Weezer's Cover of Toto's AFRICA Reaches Number One at Alternative Radio

Weezer continues to bless the rains! This past May, the band released two covers of Toto songs, a response to a Twitter campaign started by a then fourteen year old fan in Cleveland who thought the band would be a perfect candidate to play "Africa." Turns out everyone agreed with her -- the band's version of the song became an instant viral smash, hitting No. 1 on iTunes the week of its release and landing on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remains.

Since then, "Africa" has shown no signs of slowing down: it is currently now a #1 Alternative radio hit for the second week in a row, breaking the record for most plays at Alternative radio in a single week, and giving Weezer their FIFTH #1, TENTH Top 5, and SIXTEENTH Top 10 at the format. Weezer's last Alternative #1 hit was "Feels Like Summer," which topped Mediabase's Alternative Radio Airplay Chart in 2017, from the band's last album, Pacific Daydream. "Africa" is also currently Top 10 at Hot AC as well, in addition taking over pop radio at Sirius XM's Hits 1, WBLI/Long Island, and WNCI/Columbus with Power Rotation!

On the streaming side, "Africa" has amassed over 25 million streams to date, and has landed Top 25 at U.S. Shazam, while climbing steadily up the Shazam Worldwide Top 200.

The wildfire response to "Africa" comes on top of Weezer's most successful summer tour to date, selling out venues like The Forum in Los Angeles and moving close to half a million tickets across the country. Last week, Weird Al Yankovic made a guest appearance at the band's LA show to play "Africa" with them as well. Earlier in the summer, the band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live with a guest spot from Toto's Steve Porcaro; the clip has been viewed on YouTube nearly two million times.

Photo credit: Jeremy Cowart