I am sure you have come across songs and TikTok videos that are made to create awareness about COVID-19. But comedian Jamie Lever's song on Coronavirus sung on the tunes of Why This Kolaveri Di has gone viral across the social media platforms. The comedian's video which was posted on Twitter on March 16 has got more than 60,600 views and has been liked by more than 2,900 people.
Jamie is quite happy with the positive responses from her fans not only in India but across the globe. She says, "Everyone is worried and are in the fear of contracting COVID-19. When there are so many negative thoughts going on in people's minds, I thought of entertaining people from home. The idea behind making this song was to lighten the mood when people are staying indoors."
Jamie's song, titled Why This Corona Disease, starts with Jamie coughing herself and her team members suspecting if she also has COVID-19. The lyrics explain from which country it originated and how it all started. Then she goes on to sing about the precautionary measures of wearing a mask, using hand sanitiser and gloves. At the end of the song, when Jamie starts sneezing, everyone runs away leaving her alone. "It is not a serious song at all and this is my way of entertaining people as a comedian. But I feel it is a very positive thought of keeping ourselves clean as Indians have never really thought of hygiene seriously or washed our hands several times a day."
This 32-year-old artist has a small group called Jam with Jamie — they post their jamming sessions online. "On March 15, Rohan Malode, who is part of my group, rang and asked me if we can do a song about COVID-19 and I instantly agreed. I wrote the lyrics and the next day, we shot this song. I was very excited about it and within a few minutes, I uploaded it on Twitter and it went viral," she says.
Singing songs is nothing new to Jamie. All her comedy shows have a blend of songs and music in it. "I have sung songs in different languages including African languages, English, Tamil, Kannada. Also, I learn and sing one song wherever I go to perform. For example, when I went to Chennai, I sang Rowdy Baby."
Jamie is currently staying at home as all her shows and shoots have been postponed for the time being. She is happy to spend time with her family, "I was supposed to perform a set — Johny Lever Live — along with my father in Abu Dhabi but it was postponed till June. Since my father's shoots have also been cancelled, we both are at home spending time together after a long time. We have performed more than 200 times together. In the past five days, we both have just been binging on movies at home or playing with kids in my apartment. It feels good to be spending some quality family time."
Jamie started working as a stand-up comedian in 2012 after she quit her job in London as a marketing executive. Her first tv show was Comedy Circus and then there was no looking back. She also hosted a reality show, red carpet events and acted in a few films. She is a talented mimicry artist as well and can mimic the Asha Bhosle, Kangana Ranaut, Kareen Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and more. So what's next on the cards? She says, "Since, am good at acting, singing, mimicry and dance, I will be doing a stage show which is a mix of all that I can perform — a one woman army. I am looking forward to this and hoping that it a success."
