From busking in the Bourke Street Mall and Byron Bay to No.1 on the ARIA charts

A year ago Tones and I was a busker who hadn’t even written Dance Monkey. Now she’s taken the song to No. 1 on the ARIA chart, just eight weeks after it was released.

Byron Bay busker Tones And I has gone to the top of the ARIA charts. Picture: Elise Derwin

Melbourne musician Tones and I has gone from busker to No. 1 hit single in less than 12 months.

Tones and I’s Dance Monkey is also the first Australian song to top the ARIA singles chart this year.

The song was only released eight weeks ago has already been streamed over 30 million times.

“I’m so excited to be an Australian artist and to be No. 1,” Tones and I (born Toni Watson) said.

“There’s dreams you think are achievable, like getting played on Triple J, and there’s some you don’t even dream of because you think it will never happen. This is one of those dreams.

“I only thought it was actually achievable once it got into the Top 10. But every single day I was waiting for it to start declining. Now that it’s No. 1 I hope it’s here to stay and we can break some records for how long it stays there.”

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Melbourne musician Tones and I learnt her craft busking in Byron Bay. Pic: supplied

Tones and I only released her debut song, Johnny Run Away, in May this year.

Dance Monkey, her second single, dethroned Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello and kept Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road from returning to No.1.

“I’ll send them some flowers. It was nothing personal, honestly. I just had to get to the top. It was strictly business.”

Tones and I premiered Dance Monkey in Byron Bay in January at a talent night at a hostel; it is now exploding globally, sitting at No. 1 on the Spotify chart in Norway, No. 2 in Sweden and Lithuania, No. 3 in Finland, No. 8 in Denmark and No. 2 on the US Viral Spotify chart.

The song was picked up by Spotify’s biggest global playlist, Today’s Top Hits, where it has reached the Top 20.

It was written about crowd reactions to her busking.

The 20-something has three songs in the ARIA Top 40 — Johnny Run Away and new release Never Seen the Rain.

She will release an EP, The Kids are Coming, at the end of August.

ARIA CEO Dan Rosen praised Tones and I’s instant success.

“It is an incredible feat for any artist to reach No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It is extra special when the artist is Australian and just starting out their career. Tones And I is a great Australian story. I can’t wait to see how her career continues to grow and the many more accolades coming her way.”

Dance Monkey is the first Australian ARIA No. 1 since Dean Lewis’ Be Alright last August, Tones and I is the first solo female artist to reach No. 1 since Delta Goodrem’s Wings in 2015.

Originally from Mornington, Tones and I worked in retail at Southland and grew up playing basketball, studying the sport at Rowville Sports Academy.

She applied for her busking permit for the Bourke Street Mall. After waiting for almost a year for it to come through, it arrived via email as she was driving to relocate to Byron Bay 18 months ago.

Busker Tones And I recently played at Splendour in the Grass. Picture: Elise Derwin

She cut her teeth in Byron’s busking scene, while returning to Melbourne’s CBD for public shows in the mall with her trusty keyboards — she taught herself to sing, as well as to play piano.

“I remember busking outside General Pants in the Bourke Street Mall, I sold my first ever CD demo to a German couple. It was so exciting, It had the first version of Johnny Run Away on it.”

She plans to return to the Bourke Street Mall to busk around the time of her EP release at the end of the month.

“I never want to stop busking. I always make sure my permits remain valid.”

The musician, who will play a handful of international dates later this year, invited 30 Melbourne fans to an intimate showcase on Friday night, including putting on dinner for them.

“I don’t want to show people that when you do well you turn into someone else. There’s already enough artists in the world doing that. If I changed it would make me horribly sad.”