Airdrie social media sensation Nathan Evans is on the crest of a wave as his viral sea shanty is poised to become the highest new entry on this week’s Official Singles Chart.
The singer’s hugely popular Tiktok rendition of traditional tune Wellerman – which has had more than eight million views and seen thousands of fans join in by adding their own musical accompaniments – was officially released on Friday and sailed into fourth place in Sunday’s “first look” chart based on preliminary sales and streaming reports.
It was the most downloaded song on the early chart, a preview for the national top 40 countdown which is announced live on BBC Radio 1 and online each Friday evening; and saw Nathan ranked ahead of artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift.
Meanwhile, two versions of his sea shanty made it into the separate Official Big Top 40 chart, on Capital and Heart radio and which “reflects UK consumption in real time” – with Nathan’s song reaching number 22 in yesterday’s countdown and a remix by 220 Kid and Billen Ted making it to number 32.
Nathan has now signed a record deal with Polydor after his massive musical success during the past month; in a “hectic” whirlwind which only saw him give up his job as a postman in Gartlea just over a week ago.
The 26-year-old has seen his performances catch the attention of stars including Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating and Andrew Lloyd Webber; and he even sang a football-themed shanty for the BBC’s coverage of yesterday’s FA Cup tie between Manchester United and Liverpool.
Capital Dance presenter MistaJam, who premiered the dance remix of Nathan’s shanty on the airwaves, described it as “a huge hit with listeners”.
The drivetime DJ said: “We got hold of the remix because I’m good friends with 220 Kid and Billen Ted; within an hour of them finishing it, before it was even mixed and mastered, we were playing it on Capital Dance, and my phone went nuts after the show.”
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Nathan’s original version of Wellerman was the third-highest new entry on this station’s Official Big Top 40 this week, just 48 hours after its release.
The Airdrie musician first began playing guitar at the age of eight and writes his own song, which are available on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes.
He posted his first sea shanty online in July but it was last month’s performance of Wellerman, a 19th-century New Zealand whaling song, which really caught the online community’s imagination and led to the current craze, known as “ShantyTok”.
Nathan said: “I did one sea shanty and then the requests just kept coming in after that; it went wild and I don’t really know what happened!
“Shanties were sung to bring everybody together [and] keep morale high, so I think it’s just brought it into this day and age – everybody’s at home [and] not feeling too happy, then this song comes on and everybody’s joining in, making it feel like you’re all united.
Music is an absolute passion for me, [and] this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – I thought at the minute I’ll seize it and see what happens.”
