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Before 20 October, nobody knew of UK based Nepali banker Bhim Niraula even though his YouTube channel already had 590 videos. Those videos barely managed more than 100 hits each. But his belly-jiggling song and dance buffoonery called
Sunday morning love you with the Aztec ruins and the Sphinx as the backdrop led to an overnight change in fortunes and propelled Bhim to internet stardom.
Love him, hate him, and there are many who do so in equal measure as they engage in a puerile war of words on social media, but you can’t ignore him. With lyrics like, “Lady you are attractive, attractive,” which the 48-year-old composed himself, it is hard not to hum the tune once you have survived the (somewhat) embarrassing dance routine. Besides who wouldn’t want to love their significant other everyday of the week, well except for Saturday that is?
Sunday morning is rapidly nearing 600,000 unique views as fans from across the globe throng to see Bhim’s signature moves on YouTube and like, share, and tweet zealously. Buzzfeed.com, an American site that tracks viral content throughout the web, featured the video on its blogs, offering international viewers a tempting invitation to Bhim’s wacky moves. His supporters have even labelled the song Nepal’s answer to other nonsensical hits like Why This Kolaveri Di and Gangnam Style.
For the singer cum song-writer, however, this was no joke. Bhim spent £2,000 making the music video and £300 on recording. He initially wanted to feature a Nepali girl, but says those he approached were too busy. After filming his dance steps in a green room, the studio hired a local model and filmed her walking around a park over a couple of days. Bhim never met her.
The online sensation, however, seems very practical and has modest ambitions. “You can’t live on music alone in Nepal. I am in this for personal reasons and I make these videos because I don’t want to stop writing music,” he says.
Originally from Dhankuta, Bhim has been living in Reading for the last seven years with his family. He already has two albums Creation and Pratyek Raat to his name and is planning on releasing a third soon, which he will name Sunday morning. And after the raging success of his latest song, Bhim plans to sing in English more often to attract international viewers.
Regardless of whether Sunday morning manages to out ‘hit’ other viral videos including One Pound Fish from which it is much inspired, Bhim Niraula has arrived.