Gospel Song Makes History: First to Reach 1 Billion Views on TikTok
Left to Right: Mike Greene (VP, ADA Worldwide), Cat Kreidich (President, ADA Worldwide), Sherwin Gardner, Dr. Kristin Darvile-Gardner (Sherwin’s wife) , April Pope (VP, ADA Worldwide), Adriana Sein (SVP, ADA Worldwide), Dominique Taverna (Digital Marketing Strategist, ADA Worldwide), and Emanuel Okusanya (Media Relations, ADA Worldwide).
Sherwin Gardner, a Trinidadian singer based in the Bahamas, has been singing professionally for four decades. But, his current release, “Find Me Here (Blessings Find Me),” is the biggest of his career. It has surpassed a billion views on TikTok and earned him a seat in a tight circle of TikTok influencers such as illusionist, Zach King, and actor, The Rock. It’s the first gospel song to reach this milestone. Since the Afrobeat track dropped in January, it has scored 1.1 billion TikTok views, 9.2 million digital streams, and 2.2 million user-generated creations. He recently stopped into the Manhattan offices of his distributor ADA to meet the staff and celebrate the song’s success.
The song has been shared or shouted-out on social media by such luminaries as Pop star Alicia Keys, rapper EVE, gospel singer Yolanda Adams, New Jack Swing producer Teddy Riley, actor Kel Mitchell, and lifestyle influencer, Tabitha Smith.
“I created a 46 second song to post as a New year’s Day affirmation,” Gardner recalls. “When I posted the video, I was thinking 100 people might like it. The next day, there were 100,000 views. By the end of the week, it was a million views.”
The views ignited a bidding war between recording labels such as Sony, Island, and Universal Music. Gardner didn’t even have a full song to offer yet. So, he rushed into his Bahamian studio to create a full track. Then, he emailed it to Julius Nana, a Kenyan musician, to arrange. After Nana emailed it back, Gardner cut the lead and background vocals, added other atmospherics, and mixed it down himself.
Gardner’s Flow Masters imprint partnered with Indiana-based Tyscot Records which is distributed by ADA / a Warner Music Group company. Since its January 2024 release, the song has charted on five different Billboard Magazine charts, including the World Digital Songs chart where it rose to No. 7, and the Gospel Digital Songs chart where it peaked at No. 2. Gardner is currently working on a new album of Afrobeat songs entitled, Found, that will release later in 2024.
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