After a video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral, the track “Lisztomania” by Phoenix – to which American congressman was filmed dancing to – has had a 192 per cent increase in on-demand streams.
According to Billboard, the song jumped from 1.07 million streams on 3 January, to 3.13 million on the 10 January in the US. “Lisztomania” also jumped 320 per cent in purchased downloads. It also managed to enter YouTube’s US Top Songs chart for the first time, coming in a 54.
The video of Ocasio-Cortez dancing to Phoenix’s song, which dates back to 2010, went viral after Republicans hoped to embarass the newly-elected Democrat.
It was filmed while the politician was a student at Boston University and depicts Ocasio-Cortez and other students performing a dance from The Breakfast Club.
After the post initially went viral, various high-profile figures tweeted out messages of support, including Phoenix, who wrote: “Congratulations on being the youngest woman ever being elected to Congress!”
Members of The Breakfast Club’s cast also reacted with amusement to the clip, with Molly Ringwald writing: “Alexandria you’re in the club.”
The politician later responded to going viral by posting a video of herself dancing and lip-syncing to Edwin Starr’s “War”, posting alongside the new video: “Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance, too!”
