The Numa Numa: A Guy and A Good Time

Regardless of what it’s used for, the Internet has become a part of our everyday lives. We use it to augment research papers, connect with new friends and old through social networking sites and even play games. However, there is a great potential of abuse in contrast to all these uses. With the right amount of malice, people spread rumors through an international scale and upload videos that can hurt lives and reputations. Because of the internet’s open nature, anyone can access this content. On a smaller note, given the unwarranted self-importance of some individuals, we often see videos and blogs that showcase their startling arrogance and metaphoric exhibitionism.

Then, we have Gary Brolsma.

To the unfamiliar, Mr. Brolsma looks like the stereotypical internet geek; bespectactled, fat and probably a loser. He was also the creator of the “Numa Numa” video, released in 2004. The video’s contents showed him lip-synching to a Romanian Eurodance song, “Dragostea din tei”, complete with animated gestures of his hands, head and shoulders and the song pumping through his headphones. Not the best model of conventional success, but it has been proven that unconventionality wins the hearts of the so-called “net-izens”.

Three months later, the video had been viewed more than 2 million times at Newgrounds.com, the site where Mr. Brolsma originally uploaded it. By November 2006, impression figures had calculated that “Numa Numa” was the most second-watched video of all time at 700 million views, being beaten only by “Star Wars Kid”, the video of a teen waving around a golf club like the Jedi from “Star Wars”.

At first, Gary Brolsma was described by the New York Times as an “unwilling and embarrassed Web celebrity”, cancelling any media appearances. But by then, he had been covered by mainstream media, shows like Tonight with Jay Leno and Good Morning America.

His reluctance did not last. Since his video became popular he had been uploading new versions of the video, adding puns based on the lyrics and pictures. By September 2006, he, along with a band, reappeared with a professionally produced video “New Numa” which was hosted by Youtube. There was even a contest to see who could make a video just as good as Brolsma’s new video, with cash prizes up to $25000 going to the winner.

The video was reaching phenomenal heights. The controversial hit TV show “South Park” even featured a cameo by him and several other Web celebrities in one of their episodes. Granted, they were killed a few moments later but both fans and pundits loved their appearances. The video was also featured in the sixth season of the TV show “NCIS” and was even used for a popular variety show in Japan.

So where is this all going? It is true that the internet can seem to be a playground for those with no self-esteem to trash and badmouth one another. It is also the target of satire and alarmist journalism. But every now and again, there will be the one pure innocent person who will submit a funny video, just for the fun of it and then in an instant we’ll have the next Numa Numa phenomenon.

New Numa and Numa Three: The Numa Numa Guy’s Return

The numanuma dance has already claimed the legendary status. Gary Brolsma, the creator and the star of that video has been 2008’s number one internet icon, according to American TV station VH1. The video is a clip of him waving his hands and making funny faces to the tune of Romanian hit song Dragostea din Tei. Watched by over 700 million people around the world, Brolsma’s gag turned him famous in a span of two years, and even now, his fame still echoes throughout the internet. Along with web fame, he also made appearances in various media: in television, in newspapers and radio programs. He also appeared in NFL’s Super Bowl XLIV back in 2005.

At the peak of the numa numa fame, Brolsma, along with Dragostea Din Tei’s composer Dan Balan, made another numa numa video. It featured Brolsma’s band mates in “The Nowadays” band dancing to the tune of a Russian song composed by Balan and the Variety Beats, and sung by Chad Russell. This started a phenomenon of its own, attracting over 14 million viewers to watch it in Youtube from the day it was released back in September 2006 to present. Ultimately, the New Numa is Brolsma’s way of telling the fans how he is doing after the first numa numa release.

Along with the release of the New Numa, Brolsma also opened a “New Numa Contest,” a competition on who makes the best video using the New Numa song. Prizes are: $25000 dollars for first prize, $10000 for second prize, $5000 for third prize and $125 as consolation prizes to those who sent videos anyway. With 26 submitted videos, the winner of this contest was keith3d from Arkansas, USA. It was a video that used a lot of stop motions and random things in a computer room singing the New Numa song.

A year after the new numa craze comes the part three of the video, Numa Three, and was also made by Brolsma. There, he’s seen dancing and lip-syncing around his house to the tune of “Crazy Loop,” another one of Balan’s good songs. The Numa Three did not get as much attention as the two preceeding numanuma videos, having only around a million views.

The numa numa craze changed the face of the internet for a couple of years. It entertained us to an extent and taught us that it only takes a good sense of humor to appreciate even the littlest things in life. All in all, the numa numa craze cracked open some smiles and laughs, and made the world, though in a small way, an even better place.

Numa Numa Song Phenomenon: How did it start?

Who knew that arming yourself with a personal computer with webcam, internet access and a sense of humor could bring you the Internet’s share of your 60 seconds of fame, and even more? That’s how Gary Brolsma, better known as the Numa Numa guy, became an internet sensation. Dancing and lip-syncing to the tune of a phenomenal O-zone song Dragostea din tei, the numa numa video had over 700 million views throughout the internet.

The numa numa dance began as a flash movie made by the numa numa guy out of sheer boredom. The movie was submitted to a gaming site, NewGrounds.com back in December 2004, he says: ‘for the heck of it.’ Two years after, 13 million people had watched the numa numa video already! It grabbed so much attention that it was featured in the newspapers, radio and in some TV shows like NBC’s The Tonight’s Show with Jay Leno, ABC’s Good Morning America, and VH1’s Best Week Ever. The June/July issue of The Believer featured everything behind the numa numa phenomenon, quoting, “singlehandedly justifies the existence of webcams (….) It’s a movie of someone who is having the time of his life, wants to share his joy with everyone, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks…”

Originally, the video was intended to make his friends laugh by goofing off. Brolsma never dreamt that his “joke” would later be a phenomenon in the world wide web. “I’m just a regular guy that sits in front of his computer bored out of his mind messing around on the internet looking at funny videos and other websites to pass the time,” Brolsma said in an interview.

He also had no particular reason for choosing Dragostea din tei, either. “The song itself was pretty random, I found it in another (I believe it was Japanese) flash animation with cartoon cats, I don’t know honestly.  From what I gathered, they are a Romanian pop band, now recently broken up,” said Brolsma. His viral video has also caused the song to climb the top of the music charts both in their country and worldwide.

Brolsma also added a new video, entitled “New Numa” or “Numa Two” as a ‘sequel’ to the numa numa craze.  According to him, New Numa was just a reaction to fans to give them something new from him, and to let them know he’s still around and doing well, and just overall conveying the message of fun and laughter. It has already been viewed over 14 million times in YouTube.com already.

Sing the Numa Numa! Lyrics and Translation

The Numa Numa part of O-zone’s 2002 hit Dragostea din tei is probably the most popular lines of any song, even now, after 8 years have passed. Thanks to viral video maker Gary Brolsma, this song has not only sustained its popularity, but also spread worldwide. Rekindling its fame, in 2004, Dragostea din tei is now better known around the world as the numa numa song.

Lots of adaptations, parodies, and revivals of the song were recorded in different countries, making the numa numa song a phenomenon, You can see a lot of people worldwide that do the numa numa dance. The song may be ridiculously popular, but only those who speak Romanian, or at least have an idea on how it’s spoken know what the lyrics really mean. What is the song saying? Let’s find out:

The title Dragostea din tei is Romanian for “Love of the linden tree,” where linden trees are mostly associated with Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu’s poems. The song is basically about a man’s unrequited love for a woman. Here are the lyrics of the song, followed by the translation:

Lyrics:

*Ma-ia-hii

Ma-ia-huu

Ma-ia-hoo

Ma-ia-haha

(4x)

I

Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc,

Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea.

Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso,

Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,

Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.

**Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.

II

Te sun, sa-ti spun, ce simt acum,
Alo, iubirea mea, sunt eu, fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt iarasi eu, Picasso,
Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,
Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.

(Repeat **, Repeat *, Repeat **)

Translation:

(* is just vocalization, no meaning to the words)

I

Hello [on a cellphone], greetings, it’s me, an outlaw,
I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me, Picasso,
I sent you a beep, and I’m brave,
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.

** You want to leave but you don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want don’t want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees,
And I remember your eyes.

II

I call you, to tell you what I feel right now,
Hello, my love, it’s me, your happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me again, Picasso,
I sent you a beep and I’m brave ,
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.

Whatever Happened to the Numa Numa Guy?

Around 700 million people across the world watched the Numa Numa guy. Since 2004, he’s been lip-syncing and dancing to the tune of Dragostea din tei by the O-zone, and can be viewed in various video streaming sites around the world wide web. With the funny dance moves, hilarious facial expressions, and the catchy tune of the numa numa song, who wouldn’t be caught laughing at the sight of the numa numa guy and his antics?

Enter Gary Brolsma, born in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, also known as the numa numa guy. 6 years ago, he was just your average 18-year old, always pulling out the extra effort to make his friends laugh. He’s quite fond of making mini documentaries about irrelevant things, little flash video clips meant to entertain those watching it, and goofing around. In short, he’s quite the fun-loving guy. In November of that same year (2004), he made the numanuma video we all know and love. A week after it was made, he submitted the video to newgrounds.com, thus igniting the craze we know now as the numanuma.

Revisiting newgrounds.com after 2 years (September 2006), he was surprised to see that there were over 13 million hits to his original numa numa video, and his fame didn’t stop there. He appeared in a lot of magazines, radio programs, newspapers, and TV shows, and was voted the number 1 Internet icon by 40 Greatest Internet Superstars airing in VH1. The phenomenon did not only gave Brolsman international fame, but it also put the numa numa song, or the Dragostea din tei, in the international charts.

Brolsma did not stop after the first numa numa craze. Collaborating with Dan Balan, the writer of Dragostea din tei, they made a sequel video to the original numa numa craze, entitled “New Numa.” With Brolsma’s comic antics, and Balan’s new song, that he wrote specifically for the making of the video, it had over 14 million hits in youtube alone.

Aside from making goofy videos, Brolsma plays in a band. He is currently the vocals and the keyboardist of “The Nowadays” band, along with some of his closest friends. They currently unsigned, and only have one recorded song, entitled “Motionless.” The rest of the band also appeared in the New Numa video.

From a thing out of boredom, to something really sensational: it only goes to show that people around the world may share the same humor. In a way, Brolsma showed us that.

Numa Numa ChatRoulette

Chat Roulette is one of the most talked about sites on the web right now. It’s a site where people hook up with one another using their webcams. You are randomly matched up with another user, see their face on the screen and have the option to chat with them or just click the next button to be paired up again randomly with different user.

Now we all know how much everybody loves the Numa Numa Dance Song, but one user wanted to see what the reaction would be from people when he put the Numa Numa guy on ChatRoulette and played the NumaNuma song.

It’s cool to see people smiling and dancing in response, but what I loved was the classic hand pump that Gary Brolsma does in the Numa Numa video. If you use the Internet, you’ve definitely seen this video and if you listen to the radio, you’ve definitely heard some cover version of it.

On the subject of Chatroulette, it seems to be one of the weirdest and wildest sites that have ever been invented. Some people have an amazing experience while others come across as a bunch of naked perverts. They need to find a way to weed out the perverts and to keep things fun without the sick factor.

Congrats to the person that made this video and posted it. As always, when we hear the Numa Numa song it brings a smile to our faces.

Numa Numa Flashmob in Amsterdam Theater

This is such a great video of a group of people in a Theater in Amsterdam Holland doing a group song and dance of the Numa Numa dance. It’s almost like a flashmob experience where all of a sudden a whole group gets involved in a cool and crazy activity.

What’s amazing about the Numanuma dance song is that it is so catchy. A lot of people who have never even heard of Numa Numa hear the song once and they’re completely and utterly hooked. It is without a doubt one of the catchiest and most entertaining songs that hit the Internet and is a clear cut winner when it comes to famous viral videos that have made their way across the world wide web.

Vizio Super Bowl ad with Gary Brolsma Numa Numa

We’re proud to say that one of the commercials from this year’s Super Bowl included Gary Brolsma the Numa Numa guy. Vizio’s commercial basically pans around a grid of blocks each of which contains some sort of character, show or logo. There are a series of robot hands (really made me think of Google’s Android phone “Droid Does” commercials) that are grabbing the characters and dumping them into some sort of hole in the middle of the floor. The message of the commercial is that Vizio has True LED performance TVs and a suite of Vizio Internet apps that let you experience the best of the web on your TV. The Numa Numa piece comes around two thirds of the way through as you see Gary doing his classic dance while being shifted away by the robots.

Devices like the Roku are also jumping on board with web related channels such as Pandora. I can’t say I’m in love with using a TV remote to post on Twitter or Facebook, but the general idea is awesome and obviously the future will definitely consist of a world where the web and TV are tightly integrated.

Now all we need is a new Numa Numa song and video to keep us happy.

The Original Numa Numa dance song with a stupid video

There have been lots and lots of versions of the brilliant Numa Numa song. You can see the original on this site as well as some other cool remixes and videos. Somehow, the Numa Numa song is just so good that it can make just about any video look good. It’s not meant to be a theme song or a soundtrack per se. It’s just meant to be flat out cool and catchy. Watch the video below which has the original song played to a video of a bunch of guys (I’ll let you decide if this is the original Dragostea Din Tei O-Zone group or not) dancing around and playing the fool.

Now you have to remember that if you were watching some other modern song and saw a music video of this nature, you’d feel cheated and let down. Not so when it comes to the NumaNuma song This classic makes just about anything look good. Even a bunch of guys dancing around like kids. They are pretty funny though I have to say. Kudos on the video guys.

Now I challenge you to walk away and block the song out of your head.

The Numa Numa Dance Song English Lyrics

It’s difficult to track down the actual lyrics of the song in English and lets face it, most of us can’t speak Romanian. Below are the lyrics in English:

Chorus (Sounds)
Miya-hee
Miya-hoo
Miya-ho
Miya-haha

Hello (on a cellphone), greetings, it’s me, an outlaw,
I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me, Picasso,
I sent you a beep (cellphone signal), and I’m brave,
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.

You want to leave but you don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want don’t want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees,
And I remember your eyes.

I call you (over the phone), to tell you what I feel right now,
Hello, my love, it’s me, your happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me again, Picasso,
I sent you a beep (cellphone signal) and I’m brave,
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.

Not sure if these lyrics are actually that interesting. It’s actually the first part (the Miya-hee, Miya-hoo, Miya-ho, Miya-haha stuff) that’s really cool and catchy. You may not agree with me, but I personally don’t care much for the lyrics. I just love that catchy old tune.

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