The disco song “YMCA” has experienced a significant rise in popularity in the months running up to and following the election, after it became a campaign staple for Donald Trump.
During his successful campaign to recapture the White House, the President-elect played the renowned 1978 gay song at practically every event, frequently busting out his signature movements.
Last.fm data analyzed by NBC News revealed that YMCA listenership had more than tripled, increasing by around 366 percent between late May and November 5.
The same data revealed that, despite a dip in interest, the song was still up 183 percent from late May, thanks to the apparent “Trump effect.”
Furthermore, Google Trends revealed that the song has seen a true revival, with interest in the song reaching its highest point in two decades. According to NBC, there were more queries for the song this month than at any other time in the search engine’s history.
There was also an increase in 2020, when Trump first mentioned it at the conclusion of his rallies. “Do you know what gets them rocking? “YMCA,” he remarked on a podcast in 2022. “YMCA gets people up and it gets them moving.”
“YMCA” also re-entered the top 15 tracks on the Billboard dance/electronic sales list at the end of October, eventually rising to the top spot for the week of November 17.
Following the president-elect’s victory, his dancing moves became popular, with professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, and MLS replicating them in celebration.
The Village People’s song is supposedly about the nonprofit Young Men’s Christian Association and the community centers it operates in numerous locations across the United States.
The song’s lyrics feature numerous double entendres about homosexual male life, which explains its appeal within the LGBTQ+ community. However, Felipe Rose, a Village People member, told HuffPost in 2014 that the tune was not purposely gay.
However, the band members are pleased with their renewed success. Victor Willis, the lead singer and co-writer of “YMCA,” reportedly high-fived his wife after learning that the song had returned to the top of the charts.
In February 2020, the band let the Trump campaign to use their music, but in June, they begged him not to play it. According to Willis, the campaign declined, claiming that it had received a political entity license that permitted them to use it.
Willis told NBC News that Trump’s initial use of the song was a “nuisance.” “I was worried he’d become tired of the tune. “But that never happened,” he stated.