- A musician played the same line from a Weezer song for 990 days straight on TikTok.
- He told viewers he was trying to get an online response from the band's frontman, Rivers Cuomo.
A near-1,000-day challenge — where a TikToker played the same melodic line from a 90s rock song every single day to get the attention of the band's lead singer — has finally come to an end now that he has been invited to play on tour with them.
It all started in June 2020, when Evan Marsalli, a drummer for a small Milwaukee-based band called Diet Lite, posted a 12-second video playing an eight-note riff from "Buddy Holly," one of the most popular songs by the alternative rock band Weezer.
@dietlite_evan Playing that one riff from buddy holly by @weezer every day until I hit 1 million followers day 1 #weezer #guitar #rock #foryoupage #foryou #music ♬ original sound - Evan
Marsalli initially said in a caption on the video that he was going to play the line every day until he hit one million followers on TikTok, but a month later he said he was changing his focus, now aiming to play the riff every day until a member of the band duetted him — a feature that allows a TikTok user to respond to an existing video with the two clips being shown side by side.
Over the following months, Marsalli urged viewers to tag the band's official TikTok account and its lead singer, Rivers Cuomo, in the comments under his video, a tactic that many users have previously used to try and get a celebrity's attention on the app.
@dietlite_evan Reply to @__lime__ ♬ original sound - Evan
Each day for more than two and a half years, Marsalli played the riff on his account, experimenting with different guitars, costumes, and backdrops, hoping that Cuomo would see his videos and duet him.
On February 27, when Marsalli posted his 990th attempt at the riff, he asked viewers whether they thought he should keep on persisting with his campaign.
"Do I remain committed to the bit after day 1000? If Rivers doesn't duet on day 1,000, do I still keep going? Let me know what I should do," he said in the video.
Marsalli never made it to the 1,000th day of the challenge, however, because on February 28, Cuomo duetted the TikToker with a video of him playing the line from "Buddy Holly" in time with Marsalli, as an on-screen caption on the post asked if the TikToker wanted to play with the band.
@rivers_cuomo #duet with @dietlite_evan ♬ original sound - Evan
"Challenge you to come play this live on Weezer's Indie Rock Roadtrip Tour this summer," it read, while a secondary caption under the post read, "My people will reach out to your people."
Commenters under Cuomo's video said they were overjoyed that Marsalli was finally getting recognition from the band, although some said they were disappointed that the TikToker's challenge would be ending before he reached the 1,000-day milestone.
"I HAVE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR THIS," wrote one excited commenter.
@dietlite_evan Well damn. It’s finally come to and end. Thanks to everyone who’s followed me and supported me along the way. What should I post on here now??? #weezer #buddyhollylick #weezertok #weezered #yougotweezered #thebluealbum #riverscuomo ♬ original sound - Jazzy Fizzle
Marsalli has since posted several follow-up videos on his own account, saying that he plans to focus more on posting updates about his band now that his Weezer challenge is over.
"It's been kind of a crazy past-24 hours," he said in one video posted on March first.
He does not appear to have given viewers confirmation about whether he will be joining Weezer on tour.
Marsalli and representatives for Weezer did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.