went viral in June when it caught the attention of social media users in form of a challenge. In the same month, Joshua Alfred decided to put a spin on the challenge with a release of a musical version on his Instagram page on June 21 that has been viewed over 400,000 times already. Taking this further and for the month of July, Joshua Alfred isn’t resting on his oars as he premieres #dontleaveme music on July 3.
