LONDON – With his interpretations of century-old maritime slums, Nathan Evans has spawned a global craze on the ultra-modern social media platform TikTok.
Millions of people watched his version of “Wellerman” and other songs he uploaded to the app, and they proved so popular that Evans, 26, managed to quit his job as a postman after signing on to a major label, Polydor Records.
“The maritime shacks were made to get people together, sing, stomp, clap, keep morale high,” Evans told NBC News last week, adding that they helped to unify people isolated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think that in these times when everyone is stuck at home, they are very depressed, it has not been the best time, so I think that in a strange way it animates everyone … It makes everyone feel united, ” he said.
Evans began producing the videos in his bedroom at his home in Airdrie, a small Scottish town about 30 miles west of the capital, Edinburgh.
“Wellerman will soon be able to bring us sugar, tea and rum”, he sings in his most popular video with the call and response lyrics of the song “Wellerman”.
Videos tagged with #Wellerman have since accumulated over 65 million views on TikTok, and as users imitated him in their own posts, a whole new genre known as “ShantyTok” has emerged.
Comedian Jimmy Fallon, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber are among those who participated, while choirs and orchestras also produced their own versions.
Commonly sung on ships in the early 19th century, sea huts thrive on their communal nature, while sailors perform monotonous tasks and sing in unison, according to music historians.
The “Wellerman” slum is believed to have originated in New Zealand and has no known author, as it describes a crew at sea fighting a whale. Wellerman refers to a rescue ship that carries supplies that would help other ships at sea.
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
Evans has had some success singing pop and folk songs requested by other TikTok users, he told NBC News. Then came the request for a sea slum, which he said he looked at and liked immediately.
“Honestly, I didn’t know much about sea shacks until last year … Now, you can call me a fan,” he said.
Watching contagious melodies take off has been a “roller coaster,” he said, adding that “you really don’t need to know how to sing” to enjoy them.
Although he did not reveal how much the deal with Polydor Records was worth to him, Evans said he was “speechless” after his first single was released on Friday.
“Oh my God, I was a postman on Friday. I just signed with the biggest record label in the world,” he told fans in a separate video posted on TikTok.
