Format Digital download Length 3:31 | Recorded 2011 | |
Released December 15, 2012
February 7, 2014 (re-release) Genre Alternative rock
kwaito Label Tokoloshe
Epic
Rock All Night Productions LLC | ||
"Come with Me Now" is a song by South African band Kongos. Initially released in 2012 as single from their album Lunatic, "Come with Me Now" earned commercial success in the United States in 2014, eventually peaking at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and becoming their first charting single in the United States.
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Background and release
In 2011, Kongos released their album Lunatic, which featured "Come with Me Now" which was released as a single. With the band performing the song live while opening for American band Linkin Park in South Africa, "Come with Me Now" was considered a fan favorite there though it initially struggled to find an audience in the United States. The band admitted that when "it didn't seem like things were getting along we really lost heart – we were ready to move on to new material".
In early January 2014, the song began receiving airplay in the US, generating major label attention for the band which was eventually signed to Epic Records. It was released to US contemporary hit radio on 15 April 2014. The song appears on the soundtrack of the movie The Expendables 3.
The song was released in the UK as the lead single off Lunatic on August 17, 2014.
Composition
"Come with Me Now" has been described by Billboard as an "accordion-tinged" rock song. Members of the band themselves say that the song is heavily influenced by kwaito music, which is described as being a blend of South African jazz, township pop, and Western house music.
Commercial performance
On April 9, 2014, "Come with Me Now" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first charting single on the chart; it has since peaked at number 31. It has since also topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. By reaching the summit of the chart in 10 weeks, it is the quickest song of a rookie band to top the chart since American rock band Evanescence's 2003 song "Bring Me to Life". The single has also peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart and number 7 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States, as of December 2014. The single is currently peaking at number 14, number 16, and number 18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 charts, respectively. The song also topped the Official South African Singles Chart and peaked in the top 40 in New Zealand. The single has sold over 1 million copies in the US, and over 160,000 copies in Canada.
Music video
The music video for "Come with Me Now" was uploaded on July 31, 2012. As of January 2016, the video has received a total of over 50 million views on YouTube. The video includes footage of the band playing the song, intercut with looped shots of people performing other activities such as applying makeup, exercising, and flipping through a magazine.
Live performances
The band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 5, 2014.