'Wellerman' streams on Spotify have increased 7000% since sea shanties exploded on TikTok

• Sea shanties have become a viral sensation after they found a growing fanbase on TikTok.
• According to Spotify data, streams have skyrocketed for sea shanties like "The Wellerman," a whaling song that's emerged as a favorite.
• Viral videos from creators like Scottish musician Nathan Evans and brothers Promise and Frankline Uzowulu helped the phenomenon spread to other social media.

Spotify data reinforces the idea that the sea shanty is one of 2021's first breakout musical styles, revealing massive increases in streaming of tracks like "Wellerman," as performed by The Longest Johns, and thousands of new playlists that reference sea shanties in the title.

Sea shanties, which are work-oriented tunes that helped sailors synchronize work while abroad a ship, became a TikTok sensation recently after Scottish postman and musician Nathan Evans posted a cover of "The Wellerman," a whaling song. While other TikTok users, known as "Shanty Tok," have made sea shanties like "Wellerman" a hallmark of their content, Evans' December video turned them into a meme in their own right.

A viral video from brothers Promise and Frankline Uzowulu helped the phenomenon cross over to Twitter, which has been alight with shanty chatter for the past week.

Read more: Sea shanties are taking over TikTok after a Scottish postman's rousing whaling tune went viral

According to Spotify streaming data shared with Insider, people are following through with the obsession. Over the course of the past week (since January 13), the music and podcast streaming platform has seen a 630% increase in searches for the term "sea shanty" compared to the week of December 23, 2020. Since that date, there have been over 12,000 new user-generated playlists containing "sea shanty" (or "shanties") in the title.

"Wellerman" - specifically, the version performed by a cappella folk band The Longest Johns - has been the breakout star. Spotify recorded more than a 7000% increase in streams of the track between December 23, 2020 and January 13 compared to the same time period the previous year. Other tracks, including "Leave Her Johnny" by Sean Dagher, Nils Brown, and Michael Schrey (on the "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag" soundtrack), "The Scotsman" by Hair of the Dog, and "Drunken Sailor" by The Irish Rovers have also seen marked streaming increases in the same time period, Spotify data shows.

It's not clear how long this collective shanty phase will last, but if "Wellerman" has made its way into your regular musical rotation, you're certainly not alone.