On Sept. 25, the disastrous year that has been 2020 was given the positive vibe it so desperately needed: Nathan Apodaca’s TikTok video of him skating down the street, drinking a large bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice while singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit “Dreams.”
The classic’s timeless lyrics provide hope during a year in which the world economy screeched to a halt, forcing many businesses to close, and innumerable lives were affected or lost.
“Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well, who am I to keep you down
It’s only right that you should
Play the way you feel it.”
Apodaca, under his 420doggface208 profile, filmed the video after his RV broke down and he decided to skate to work.
Since going viral, the video has led Ocean Spray employees to gift Apodaca a new truck and sparked the #DreamsChallenge. Other TikTok-ers have recreated his viral video.
During this stressful time with both the presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t take long for people on social media platforms to bring the song back into mainstream popularity
The song even made it back on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first time since it was originally released in 1977 and sales for it tripled. Moreover, in the three day period after the release of the TikTok video, the song had garnered nearly three million streams.
In what can only be described as an ultimate sign of appreciation, Mick Fleetwood joined TikTok on Oct. 5 and posted his own #DreamsChallenge video. Featuring the bandleader skating with his Ocean Spray in tow, the video has amassed over two million views.
On Oct. 14, Stevie Nicks joined in on the fun and posted her own rendition — sitting on a piano stool, listening to the song on a turntable next to a bottle of cranberry juice while lacing-up a pair of rollerskates and singing along to her own voice.
Other people who’ve done their own renditions of the viral video include Dr. Phil, Jimmy Fallon, Shakira, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong and the CEO of Ocean Spray, himself, Tom Hayes.
On Nov. 9, political commentator and writer Keith Olbermann celebrated the election of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. by listening to “Dreams” and drinking some cranberry juice.
Like Apodeca with his broken-down RV, we thought that 2020 had taken it all from under us. However, the now-viral TikTok star found a bottle-full of peace and happiness and decided to share it with the world, and we couldn’t be more thankful.
