It happened in 2019. You couldn't walk into a grocery store, turn on the radio, or scroll through TikTok without hearing that piercing, staccato vocal style. Dance Monkey by Tones and I wasn't just a hit song; it was a cultural takeover. Honestly, it was everywhere. Toni Watson, the Australian busker known as Tones and I, went from living in a van to breaking global records in what felt like a blink. But even now, years later, the track continues to rack up billions of streams. Why? It's kind of a weird song if you think about it. The vocals are polarizing. The beat is simple. Yet, it stuck.
People love to debate the "annoyance factor" of the track. Some critics called it grating. Others found it revolutionary. Whatever your take, the numbers don't lie. By 2020, it had spent a record-breaking 24 weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart and topped the charts in over 30 countries. It’s one of the most Shazamed songs in history.
The Busking Roots of Dance Monkey Tones and I
Before the fame, Toni Watson was just a girl with a keyboard and a loop station on the streets of Byron Bay. This is crucial. You can't understand the song without understanding the hustle. Busking is brutal. You have maybe three seconds to catch a passerby's attention before they walk away forever. Tones developed her unique vocal delivery—that high-pitched, almost cartoonish rasp—specifically to cut through the noise of a busy street.
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It worked.
The lyrics of Dance Monkey are actually a meta-commentary on the audience's demands. She wrote it about the pressure of being a street performer. "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh, oh, oh." It's literal. She was tired of people treating her like a jukebox, filming her on their phones without engaging, and demanding "one more" before they moved on. It’s ironic, really. A song about the exhaustion of performing for a fickle crowd became the very thing that forced her to perform for the entire world, over and over again.
Why the "Aussie Accent" isn't actually an accent
A lot of people think she's putting on a fake accent. Not really. In the music industry, this is often called "indie pop voice" or "vowel breaking." You've heard it with artists like Halsey or CocoRosie. But Tones pushed it further. She uses a specific technique to squeeze the air in her throat, creating that "clamped" sound. It's a stylistic choice, not a natural speaking voice. This polarizing sound is exactly what helped the song go viral. In a world of polished, Auto-Tuned pop, something that sounds "weird" acts like a thumbprint. You know exactly who it is within two seconds.
Breaking Down the Viral Mechanics
Why did it explode on TikTok? The "drop" is perfect for short-form video. It's bouncy. It’s easy to dance to. It has a tempo of 98 beats per minute, which is that "sweet spot" for walking or rhythmic movement.
But it wasn't just luck.
- The Loop Station Mentality: Because the song was written on a loop station, it's repetitive in a way that feels hypnotic rather than boring.
- Universal Relatability: Even if you aren't a busker, everyone knows the feeling of being "on" for others.
- The Music Video: Seeing a young woman dressed up as an elderly man (Old Mr. Tones) playing golf was just surreal enough to get people talking.
The success of Dance Monkey Tones and I also highlighted a massive shift in how the Australian music industry exports talent. Usually, an artist has to break the US or UK first. Tones did the opposite. She broke Spotify Global charts first, and the radio followed. It was a bottom-up success story that bypassed the traditional gatekeepers of "cool."
The Backlash and the Longevity
Success breeds contempt. We've seen it with "Despacito" and "Old Town Road." When a song reaches a certain level of saturation, the internet turns on it. Tones and I has been candid about how the "Dance Monkey" fame affected her mental health. She’s mentioned in interviews with The Guardian and Triple J that the sudden scrutiny was overwhelming. People weren't just criticizing the song; they were attacking her as a person.
Interestingly, while the "cool" kids moved on, the song stayed. It’s a staple at weddings, kids' parties, and sporting events. It has entered the "permanent pop" lexicon. It’s one of those rare tracks that crosses generational lines. Toddlers love the high-pitched vocals; grandparents love the simple, upbeat piano riff.
The Financial Impact
Let's talk money for a second. With over 3 billion streams on Spotify alone, the royalties from this single track are staggering. Industry estimates suggest a song with those numbers generates tens of millions of dollars in publishing and streaming revenue. For an independent artist (at the time of release), that’s life-changing. It allowed her to build her own studio and support a whole ecosystem of Australian creatives.
What Musicians Can Learn From the Tones Phenomenon
If you're a creator, there’s a massive lesson here. Don't polish away your "flaws." The very thing that people mocked—her voice—is the reason she’s a multimillionaire.
Authenticity is a buzzword, but in this case, it was literal. She didn't try to sound like Ariana Grande. She sounded like a girl who had been shouting over seagulls and drunk tourists in Byron Bay for two years.
- Polarization is a tool: If 50% of people love you and 50% hate you, you’re famous. If 100% of people think you’re "okay," you’re invisible.
- The "Hook" comes first: The piano melody in Dance Monkey is incredibly simple. Anyone can play it. That’s the point. It’s an earworm that doesn't require a music theory degree to appreciate.
- Context matters: The song was a reaction to her environment.
Moving Past the Monkey
Tones and I has released plenty of music since, including her albums Welcome to the Madhouse and Beautifully Ordinary. While nothing has quite hit the astronomical heights of her breakout single, she has maintained a loyal fanbase. Songs like "Fly Away" and "Cloudy Day" show a more vulnerable, soulful side of her voice that "Dance Monkey" masked with its frantic energy.
She’s also a powerhouse live performer. If you see her in concert, she’s still using that loop station. She’s still building tracks from scratch. It’s a reminder that she isn't a "studio creation." She’s a musician who happened to write a song that the entire world decided to play at the same time.
Actionable Steps for Exploring the Tones and I Discography
If you only know the big hit, you're missing out on the full picture of Toni Watson's talent. To truly understand her impact, look beyond the memes.
- Watch the live busking videos: Go to YouTube and search for her early Byron Bay sets. You’ll see the raw energy that the studio version tries to capture.
- Listen to "Bad Child": This track showcases her ability to write dark, narrative-driven pop that is significantly more complex than her debut.
- Analyze the Production: Listen to the song with high-quality headphones. Notice how "dry" the vocals are. There isn't much reverb. This makes it feel like she's standing right next to you, which contributes to that "intense" feeling people get when they hear it.
- Check out her 2024/2025 releases: Her newer work has matured significantly, leaning more into orchestral arrangements and raw vocal power without the "character" voice.
The story of Dance Monkey Tones and I is a testament to the power of the "weird." It proved that a girl with a keyboard and a strange voice could bypass the entire industry just by being impossible to ignore. Whether you love it or leave it, you can't deny that it changed the landscape of modern pop.
To understand the current state of pop music, you have to look at how "Dance Monkey" paved the way for other "unconventional" voices on the charts. It broke the mold for what a female pop star "should" sound like, prioritizing character and grit over traditional beauty standards or vocal perfection. This shift continues to influence A&R scouts looking for the next viral sensation on social media platforms today.