Nandi Bushell’s Performance With Foo Fighters Puts ‘Everlong’ Back on the Charts
Nandi Bushell, the impressive 11-year-old musician behind so many viral rock cover song videos and related collaborations, realized a dream last month when she sat in on drums with Foo Fighters.
It happened during a performance of the band's 1997 hit "Everlong" at their Aug. 26 concert in Los Angeles.
Now, per Billboard, the studio version of "Everlong," a single from Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape, is back on the rock charts — namely some new ones for the first time. And it's all due to the recognition it received from the performance with Bushell.
For the week ending Sept. 11, "Everlong" reached No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. It also hit No. 2 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, and it landed at No. 17 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart.
None of those charts existed when "Everlong" was released in the '90s, but Billboard has its own rules regarding how older songs can re-chart when experiencing a resurgence in popularity.
Immediately after Bushell's Foo Fighters concert appearance, from Aug. 27–Sept. 2, "Everlong" amassed 2.6 million streams in the U.S., up 4 percent from the usual stats tracked by MRC Data. It sold 1,000 downloads during the same period. That pushed the track to No. 5 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart and No. 19 on both the Rock Digital Song Sales and Alternative Digital Song Sales charts.
Originally, "Everlong," the second Colour and the Shape single, hit No. 3 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart and No. 4 on Mainstream Rock Airplay in 1997.
Bushell's performance with the Foos capped two years of internet stardom for the young rocker. One of her earliest viral hits was a drum cover of Nirvana's "In Bloom," a song based on Grohl's drumming.
As her renown grew, Bushell challenged Grohl to a drum-off and later spoke with the Foos frontman via video. Grohl offered to co-write a song with her and asked if she would join him and the Foo Fighters onstage, which ultimately took place at the Forum in Los Angeles.
Bushell "inspired me last year so much," Grohl said from the Forum stage. "Because in a time where you would pick up your phone or turn on a computer and all you had was bad news, for that one day, you could pick up your phone and see this connection between two people that have never met. Making music together and spreading joy and love across the world. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome the most badass drummer in the world — my new friend Nandi."
Watch the performance below.