Singer Meddy (left, top) fast growing song ‘My Vow’ has drawn mixed reactions due to fast growing views on YouTube. Fellow singers Tom Close, Teta Diana and Juno Kizigenza had something to say.
Meddy Ngabo’s latest single ‘My Vow’ has been the talk of the town following its meteoric viewership numbers on video streaming platform YouTube, which has left some artistes questioning how the numbers were possible, amid claims that the US-based singer could have bought views.
Singer and medical practitioner, Tom Close urged fellow artistes and music enthusiasts in general to take a lesson from Meddy’s work rather than spreading negative propaganda targeting him or his music, something he said is motivated by jealousy.
Tom Close weighed in after a frenzy on social media, resulting from how fast the song has racked up numbers, with some accusing Meddy of using backhand methods, including paying for views in order to look like so many people watching his videos on Youtube.
The claims, which were started by Instagram character ‘The Cat’ came days after Meddy’s new video dubbed ‘My Vow’ accumulated over 1 million views in only 2 days of its release, leading to some people questioning whether the views are genuine or paid for. The song has so far been viewed 1,738,504 by press time, in just 4 days.
The song became a point of conversation after some artistes in veiled messages doubted the authenticity of the growth of the song, with some indeed buying into the idea that the views and comments could indeed be paid for, using complicated methods which can’t easily be detected by Youtube or other viewers.
YouTube prohibits paying for views or comments especially for accounts which are monetised. Tom Close said artistes should not be the first to criticize a fellow artiste for making a major breakthrough and instead they should be celebrating.
“Meddy’s work should be a lesson for anyone involved in Rwandan music and people should stop spreading negative propaganda motivated by jealousy,” Tom Close tweeted.
Singer Teta Diana tweeted about the conversation in a veiled message and for her, she believes one can possibly buy views according to her tweet but did not explicitly refer to the song or Meddy.
“Quick facts, Youtube channel is free, views and followers are bought,” she tweeted, adding that the music industry cannot thrive on scandals but rather organic growth. Her views were backed by fellow “Gakondo” singer Jules Sentore.
New kid-on-the-block Juno Kizigenza was perhaps more explicit in his views, responding to those who refer to Meddy as the ‘King’ of music, cheekily tweeting that “A King who went into exile?”, in reference to the old claims dating back to 2010 that the ‘Carolina’ singer and fellow U.S-based colleague The Ben, that the duo fled the country for greener pastures.
Kizigenza, in a tweet which was later deleted, asked that the kings and queens who remained at home too deserve some respect. The singer, whose song with Ariel Wayz, ‘Away’, is among the Rwandan songs to get the most number of views in a short time, followed the controversy with the release of his latest song ‘Please Me’, which has also got the internet talking.
YouTube engine doesn’t allow anything that artificially increases the numbers of views, likes, comments or other metrics either by using automatic systems or serving up videos to unsuspecting viewers. If done contritely with its rules and regulations, the channel could be terminated. This could be the reason many think Meddy would not do that, considering that he has one of the biggest channels, with over 661, 000 Subscribers and over 110 million cumulative views.
However, a data monitoring company Next Big sound based in America says that it has a list of artists who they believe are buying statistics to increase their popularity with record labels.
The statistics, which can be bought include YouTube, Twitter followers and Facebook likes. According to a BBC story, Newsbeat found out that you can buy 10,000
YouTube views for as little as 30 Euros.
Meddy is not the only musician accused of buying virtual fans. Recently, Tanzanian singer Harmonize, who broke away from Diamond Platnumz Wasafi Records to start his own label Konde Music, was accused of buying YouTube views by fellow musicians.
Meddy’s new video ‘My Vow’ focuses on his May 2021 wedding to his Ethiopian boo Mimi Mekfira, giving a peek into the whole event, from preparations of the big day to exchanging vows and the reception, bringing out the glamour and glitz as well as the jovial mood that characterized the memorable day.
The ‘Slowly’ hit maker tied the knot on May 22nd this year in Dallas Texas, in a ceremony that was graced by fellow singers The Ben, King James, K8
Kavuyo, Emmy and gospel singer Adrien Misigaro among others. Also in attendance was Miss Rwanda 2009 Grace Bahati and actress and poet Malaika Uwamahoro.
When the two were done with exchanging the vows they both treated, they treated their guests to a sumptuous dinner and later sung a song together as the crowd cheered them on.
Majority of social media users have come out to defend Meddy, with many stating that the song deserves to be watched as it is beautiful while others said that his experience in the industry and quality of work guarantee him such views.
