"Toto" | ||||
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Single by Drax Project | ||||
from the album Noon | ||||
Released | 13 August 2018 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:09 | |||
Label | Drax Project, Universal Music New Zealand | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Drax Project singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Toto" on YouTube |
"Toto" is a song by New Zealand band Drax Project. Inspired by vocalist Shaan Singh quitting their full-time jobs to pursue music, "Toto" was released as the second single from the Noon EP in August 2018. The song was a commercial success, becoming platinum certified in New Zealand.
The song was written by the band the day after the band members quit their full-time jobs to pursue music. [1] While not directly inspired by the 1982 song "Africa" by Toto, the band references "Africa" in the song's lyrics, and wanted to recreate the same joyfulness present in "Africa". [1] The first stanza of the song's lyrics are a direct quote by vocalist Shaan Singh, who was describing his day to a friend. [2] The band performed the song live before deciding on a finished version of the song's lyrics. Due to a fan's strong response to the song, the band were convinced to leave the song as it was, and release the song on the Noon EP. [3]
The song was first unveiled as a track on the Noon EP, which was released on 8 June 2018. A month later on 13 August, the song was announced as the band's next single. [4] "Toto" was later featured in the band's debut album Drax Project . A music video was produced for the song, a dance rehearsal video made in collaboration with Samsung, that does not feature members of the band. [5]
The single climbed the charts in October 2018, [6] and was certified platinum in 2019. [7]
Credits adapted from Tidal. [8]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ) [7] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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