the buzz log

His YouTube profile says he's 25 years old and he has a natural baritone voice. His handful of homemade music videos feature covers, karaoke, classical arrangements, and original songs. And from this small collection of music, Tay Zonday has a huge following.

By far, the most popular of his videos is the staccato piano-driven "Chocolate Rain." Originally introduced 3 months ago, it's been viewed nearly 4 million times. Whether they're curious about the lyrics, the stark production, or the seemingly mismatched voice with the baby-faced singer, searchers are dialing up "tay zonday" (+46%). Interest in the vocalist is overwhelmingly male, with 74% of dudes checking up on him. Queries on the song range from plain old "chocolate rain" to "chocolate rain lyrics" to "chocolate rain youtube."

The weirdly addictive tune has inspired remixes, including Darth Vader, McGruff the Crime Dog, and even John Mayer on VH1's "Best Week Ever." Will Zonday come up with another more popular meme, or is he a one-hit wonder? As the confusing lyrics say, it's like "history quickly crashing through your veins."

Filed under: Music, Videos

The masters of viral video have a thing for Barack Obama. First, there was "Vote Different," a spoof of Apple's legendary "1984" ad. It portrayed Hillary-as-boring-PC and Obama-as-cool-Mac, and whipped up enough trouble to garner millions of viewers—and searches.

Now, there's Obama Girl. The curvaceous Amber Lee Ettinger stars in the clip—titled "I Got a Crush... on Obama"—as a woman who smooches posters of the Illinois senator, wears undies emblazoned with his name, and breathlessly croons "Baby, I cannot wait/til 2008/Baby, you're the best candidate."

Since hitting YouTube, the video has succeeded beyond a PR agent's wildest dream. In Search, buzz for the clip's actress, site, title, and singer have surged. (Yes, Obama Girl lip synchs.)

Of course, Ettinger's shapely figure and short shorts have more than a little to do with this. Queries like "obama girl pics," "obama girl wikipedia," and "obama girl name" have also stirred. We wouldn't be surprised if a few optimists tried "obama girl phone number," though we don't have the data to prove it.

As for the object of Obama Girl's affections? The video is entirely independent of the junior sentaor's campaign, but it still gave a nice lift to searches for "barack obama." You go, girl.

Filed under: Politics, Videos, Barack Obama

Keeping track of technology is tough. For every web site that sticks around long enough to make a profit, there are dozens of WebVans that drive off into the sunset. It's too soon to predict which category PeekVid will fall into, but from the looks of Search, it has a bright future.

PeekVid, which points users toward online movies, TV shows, and videos, is currently among our top 500 queries. What makes this site different than, say, YouTube? Well, for one, PeekVid doesn't host any files—it just points to sites that do. This helps insulate PeekVid from litigious media companies who may feel their material is being used without consent.

Naturally, PeekVid is quick to point this out. In fact, the "We don't host these files!" disclaimer is one of the first thing users see. Will the logic hold up or will angry lawyers demand PeekVid be neutered like Napster? Feel free to post your predictions below...

Filed under: Videos, Internet