Vietnamese rapper's song goes viral with over 1 bln views

A snippet from Khong Sao Ca (No Problem) by Vietnamese rapper 7dnight has unexpectedly taken the internet by storm over the past month.

The catchy 30-second refrain Gwenchana Ding Ding Ding Dinh Ding has gone viral in multiple countries, amassing over 1 billion views on TikTok.

The song gained traction through dance videos set to its melody, with more than 1.4 million videos now using it as background music.

A host of celebrities, including Aespa, Enhypen, Ateez, Seventeen, Le Sserafim, Jeon Somi, NCT, ZEROBASEONE, Meovv, The Boyz, NMIXX, Treasure, Jung Il Woo, and Thai duo GeminiFourth, have joined the trend, with South Korean and US-based accounts driving much of the hype.

Boy band Seventeen even performed the dance at their concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 8 before an audience of 40,000 fans.

The viral trend has propelled Khong Sao Ca onto the global stage, with no signs of slowing down. One standout video, featuring a dog dancing to the track, has attracted nearly 88 million views and over 11 million likes since being posted on February 3.

The song ranked fifth on TikTok Billboard’s global top 50 from January 27 to February 2, the only Vietnamese track on the chart.

“7dnight’s Khong Sao Ca vaults from No 24 to No 5 in its second week on the chart. Featured on the Vietnamese music competition Rap Viet and released in November 2024, the song gains momentum via a dance trend, with some top-performing clips also featuring pets and stuffed animals,” Billboard noted.

The phrase Gwenchana Ding Ding Ding Dinh Ding has particularly resonated in South Korea, where the song briefly ranked among the top 50 trending tracks on Spotify.

In a January 20 article, Chosun highlighted the song’s surge in popularity, noting it even reached No 1 on search rankings for major music streaming platforms in South Korea.

Korean listeners have called it “a fun and addictive song”, with one commenting that the gwenchana message is “really cool”. Vietnamese fans say its repetitive rhythm makes it easy to remember, comparing it to an “earworm”.

Khong Sao Ca was originally performed by 7dnight during the breakthrough round of Rap Viet season 4.

7dnight, whose real name is Ngo Tuan Đat, 27, a native of Nghe An province. His journey to success has been an inspiring one.

The figure 7 in his stage name represents the seven fingers he was born with - his grandfathers were exposed to defoliant Agent Orange during military service, resulting in a congenital defect in his left hand.

This condition left him struggling with self-doubt for much of his early life.

“I used to get teased, so I often tucked my left hand into my pocket to hide it,” 7dnight said.

After high school, he moved to South Korea, where his biggest fear was applying for jobs in restaurants and farms. He wore work gloves to conceal his hand, but in his first two months, he faced five job rejections after removing them.

“I felt the most hatred towards myself at that time,” he said.

He took any work he could find - construction, farming, selling, dishwashing - working up to 14 hours a day.

Amidst the exhaustion and isolation, music became his escape, initially as a stress reliever, then as a serious pursuit. His goal was to earn enough to pay off his father’s debts and invest in his passion.

During long workdays, song ideas would come to him unexpectedly.

“I’d sneak into the bathroom to write them down before I forgot,” he said.

To his surprise, his social media posts started gaining traction.

Encouraged by rapper BigDaddy, he eventually returned to Vietnam to compete in Rap Viet.

“Coming back was life-changing - music helped me overcome my insecurities,” he said.

Though he didn’t win Rap Viet season 4, he found success, with Khong Sao Ca making waves worldwide.

The term Gwenchana which means "It's okay", "It's alright" or "I'm fine" in Korean, became his personal mantra during difficult times, reminding him to push forward despite his struggles.

Now, with newfound confidence, he no longer feels the need to hide his differences.

“From the start of my career, I’ve wanted to spread positive energy. That’s my mission.”