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3 Moments That Proved IYAZ Is A Legend

By July 2nd, 2022No Comments
It’s a no-brainer that representation is extremely important. Similar to how African-American children benefit from seeing people that look like them do amazing things, young Virgin Islanders find inspiration in people from the same few square miles as them do great things too!
When you’re from what seems like a tiny speck on the map, it’s hard to truly believe you can manifest dreams on a global scale. We do know it’s possible, however, not just because granny says you can be anything you want to be, but because it was done before. A boy from Carrot Bay once made the entire world put his song on replay, and today we celebrate him by reliving three moments that proved he’s a legend.

via Gfycat

1. The Moment Replay Was EVERYWHERE

Every Virgin Islander remembers visiting America and quickly realizing after a few car rides that radio stations there play the same few songs over and over again. The one time this evoked pride (instead of annoyance) was when “Replay” by IYAZ was a part of the rotation. If you don’t remember the feeling you got when you first realized that IYAZ was taking off, you may be too young for the rest of this post. 😂
Here’s a summary of the song’s chart performance that may give you a better understanding of how big of a deal it was:

Internationally, the single also topped the charts in Australia, Israel and Switzerland and peaked within the top 10 of the charts in many countries, including Finland, France and the United States. 

 After two weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and six weeks at the top of the UK R&B Chart, “Replay” was succeeded by Owl City’s “Fireflies”.  In June 2010, it was announced that “Replay” was the third highest selling single of the year in the UK at that point.

In the US, “Replay” managed to reach the number two spot on the Hot 100 for one week, behind Kesha’s “Tik Tok”. As of December 2012, Replay has sold over four million digital copies.

via GIPHY

2. The Moment He Was On Disney Channel

“Gonna Get This” STILL pops up on Twitter and goes viral every couple of months, with hundreds of millennials in the replies reliving their childhood and celebrating this bop! I vividly remember reminding my mom that I could not miss the airing of this episode. Streaming wasn’t a thing back then, so if you missed it, Lord knows when the random rerun would air again. 😩
Seeing him on THEE DISNEY CHANNEL brought even more pride than hearing him on the radio. If you missed this, thankfully, there’s Disney+ now, and you can watch it in HD. Season 4, Episode 8: Hannah’s Gonna Get This. You’re welcome.

3. The Moment He Was In The We Are The World Remake

80 artists across multiple genres were selected to create a remake of “We Are The World” in celebration of its 25th anniversary and in dedication to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010. If you look right behind Swizz Beats and Snoop Dogg, you’ll see young IYAZ in a backward cap. Here’s a screenshot:

Watch Video Here

Feeling inspired? Here’s one last shot of inspiration for the road.
In addition to IYAZ’s success proving that someone from a small island can accomplish big things, he also wrote the perfect song for anyone feeling underestimated. “Look At Me Now” is a classic known by any true IYAZ fan and the ultimate motivational anthem for all the underdogs.
9 years ago, he headed back to the Bay that made him the man that he is today and filmed the music video on his grandmother’s porch. “Many thought that I would fail, that I’d just end up jail. Look at me now.”
We see you, Keidran. We saw you then, and we see you now! Congratulations on all your accomplishments, and thank you for representing us so well. 💜
In a recent Kickin Live, IYAZ told us that he had one goal for his career, and that was to have a song that’s played all over the world. With that complete, he is more interested in seeing the next generation of artists succeed.
As for Kickin it, the feeling is mutual! I hope this article inspires an upcoming creator to keep dreaming. ✨