Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" is one of those songs where, even if you know only about two lines of lyrics, you recognize immediately. The song, released in 1978, was comfortably at the top of the charts during its heyday and still remains a cultural phenomenon. Just watch what happens when it comes on at the next wedding you're at.
Despite lead man and songwriter Maurice White explaining that the date has no significance other than sounding good when sung within the line, fans have turned it into a sort of unofficial holiday, much like how Oct. 3 has been dubbed "Mean Girls" Day because of a single throwaway line.
The band itself has leaned in to the hype, releasing a new version of the song called the "Eric Kupper Remix" to ring in this year's anniversary and planning a virtual celebration event to kick off tonight.
But no one has cemented "September" Day as a cornerstone of American history quite like comedian and screenwriter Demi Adejuyigbe. Adejuyigbe, who hosts comedy show "Everything's Great!" and has worked on "The Good Place," Freeform's "New Warriors" and "The Late Late Show With James Cordon," has, like clockwork, released a dance video set to "September" on social media every year on Sept. 21 for five years.
He tends to use remixed versions of the song (for copyright purposes, we presume), and his videos get more and more theatrical as the years go on despite some familiar constants -- namely, sunglasses, a simple tee emblazoned with the date and, "That's today! written out somewhere in the video. Adejuyigbe even has some huge fans that wait in anxious anticipation for his videos every year. As the day approaches, he'll weather tweets and messages counting down the days (as if he's not already aware) until his next installment is out. This year, he had to remind overzealous "September"ites that he lives on the west coast, so they would have to wait until 9:21 a.m. PT.
Still, his latest didn't disappoint. But before we get there, let's look back at year's past...
2016's inaugural video was a simple, wholesome dance party.
2017 saw a new T-shirt, the same dance moves and the addition of balloons, confetti guns and a saxophone.
In 2018, Adejuyigbe commissioned a body double (or some good editing -- either way we're impressed), played more instruments (does he learn them just for these clips?!) and got the West Los Angeles Children's Choir involved. Superb year, 2018.
2019's video has become a fan favorite for its creativity, advanced (for him) choreography, mariachi band (???) and Earth, Wind & Fire cameo, and it includes a bonus video of a particularly incredible outtake.
And, finally, we have 2020. A surprise entrance, an outfit change, some athletics, a smidge of a TikTok dance (didja catch it?), a flyover and a trombone this time made this year's Sept. 21 the biggest yet. What will he come up with next?!
Not only do Adejuyigbe's videos make people smile for an absolutely random reason, but he does some good with his notoriety, as well! Adejuyigbe started selling T-shirts similar to the ones he wears in his videos and sending the proceeds to organizations in need, like the Climate Mobilization Project. This year, he's commissioning donations from his "September" video for Street Watch LA, the Trans United Fund, the BlackRoots Alliance and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum.
So many donations were processed within minutes after the video dropped that Adejuyigbe shared that the page nearly crashed; talk about music bringing people together. You can donate here.