Come with Me Now

"Come with Me Now" is a song by South African American[3] band Kongos. Initially released to iTunes in December 2012 as a single from their album Lunatic,[1] "Come with Me Now" earned commercial success in the United States in 2014, eventually peaking at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart[4] and becoming their first charting single in the United States.[4]

"Come with Me Now"
Single by Kongos
from the album Lunatic
Released	December 15, 2012[1] February 7, 2014 (re-release)
Recorded	2011
Genre	Alternative rock kwaito[2]
Length	3:31
Label	Tokoloshe Epic Rock All Night Productions LLC
Songwriter(s)	Johnny Kongos Dylan Kongos
Producer(s)	Kongos
Kongos singles chronology
"I'm Only Joking" (2011) "Come with Me Now" (2012) "I Want to Know" (2012)
Music video
"Come with Me Now" on YouTube

Background and release

In 2011, Kongos released their album Lunatic, which featured "Come with Me Now" which was released as a single. With the band performing the song live while opening for American band Linkin Park in South Africa, "Come with Me Now" was considered a fan favorite there though it initially struggled to find an audience in the United States. The band admitted that when "it didn't seem like things were getting along we really lost heart – we were ready to move on to new material".[5]

In early January 2014, the song began receiving airplay in the US, generating major label attention for the band which was eventually signed to Epic Records.[5] It was released to US contemporary hit radio on 15 April 2014.[6] The song appears on the soundtrack of the movie The Expendables 3.

The song was released in the UK as the lead single off Lunatic on August 17, 2014.

Composition

"Come with Me Now" has been described by Billboard as an "accordion-tinged" rock song.[5] Members of the band themselves say that the song is heavily influenced by kwaito music, which is described as being a blend of South African jazz, township pop, and Western house music.[2] It was written by keyboard/accordion player Johnny Kongos and singer/bassist Dylan Kongos.

Commercial performance

On April 9, 2014, "Come with Me Now" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first charting single on the chart; it peaked at number 31.[7] It also topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[4] By reaching the summit of the chart in 10 weeks, it was the quickest song of a rookie band to top the chart since American rock band Evanescence's 2003 song "Bring Me to Life".[7] The single peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart[4] and number 7 on the Canadian Hot 100.[4] The song has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States, as of December 2014.[8] The single also peaked at number 14, number 16, and number 18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 charts, respectively. The song also topped the Official South African Singles Chart and peaked in the top 40 in New Zealand.[9] It has sold over 160,000 copies in Canada.[10]

Music video

The music video for "Come with Me Now" was uploaded on July 31, 2012. As of October 2020, the video has received a total of over 124 million views on YouTube.[11] The video includes footage of the band playing the song, intercut with looped shots of people performing other activities such as applying makeup, exercising, and flipping through a magazine before they fall into water.

Live performances

The band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 5, 2014.[2][12]

Personnel

• Dylan Kongos – Lead vocals, bass guitar, Lap steel guitar
• John J. Kongos – Accordion, keyboards, vocoder, vocals
• Jesse Kongos – Drums, percussion, vocals
• Daniel Kongos – Rhythm guitar, vocals

Use in popular culture

• "Come with Me Now" has been used in commercials for TV shows, theme parks and networks including The Grand Tour, The Originals, NBC Sports, MSNBC, Syfy, Hemlock Grove, HBO's 2014 summer programming lineup, CNN,[5] National Geographic Channel Philippines, History Channel (South Africa), NCIS: New Orleans, the Spike TV app, Universal Orlando Resort and Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
• The song was used in the "50 Cameos segment" to kick off the 2014 MTV Movie Awards hosted by Conan O'Brien.
• "Come with Me Now" was the official theme song for WWE's May 2014 pay-per-view Extreme Rules.[13]
• The song was also used for televised sporting events, including the 2013 Rose Bowl, 2013 Orange Bowl[14] and games for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. It was used as an unofficial theme song for the 2015 Copa América.
• The song appeared in the trailer for the films Holy Motors and Horrible Bosses 2.
• The song was featured in the 2014 NASCAR on Fox season, Tampa Bay Lightning's 2014–15 season and during the pregame of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.
• The song was featured in the BBC Sport "Get Carried Away with the Cup" campaign, promoting the return of coverage of The FA Cup to the broadcaster.[15]
• The song appeared in the "Last Hope" trailer for the video game Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!.[16]
• The song appeared in the film The Expendables 3, the TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 15, Episode 1 and the video game Guitar Hero Live.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014–2016) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[17] 94 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 65 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 7 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[20] 17 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[21] 11 Canada Rock (Billboard)[22] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 36 Scotland (OCC)[24] 58 South Africa (EMA)[25] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] 47 RT Singles Chart (RT Singles Official Charts Company) 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[27] 125 US Billboard Hot 100[28] 31 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[29] 2 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[30] 1 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[31] 2 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[32] 17 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[33] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[34] 14 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 16

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[36] 27 US Billboard Hot 100[37] 88 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[38] 10 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[39] 2 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[40] 9 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[41] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[42] 43

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[43]	2× Platinum	160,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[44]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[45]	2× Platinum	1,300,000[8]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
South Africa	December 15, 2012	Digital download	Tokoloshe	[46]
United States	April 15, 2014	Contemporary hit radio	Epic	[47]
United Kingdom	September 4, 2014	Digital download		[48]

References

1. "Come With Me Now - Single". iTunes. December 15, 2012.
2. "New on SONiC This Week!". Sonic 102.9. Rogers Radio. February 14, 2014. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
3. Lester, Paul (9 April 2014). "Kongos (No 1,738) Band of the Week". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2018. they've got Greek blood, grew up in South Africa and the UK and now live in the States
4. "Kongos - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
5. Lipshutz, Jason (March 14, 2014). "Kongos Scores Fastest Top 10 Alternative Debut Single Since Lorde's 'Royals'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
6. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
7. Trust, Gary (April 9, 2014). "Pharrell Williams Leads Hot 100; John Legend Gains At No. 2". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
8. "The Big 9 in 2014: Epic". HITS Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
9. Paul Grein (August 20, 2014). "Chart Watch: The Return Of Chris Brown". Yahoo! Music.
10. Gonshor, Bram (August 6, 2014). "Kongos Presented With Double Platinum Plaques For Hit Single "Come With Me Now"". Music Canada. Music Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11. "KONGOS - Come with Me Now". YouTube. July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
12. "Watch KONGOS Perform "Come With Me Now" On Jimmy Kimmel Live". KROQ 106.7 FM. CBS Local. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
13. "WWE Music". WWE. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
14. "Come With Me Now used during Bowl Championship Series on ESPN". Kongos. January 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
15. "Get Carried Away with the Cup - BBC Sport Trail". BBC. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
16. "Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -- Last Hope Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
17. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 January 2015" (PDF) (1298). Pandora Archive. January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
18. "Austriancharts.at – Kongos – Come With Me Now" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
19. "Kongos Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
20. "Kongos Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
21. "Kongos Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
22. "Kongos Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
23. "Charts.nz – Kongos – Come With Me Now". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
25. "South African Airplay Chart Top 10 – May 27, 2014". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
26. "Spanishcharts.com – Kongos – Come With Me Now" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
27. Zywietz, Tobias. "CHART: CLUK Update 13.09.2014 (wk36)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
28. "Kongos Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
29. "Kongos Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
30. "Kongos Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
31. "Kongos Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
32. "Kongos Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
33. "Kongos Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
34. "Kongos Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
35. "KONGOS Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
36. "Canadian Hot 100: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
37. "Hot 100 Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
38. "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
39. "Rock Airplay Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
40. "Adult Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
41. "Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
42. "Mainstream Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
43. "Canadian single certifications – KONGOS – Come With Me Now". Music Canada.
44. "British single certifications – KONGOS – Come With Me Now". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
45. "American single certifications – KONGOS – Come With Me Now". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
46. "Come With Me Now – Single by KONGOS". iTunes Store. South Africa: Apple. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
47. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
48. "Come With Me Now (2014)". United Kingdom: 7digital. Retrieved September 14, 2014.