These Young Twins Accidentally Skyrocketed Sales Of A 1981 Phil Collins Song
As a self-identified “young person,” and as someone whose age is often the subject of some obligatory ridicule, I’ve often found myself totally ignorant to a history that others value deeply. It’s embarrassing. Mostly, this has to do with music. My birth year has the misfortune of straddling the annoying and blurry line that divides Millennials from Generation Z, and so whenever people ask what I think of whichever soft-rock singer from long before 1997, I’m forced to reply with a sheepish, “Sorry — who?”
This is both a symptom of age and a childhood not soundtracked to rock music. Still, I’m always into a belated intro. And apparently so is everyone else. Because while the number one song in the world right now is, obviously, “WAP” — by rap prophets Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion — the second is an unlikelier one, a song that wriggled its way out of 1981 and onto the iTunes charts because of the on-camera discovery of a set of Gen Z twins: it’s Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” 40 years after its release.
Back in July, as the month rolled to a close, a YouTube channel called TwinsthenewTrend, which posts “REACTIONS, VLOGS, PRANKS, AND MUCH MORE IN STORE!!,” published a new video. “FIRST TIME HEARING Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight REACTION” was its title.
In it, the 21-year-old Tim and Fred Williams are gearing up to hear a song that means so much to another generation, but which they’ve never heard of. “What’s this about?” one asks at the beginning. “Let’s see.” And what happens after is so joyful it makes you excited to watch. As the song progresses, their expressions change, they pause to offer insights, and the audience waits for a moment they know is coming, but which the twins don’t have a clue about.
Watch: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” has taken over the world. Story continues below.
“You guys are digging the build up, meanwhile everyone over the age of 40 is like, wait...
