Come with Me Now

"Come with Me Now"
Single by Kongos
from the album Lunatic
Released	2011 7 February 2014 (re-release)
Format	Digital download
Genre	Alternative rock kwaito[1]
Length	3:31
Label	Tokoloshe Epic Rock All Night Productions LLC
Writer(s)	Johnny Kongos
Producer(s)	Kongos
Kongos singles chronology
"I'm Only Joking" (2011) "Come with Me Now" (2011) "I Want to Know" (2012)

"Come with Me Now" is a song by South African band Kongos. Initially released in 2011 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^[2] and becoming their first charting single in the United States.^[2]

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".^[3]

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.^[3] It was released to US contemporary hit radio on 15 April 2014.^[4] 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.^[3] 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.^[1]

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.^[5] It has since also topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.^[2] 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".^[5] The single has also peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart^[2] and number 7 on the Canadian Hot 100.^[2] The song has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States, as of December 2014.^[6] 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,^[7] and over 160,000 copies in Canada.^[8]

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 42 million views on YouTube.^[9] 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.^[1][10]

Use in popular culture

• "Come with Me Now" has been used in commercials for TV shows, theme parks and networks including The Originals, NBC Sports, MSNBC, Syfy, Hemlock Grove, HBO's 2014 summer programming lineup, CNN,^[3] National Geographic Channel Philippines, History Channel (South Africa), NCIS: New Orleans, the Spike TV app, Universal Orlando Resort and Running Wild with Bear Grylls.

• The song was used in the "50 Cameos segment" to kick off the 2014 MTV Movie Awards hosted by Conan O' Brien.

• "Come with Me Now" was the official theme song for WWE's May pay-per-view Extreme Rules.^[11]

• The song was also used for televised sporting events, including the 2013 Rose Bowl, 2013 Orange Bowl^[12] and games for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. It was used as an unofficial theme song for the 2015 Copa América.

• The song appeared in the trailer for the films Holy Motors and Horrible Bosses 2.

• The song was featured in the 2014 NASCAR on FOX season, Tampa Bay Lightning's 2014–15 season and during the pregame of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

• The song was featured in the BBC Sport "Get Carried Away with the Cup" campaign, promoting the return of coverage of The FA Cup to the broadcaster.^[13]

• The song appeared in the "Last Hope" trailer for the video game Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!.^[14]

• The song appeared in the film The Expendables 3, the tv show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 15, Episode 1 and video game Guitar Hero Live.

• The song received notoriety as the song of choice for Kansas State Football intro video for the 2014 college football season.

Mark Ballas and partner Sadie Robertson danced a graveyard zombie theme performance to the tune on Dancing With The Stars

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014–15) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 94 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 65 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 7 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[18] 17 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[19] 11 Canada Rock (Billboard)[20] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 36 South Africa (EMA)[22] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[23] 47 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 125 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 31 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[26] 2 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[27] 1 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 2 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[29] 17 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[30] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[31] 14 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[32] 16

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[33] 27 US Billboard Hot 100[34] 88 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[35] 10 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[36] 2 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[37] 9 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[38] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[39] 43

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[40]	2× Platinum	160,000^^
United States (RIAA)[41]	Platinum	1,300,000[6]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
South Africa	December 15, 2012	Digital download	Tokoloshe	[42]
United States	April 15, 2014	Contemporary hit radio	Epic	[43]
United Kingdom	September 4, 2014	Digital download		[44]

References

1. "New on SONiC This Week!". Sonic 102.9. Rogers Radio. February 14, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
2. "Kongos - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
3. Lipshutz, Jason (March 14, 2014). "Kongos Scores Fastest Top 10 Alternative Debut Single Since Lorde's 'Royals'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
4. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014.
5. Trust, Gary (April 9, 2014). "Pharrell Williams Leads Hot 100; John Legend Gains At No. 2". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
6. "The Big 9 in 2014: Epic". HITS Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
7. Paul Grein (August 20, 2014). "Chart Watch: The Return Of Chris Brown". Yahoo! Music.
8. Gonshor, Bram (August 6, 2014). "Kongos Presented With Double Platinum Plaques For Hit Single "Come With Me Now"". Music Canada. Music Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. "KONGOS - Come with Me Now". YouTube. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
10. "Watch KONGOS Perform "Come With Me Now" On Jimmy Kimmel Live". KROQ 106.7 FM. CBS Local. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
11. "WWE Music". WWE. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
12. "Come With Me Now used during Bowl Championship Series on ESPN". Kongos. January 1, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
13. "Get Carried Away with the Cup - BBC Sport Trail". BBC. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
14. "Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -- Last Hope Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
15. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 January 2015" (PDF) (1298). Pandora Archive. January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Kongos – Come With Me Now" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
17. "Kongos – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
18. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Kongos. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
19. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Canada Hot AC for Kongos. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
20. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Canada Rock for Kongos. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
21. "Charts.org.nz – Kongos – Come With Me Now". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
22. "South African Airplay Chart Top 10 – May 27, 2014". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
23. "Spanishcharts.com – Kongos – Come With Me Now" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
24. Zywietz, Tobias. "CHART: CLUK Update 13.09.2014 (wk36)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
25. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Kongos. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
26. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
27. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
28. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Adult Alternative Songs for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
29. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Kongos. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
30. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
31. "Kongos – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Kongos. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
32. "KONGOS – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for KONGOS. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
33. "Canadian Hot 100: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
34. "Hot 100 Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
35. "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
36. "Rock Airplay Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
37. "Adult Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
38. "Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
39. "Mainstream Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
40. "Canadian single certifications – KONGOS – Come With Me Now". Music Canada.
41. "American single certifications – KONGOS – Come With Me Now". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
42. "Come With Me Now – Single by KONGOS". iTunes Store. South Africa: Apple. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
43. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
44. "Come With Me Now (2014)". United Kingdom: 7digital. Retrieved September 14, 2014.