Canadian pop duo Neon Dreams have been riding the wave of success of their hit single ‘Life Without Fantasies’ since its release in July 2019 but over the past few months, the group noticed a spike in streams in South Africa – prompting an official release in October last year. Since then, song has been blowing up around South Africa becoming both a viral hit and a radio chart-topper.
Naturally, the group is thrilled to hear that the song has had a resurgence in South Africa. What do they attribute the success to? Lead vocalist Frank Kadillac explains: “Life Without Fantasies” is one of my favourite songs that I’ve written. It’s uplifting with a world sound vibe to it so I’m not surprised it caught on in South Africa. Fans in Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Pretoria began reaching out to us over social media saying the most beautiful things.”
He adds “We connected with as many fans as possible performing on Instagram live feeds, sending personal videos and private zoom concerts. We are extremely grateful for the love we are experiencing. Sometimes music just needs to find the right home.”
The lyrical content is something that has identified with fans across the country. Frank says that “When you don’t fit in, it’s like you’re forced to see the world differently. These are the fantasies of a very uncool, unpopular kid. These fantasies were sparked from years of being picked on and desperately wanting to fit in. I realized fantasies about money, girls and luxury are fun to think about but in reality, those things don’t make you happy. All I want is some happiness and a little bit of pain to know what’s real.”
‘Life Without Fantasies’ dominated South African streaming charts, spending over a month on Spotify’s Viral 50 peaking at #2 and is currently on a number of Apple Music and Spotify playlists as well as the local Shazam. The single has received exciting feedback from South African media, and has recently peaked at #1 on the Ofm Central South Africa Top30 as well as regular daytime play on 5fm.
