Adir shared this song on our Facebook page awhile back, but when I realized we’d never written about it, I thought it was about time. Michel Teló, a Brazilian sertanejo and pop singer, came out with a song recently that is so unbearably catchy that it began an instant hit in Brazil. When soccer players started using the dance to celebrate goals, the song spread like wildfire all over Europe and even to the Middle East. It’s appeared in countless YouTube videos from all over the world of people singing the song in different languages, doing parodies, and various dances. It especially made an international splash when a group of Israeli soldiers were filmed dancing to the song in full uniform. Famous singers have also sung the song, from Bruno Mars to U2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f89yE5Iwww&feature=fvst

While it’s a song some people love to hate, it’s become a staple of Brazilian popular culture of the moment, something people have been talking about, putting on tee-shirts, mocking, and singing. It’s even become a pick up line! (Well, a creepy, unsuccessful one at that)

If you’re learning Portuguese and following everything Brazil, it’s very possible you’ve heard the song already. But did you know that it was actually written by someone else, a woman named Sharon Acioly? Here’s what she had to say about how the song came about:

“Ai se eu te pego” nasceu como uma brincadeira de estudantes, de 20 e poucos anos, em uma viagem à Disney. Chegou aos ouvidos de Sharon na Axé Moi, uma daquelas barracas-parques de Porto Seguro, onde trabalhava: “Era uma espécie de grito de guerra que elas cantavam para os dançarinos (de Porto Seguro). Vi que dava samba. Quando gravei a música pela primeira vez, escrevi para elas, mas nenhuma respondeu. Agora elas entraram com o processo de coautoria. Fizemos um acordo”.