Criticized by some, celebrated by others: The song "Layla" by DJ Robin & Schürze, which was controversial because of allegations of sexism, is Germany's summer hit 2022. This was announced on Thursday by the market research company GfK Entertainment.
"There is no way around 'Layla' this summer," said the chart investigators from Baden-Baden.
The song has reached more than 60 million streams and has been at number one in the official German single charts for five weeks non-stop.
"The representative streaming and sales data paint a clear picture this year."
The sing-along catchy tune “Layla” revolves around a “poof mama” who is “prettier, younger, hornier”.
In Würzburg and later other cities, "Layla" was banned from festivals.
The song therefore sparked a debate about alleged censorship and the importance of artistic freedom.
But regardless of all the discussions, according to GfK Entertainment, the number of views and purchases is constantly increasing.
The party song prevailed against international candidates such as "Ferrari" (James Hype & Miggy Dela Rosa) and "Belly Dancer" (Imanbek & BYOR) as well as against the Ballermann competitor "Dicht im Flieger" (Julian Sommer).
With "Layla", DJ Robin & Schürze are now in a row with none other than superstar Ed Sheeran, who landed the summer hit of the year in 2021 with "Bad Habits".
The performers can hardly believe it: "It means a lot to me, because you put a lot of heart and soul into the music.
If you can inspire people with it and it takes on such proportions, it's crazy.
Phenomenal,” said Schürze of the German Press Agency.
DJ Robin explained: “The fact that so many Ballermann songs are at the top of the charts like never before shows that people are in the mood to party again and have Mallorca songs.
Mallorca is anything but dead.”