Vancouver Island dance duo Funkanometry capped its best year to date with a surprise spike in social media activity — courtesy of a shout-out from Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox.
Lennox posted the video of Funkanometry’s Nanaimo-based Jacksun Fryer and Cowichan-based Carlow Rush dancing to Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) across her social media accounts on Saturday.
The song was a No. 1 hit for Lennox and her band in 1983, and she was clearly impressed by the minute-long street-dance routine, which Funkanometry released online Nov. 16.
“Wowza!! I just saw this incredible interpretation of SWEET DREAMS,” Lennox wrote. “Gentlemen..You’re AMAZING!!!
Fryer, 19, and Rush, 20, who are known for making short but inventive dance videos to a range of popular hits, made it to the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent in August.
Bon Jovi, the Bee Gees and Sharon Osbourne have commented on their videos before, but Lennox’s post moved the needle much more, they said.
Her cross-platform post received more than 280,000 likes on Twitter alone. “I woke up and checked my phone and thought: ‘What just happened?’ ” said Fryer. “At first, I didn’t really understand that she was the one who sang the song. I was just familiar with the band.”
The post sent Funkanometry’s own Twitter account into overdrive. Lennox fans migrated there after she name-checked the duo, resulting in its biggest bump in Twitter activity during its seven years as a unit.
“We gained 40,000 new followers on Twitter in 48 hours,” Fryer said. “It’s insane.”
The duo could not reveal its next professional move, but Fryer said he and Rush both recently received temporary work visas, which allows them to work south of the border for longer stretches.
“We’re definitely going to be going down [to the U.S.] more now that we have visas,” Rush said. “But I love the Island. It would be tough to leave here.”
Thanks for the share and kind words @AnnieLennox 🤯❤️ https://t.co/6OWKAwkktp
— Funkanometry (@funkanometry) December 10, 2022
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