Ikkimel on course for international success: Controversial “Moma” appearance also goes viral in the USA

Last Monday morning, in the show’s so-called World Cup arena, “Ikki”, as her fans call her, presented the song “Football Men”, in which she plays with exaggerated clichés about men and football culture. So far, so close to her now well-known oeuvre.

The studio audience still seemed irritated. It is not known whether it is due to Ikki’s skimpy wardrobe or lines like “Football men, all bums. Beer belly, bratwurst, tasty food.” The contrast between the self-confident and provocative performance and the conspicuously petrified facial expressions of most of the audience provided a certain level of humor that apparently also broke language barriers.

“You are good enough” the second?

TikTok videos are now becoming a hit, in which apparently non-German people dance to exactly the “football men” sound and caption the whole thing with, among other things, “idc this German girl ate”. Translated roughly: “I have no idea, but this German girl rocks.”

The clip posted on TikTok by ZDF itself received a lot of clicks, which is also due to the fact that the US rapper and Grammy winner Doechii, among others, shared it. Since then, numerous English-language comments have been included, which also refer to the audience’s reserved reactions. “I don’t understand the song sounds fire why are they hating”. In German: “I don’t understand the hate, the song sounds great,” it says.

Just last month, a German pop song went viral in the USA. “(You are) good enough” by Kitschkrieg, Blumengarten and Shirin David also surprisingly developed into an international hype through TikTok. Many English-speaking users misinterpreted the German line “You’re good enough” as “Doobie Scoot Canoe” and turned it into their own meme.

The chorus was used millions of times in videos and reached an international audience who often didn’t even understand the actual lyrics. The song has now even ranked in the official Billboard 200 charts, something that had previously only been achieved by an exclusive list of German-language songs.

Did ZDF have a plan?

If you believe US TikTok users who write sentences like “Come to America, we appreciate you more” in different variations, “Football Men” also has the potential.

In any case, the supposed plan to attract a younger, online-savvy audience worked for ZDF. After the controversial appearance, the broadcaster defended the invitation. Their song “Football Men” “takes up the topic of football from a pop culture perspective and has received a lot of attention, especially among young people,” said a spokesman for “Bild”. According to the broadcaster, the show regularly depicts social and pop cultural developments. The appearance took place as part of current football reporting.

Ikkimel, whose real name is Melina Gaby Strauß, became known for her provocative lyrics about parties, drugs and sex, which she combines with fast techno beats. Accordingly, she also relied on a deliberately exaggerated performance in the “Morgenmagazin”. The moderators Andreas Wunn and Philip Wortmann had previously classified the singer: While some would celebrate her as a feminist voice, others criticized her lyrics as “sometimes vulgar man-hatred,” explained Wortmann.