Catchy Fortnite parody song “Chug Jug With You” goes viral on TikTok

Theo Salaun
chug jug with you tomato town song tiktok 2

Based on Kanye West and Estelle’s “American Boy,” a Fortnite parody song is the latest viral hit on TikTok. It’s called “Chug Jug With You,” it’s from 2018, and people love it.

“We got a number one Victory Royale — yeah Fortnite, we’re about to get down ). Ten kills on the board right now, just wiped out Tomato Town.”

If your TikTok algorithm has thrown you anywhere near the gaming or good-vibe spheres, chances are you’ve heard those magical words. Several years after its debut, a Fortnite parody of “American Boy” has gone viral on the platform, and its “get down” ad lib is everyone’s latest source of immediate serotonin. 

“My friend just got downed, I revived him, now we’re heading southbound. Now, we’re in the Pleasant Park streets, look at the map, go to the mark sheets.”

Sorry, but it’s probably bad luck not to finish that off. Plus, if you’ve heard it, then the melody was probably already in your head. Alternatively, if you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the latest gift (or curse) bestowed upon us by Fortnite kids, then it might be best to start with a classic example of how happy it’s making people.

The original parody, “Let’s play Fortnite!!!!,” was created by YouTube’s CM SKITS back in 2018, but, with about 84,000 views, it didn’t gain very much nationwide traction. An artist named Leviathan then made a version, titled “Chug Jug With You” around 2019, and that melodically infused rendition has gone up to over 400,000 plays on SoundCloud. 

As TikTok is known to do, the song has now, years later, made an incredible resurgence. Not only are there over 100,000 videos made using the sound, but some of them — like Ethan ‘H3HE’ Klein and GeorgeNotFound’s reactions — have millions of likes (and even more views).

Past the sea of joyful reactions, the track has also spawned a variety of creative collaborations. In one such example, musician ‘adamtahere’ called it the “catchiest song I’ve ever heard” and proceeded to sing a beautifully autotuned version.

Like Dota 2 and Netflix, the song has even gotten an animation treatment. And, while the budget is obviously lower for this one, ‘Pan_animates’ nonetheless had to bring Leviathan’s ode to Fortnite, Estelle and Kanye to artistic life.

Ever since Fortnite released in 2017, it has fluctuated as a blend between gaming and mainstream culture. Some parents and teachers probably got mad at all of the game’s dances infecting their homes and schools, but it seems that the game’s influence is welcomed on TIkTok.

As the dust settles and games like Call of Duty: Warzone take footholds in the battle royale world, we appear to have been granted the mental space to appreciate some of Fortnite’s offerings. From the “dog water” and “my friend, Justin” memes to “Chug Jug With You,” the game is getting love on TikTok.