Massive support from South African fans sees NEON DREAMS go to Number 1.

Award-winning Canadian duo, NEON DREAMS are topping the charts in South Africa with their hit single “Life Without Fantasies”.

The single’s success has followed an unusual trajectory. It was released in July 2019 with only moderate success for the duo. Over a year later, without having been officially released in SA, the band noticed an increase in comments from South African fans on their YouTube page. Not long after they noticed a massive organic spike in streams prompting an official South African release in October 2020. The fan feedback began snowballing and South Africa, seemingly overnight, became their biggest fanbase after their native Canada.

Naturally, the group is thrilled to hear that the song has had a resurgence in South Africa. What do they attribute the success to? Lead vocalist Frank Kadillac explains:

“Life Without Fantasies” is one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written. It's very uplifting with a world sound vibe to it so I'm not surprised it caught on in South Africa. Fans in Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Pretoria began reaching out to us over social media saying the most beautiful things. We connected with as many fans as possible performing on Instagram live feeds, sending personal videos and private zoom concerts. We are extremely grateful for the love we are experiencing. Sometimes music just needs to find the right home.

NEON DREAMS are no strangers to success having accumulated over 40 million total streams. They’ve won a Juno Award (often referred to as the Grammys of Canada) and have toured the US and Canada extensively. “We never thought our first success out of North America would be South Africa! It seems so far away, but the warmth and love we’re getting from fans there has blown us away. South Africa has never felt closer” says Kadillac.

What’s the song about? “When you don’t fit in, it’s like you’re forced to see the world differently. These are the fantasies of a very uncool, unpopular kid. These fantasies were sparked from years of being picked on and desperately wanting to fit in. I realized fantasies about money, girls and luxury are fun to think about but in reality, those things don’t make you happy. All I want is some happiness and a little bit of pain to know what’s real.” Watch the “Life Without Fantasies” video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGfRODanFYE “Life Without Fantasies” dominated South African streaming charts, spending over a month on Spotify's Viral 50 peaking at #2 and is currently on a number of Apple Music and Spotify playlists as well as the local Shazam. The single has received exciting feedback from South African media, and has recently peaked at #1 on the Ofm Central South Africa Top30 as well as regular daytime play on 5fm.

The single is included on Neon Dreams’ Sweet Dreams till Sunbeams —an album comprising nine uplifting songs about not fitting in and overcoming adversity.

Neon Dreams is a Canadian alt-pop duo consisting of vocalist Frank Kadillac and drummer Adrian Morris. They write and produce their own music and defy genre pigeonholing, as they draw freely upon pop, rock, folk, EDM, hip-hop and reggae elements. Their most successful songs are "Marching Bands," "Survive" and "High School Dropout."