WATCH: Drakensberg Boys Choir releases new single and music video

Hot on the heels of the success of their release of the Maroon 5 hit Memories, the world-renowned Drakensberg Boys Choir (DBC) dropped their newest single, a catchy take on the smash hit Butter by the global sensation BTS across all digital platforms on July 15.

This comes with a striking music video filmed on location at the scenic Whalebone Pier in Umhlanga, South Africa.
While the DBC is known predominantly for singing classical music, they have always embraced contemporary music, dating back to the 80s.

Over the past two years there has been a drive towards another shift in bringing the choir into a modern space.

This rendition of the worldwide hit Butter was a fun idea of how they can take a well-known pop song with over 780m views of their music video and make it relevant to a choir, but also have some fun with the choreography.

As the original song was not arranged for choir but for the South Korean boy band, they put choir parts in with flowing melodies that complement the lead line. They wanted to showcase the different talents of the boys and didn’t shy away from the rap section.

They also added Zulu over the original melody to bring out the African flavour the DBC is known for – sticking close to the original production of the song, with some added new elements to make it unique to the DBC. The saxophone solo at the end of the original was replaced with a guitar solo. Vocally the song is very different from the original.

Overall, the production still causes you to bob your head, but there is enough difference to peak your interest and make you listen closely.

Butter music video

Filmed on location at the famous Whalebone Pier at Umhlanga, South Africa, the boys are seen dancing up and down the peer from the morning, noon and night.

With smoke and lighting filling up the night sky, you can only smile at the boys having a blast as they dance to the choreography of coach Zakes Nkosi. While some of the dancing is based on the original choreography, it also includes a section of uniquely South African “Pantsula” dancing.

The music video for Butter was made possible through the generous support of Umhlanga Whalebone Pier, Durban Tourism, Durban Film Office, uMlhanga Urban Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP) and Panga Films.

“It was a huge honour and a ton of fun creating our own rendition of this global phenomenon by superstars BTS, a song that took the world by a storm and captured the attention of everyone, us included. And to have the exquisite setting of The Whalebone Pier in Umhlanga as the music video backdrop was an unforgettable experience for all of us.

We can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of our version of Butter,” said producer, Tristan Trent.