TJ Mack wants you to know it’s okay to sit down: NPR

TJ Mack – also known as Brian Jordan Alvarez.

Brennan Goldstein

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Brennan Goldstein

TJ Mack – also known as Brian Jordan Alvarez.

Brennan Goldstein

Actor and comedian Brian Jordan Alvarez is a prolific internet poster. Now, one of his recent videos has taken on a new life.

Who is he? TJ Mac is a wide-eyed pop star who loves to sing, shop, and talk about his wife.

• Mac is one of many characters created by Alvarez, a Colombian-American actor, comedian, and director who has starred in television shows and films such as the reboot of Will & GraceAnd M3GAN.

What is the big deal? Simply put, sitting is the opposite of standing. If that doesn’t make sense, it soon will.

• Earlier this month, Alvarez posted a video of Mack’s character on X, with his signature filter, singing a catchy little tune about how he enjoys sitting around. You can watch for yourself below, but be careful, it’ll probably get stuck in your head.

• Since then, like every other earworm of incomprehensible popularity, the song has taken off, racking up millions of views on X, and attracting others on Instagram and TikTok. Sittingmania resulted in a host of remixes and covers, ranging from techno to screamo to indie folk.

• An unofficial fan favorite is a remix by Australian musician Josh Mac, which has garnered over 100,000 plays on Spotify since its release earlier this week, and has also gotten some airplay on an Australian radio station.

What does she say? Alvarez spoke with All things considered Host Ari Shapiro talks about the life he lived in this video.

I have created over 100 videos as TJ Mack. So when Sitting Song came to you, did you think, “Oh, this is ‘My Unrestrained Melody’, this is ‘Like a Prayer’?”

It felt like it was special, you know? The funny thing is that my videos are usually very unexpected. I take one and post it. And I captured this particular song, and for some reason the audio didn’t register. So I did it again. The second time I did it, it was tighter and cleaner.

How did you feel when you saw all these people reacting to your silly song?

It was incredible. The funny thing is that I play all these characters. And now I have this song and the song has a structure. It has bones, doesn’t it? And then you see the song doing characters. So the song became all these different songs that could be in this kind of multiverse of crazy sitting around.

Brian, what advice can you give us all to get the song out of our heads?

I think, keep listening. Keep letting it go deeper and deeper. It will work itself out. If you’re in the process of getting the song out of your head, and need to release a full cover of the song and post it online, I encourage you to do so. I think this is the best treatment.

You know, one of my colleagues said, “He must be really upset because this is what made him so famous.” But I feel like you’re so inclined. You just devour everything with gusto.

I’m thrilled. You know, I couldn’t be happier to have this moment. And I’ve been doing little songs like that my whole life. And I’ve dreamed in so many different versions of this moment, so I’m grateful.

So what now?

• Analysts expect chair shares to rise significantly in connection with the popularity of Mac’s song.
• this is not true. I just made that up.

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