Jared Watson, Dustin ‘Duddy B’ Bushnell, Jon Olazabal, Matt Ochoa and David Foral formed Dirty Heads in 2003. Redefining the sound of Southern California, their sound contains equal parts alternative, hip hop, reggae and rock. And not unsuccessfully so, for they amassed over 1,3 billion streams to date. As with so many hits nowadays, TikTok is a big driver recently.

The quintet released the original version of Vacation in 2017, on their sixth album Swim Team. The song pays tribute to those who love their jobs. It went on to become one of the band’s biggest hits, reaching the top echelons of Billboard’s specialist charts like Hot Rock and Alternative Airplay. As a spin-off, Dirty Heads even released their own beer; Vacation Session Ale + Pineapple.

In the summer of 2019, the track suddenly spawned the #vacationtransition trend on TikTok. This was revived in early January 2021 by influencers Bryn Sato and Glenca Chysara. The #vacationtransition hashtag now has over 45,5 million views (and counting). Over 493.000 user generated videos (including one by Jared Watson himself) were watched more than 548,5 million times.

In response to its resurgence, Dirty Heads recorded a new version of their viral hit, which features the band Train. Watson says about it: “Thank you to Pat Monahan for hopping on this new version. It’s a gift to everyone who has made us smile with their ‘Vacation Challenge’ videos over the past year.”

If you love Twenty One Pilots and don’t know Dirty Heads yet, do yourself a favour and check them out!

Recommended as well:
Dirty Heads – Lift Me Up

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Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.