william-onyeabor-apple-commercial

Karen O & Walter Martin soundtrack Apple commercial (William Onyeabor too!)

Walkmen member Walter Martin‘s 2014 song with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Sing to Me” is back on the charts. And the charts, in this case, are the “Billboard and Clio Music’s Top Commercials” chart which tracks songs in commercials via Shazaam tags, downloads, streams and other metrics. “Sing to Me” is at #4 thanks to the iPhone 7 commercial “The City” which you can watch below.

It’s no surprise that Apple commercials are great for musicians, though sometimes for musicians who don’t need it as much, Beyonce’s song “Freedom” with Kendrick Lamar is getting attention right now thanks to Apple too. Sometimes something unexpected happens… like “Fantastic Man” by the late Nigerian funk and synth pioneer William Onyeabor which is being used in Apple’s “Barbers” commercial (which seems to play constantly on the channels I watch). That song is currently #8 on the chart.

At #1 currently is Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood‘s sultry, cool “Summer Wine,” which soundtracks H&M’s “Summer Shop” commercial. Watch all the commercials mentioned here, below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waTteMeg4Ag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcMSrKi8hZA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNpiwOkKIJ8