What is Chocolate Rain on YouTube?

"Chocolate Rain" is not a new dessert being featured at TGIF. It's also not a scene from the Willie Wonka movies. Actually, "Chocolate Rain" is a song that has spread like wildfire over-you guessed it- the internet and Youtube. See for yourself here.

Maybe some of you are like me and haven't caught on until now, but the "Chocolate Rain" song already has hundreds of parodies, just like the Hamster Dance, the Crazy Frog, and the Peanut Butter Jelly Dancing Banana sensations from recent years. This one, though, is actually based on a human performance, much like the fat Star Wars kid and lonelygirl15. And just like those videos, it involves a catchy tune and an unusual source.

The source, in this case, is Tay Zonday. Zonday, whose real name is Adam Bahner, is an amateur musician. He's also a grad student at Minneapolis University. What makes Zonday the unusual source is that, although he looks about 12, he's 25 and has a voice as deep as James Earl Jones' voice.

This lead many to believe that Zonday was a fraud and this was him lip synching or using vocal enhancers to make his voice sound unusually deep. But after live appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel show and an interview on G4, the "Chocolate Rain" writer is for real.

I can see why this song is catching on. "Chocolate Rain" is cheesy, and the lyrics are fairly deep, but the tune and repetitive chorus is catchy. You hear "Chocolate Rain" about 48 times with verses like "Chocolate Rain/They say crime has a higher price to pay/ Chocolate Rain/ the judge swears it's not the face/Chocolate Rain". Is it a social commentary about the mistreatment and misrepresentation of blacks? Could it just be nonsensical, non-sequitirs interspersed with the mantra-like "chocolate rain" sang over and over? Who knows? It's still going to get in your head.

Tonday's unusual voice is only beset by the even stranger mannerisms of him singing "Chocolate Rain". Tonday can be seen leaning over and over quickly; seemingly catching his breath before other deep-sounding, cryptic lyrics is belted out. He often twists his mouth sideways while he sings. Combine all those with a pre-surgery Michael Jackson-like face and you're setting yourself up for parody.

At least Tonday gets parodied by the best. John Mayer has his own version. So does Tre Cool from Green Day. Heck, there's even a nun doing a guitar acoustic version of "Chocolate Rain". My favorite is the 8-bit version. It consists of a video that reminds of an old Nintendo Entertainment System game circa 1989. There's a MIDI soundtrack accompanied by a horrible opening storyline, light graphics, and that overall feel that you are just about to save the world using Metal Gear.

Tonday may be posed for future success. He's not a trained musician but has actually made a number of songs for viewing tackling all kinds of subjects. Tonday also covers Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". If you are familiar with Rick Astley and his mismatched voice, you'll get the inside joke.

"Chocolate Rain" is a viral video that will be talked about for years to come.