Brooks & Dunn broke onto the country music scene with their debut album Brand New Man thirty years ago. Since then, they’ve racked up a long list of chart-topping hits. The duo has also taken home a pile of awards including Grammys, ACM Awards, CMA Awards, and even landed themselves a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame. More importantly, they made music that stood the test of time. Their debut record is just as good today as it was when it came out thirty years ago.
Recently, TikTok proved the staying power of one of Brooks & Dunn’s biggest hits. A few days ago, Ronnie Dunn posted made a post on Instagram letting his fans know that “Neon Moon,” has amassed over a billion streams on TikTok.
The post shows Ronnie Dunn playing his guitar. In the caption, he wrote, “Practicing ‘Neon Moon’… It just topped 1 billion plays in just two weeks on TikTok…That’s historical!” Indeed it is.
Let’s put that into perspective. If you played Brooks & Dunn’s viral hit on repeat for two weeks straight, you’d hear “Neon Moon,” about 4,634 times. That means people all around the world were simultaneously cranking up the nineties classic. It’s truly mind-blowing.
However, fans aren’t just enjoying Brooks & Dunn’s ode to neon lights. Instead, TikTok users have remixed the song and turned it into a dance challenge. Check out a compilation of some of the videos of the new dance they’ve created for the song below.
Brooks & Dunn’s Viral Sensation
As an old curmudgeon, I’d love nothing more than to bitterly gatekeep 90s country. Most of the time, I’d be more than happy to complain about these kids and their dance challenges while telling them to get the hell off of my lawn. However, I just can’t do it this time.
Is the dance goofy as all hell? Sure. But, every time one of these half-naked dudes does their silly dance to Brooks & Dunn, it spreads good music to more people. There’s no way I could complain about young people discovering the greatness of “Neon Moon.” Just wait until they discover “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” or “Brand New Man,” there’s no limit to the dances TikTok users could create. Every one of those videos would just put B&D in front of more people.
Heck, 90s country is huge on Spotify right now because kids are discovering the music on TikTok, liking it, and streaming it. If you use the massive music platform, you’ve probably seen ads for Shania Twain and other 90s hitmakers in the last week or so. This is why.
In short, say what you want about these kids and their TikTok challenges. I’m just glad they’ve given Brooks & Dunn a little more of a boost. The kids just might be alright.
