Numa Numa Guy

2004

Date: 6 December 2004 (Newgrounds upload) · Place: Saddle Brook, New Jersey · Figures: Gary Brolsma, 18 · O-Zone (Dragostea Din Tei), original song · Tags: Webcam, Lip-Sync 01. A Webcam Lip-Sync of a Moldovan Dance Track Gary Brolsma, 18, records himself in his bedroom on 6 December 2004 lip-syncing to O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei (Moldovan eurodance, 2003), wearing headphones, mouthing the Romanian lyrics with full earnest commitment, throwing his arms up at the chorus. He uploads the clip to Newgrounds. The clip is 1 minute 39 seconds. He calls it Numa Numa Dance after the chorus. By March 2005 it has been seen by tens of millions. 02. The First Viral Lip-Sync Video The Today Show, Good Morning America, Late Night with Conan O'Brien all book the clip. Brolsma initially refuses interviews; he later embraces the role and releases a New Numa Numa in 2006. New York Times profiles him as a reluctant celebrity. Numa Numa is the template for every TikTok lip-sync that follows. The webcam, the bedroom, the unironic commitment, the eurodance bridge: every element gets reproduced for two decades. "Maaa-iaaa-hiii, maaa-iaaa-huuu, maaa-iaaa-haaa, maaa-iaaa-haa-haa." — Gary Brolsma, Numa Numa Dance, 6 December 2004 Sources • New York Times, 'Internet Fame Is a Cruel Mistress for a Numa Numa Dancer' (26 February 2005) • Newgrounds, Numa Numa upload archive • KnowYourMeme, Numa Numa