How musician Paul Russell’s viral song ‘Lil Boo Thang’ changed his life

Feel-good music is something the world could use more of at the moment, and "Lil Boo Thang" beckons listeners towards a good time.

For months the song's chorus has been at the top of social media pages, luring users into shoulder shrug dances and lip-syncs.

"You my lil’ boo thang So, I don’t give a hoot what your dude say / Girl I know, you a lil’ too tame / I be shooting that shot like 2K.”

The catchy lyrics are sung by unlikely creator Paul Russell at the start of the free and easy track, which became the song of the summer when he first uploaded the 21-second clip to TikTok in June.

With a sample of the song "Best of My Love” by The Emotions, Russell's track promptly became a viral sensation. Reeling in millions of views on TikTok, the breezy song quickly spilled over. Repurposed into TikTok couple dances, Instagram 'fit videos, workouts and memes, the track has turned Russell into an unlikely music darling. This is especially true considering that the song had to be officially released when it went viral.

"I didn't even plan to release the song. I put out the clip as like, fun content," he explains to TODAY.com "And then people loved it. And it was like, 'Okay, you know, now I'll make it into a song, I guess.' And then, you know, there's a whole process around that."

The song is a rainbow of 70s funk, R&B, rap and the happy vibes that Russell says evoke the optimism he tends to maintain. It's the same mindset he says he was attempting to uphold when he first began playing with the track after a rough day.

"I would say I'm a pretty optimistic person in general," he says. "When I sit down to make music, I want to make something that feels happy... I feel a lot of like, purpose in that specifically, because there's a lot of music out here, especially now that's really angsty or, you know, sad."

Keeping up the positivity, Russell notes he's not making a dig against the broody songs that have been leading the music charts in recent years.

"That stuff is great," he says. "There are some times where I really connect with that, but I feel like there's also not as much happy music that is coming out now."

Russell says he was so oblivious to the song’s rapid and future popularity that after he posted the clip, he went mini-golfing.

"I looked at my phone and I just had so many things happening. I was like, 'What's going on?'" he explains. "And so it was like, 'Oh okay, people liked the video, but it wasn't 'Oh, this is a huge thing for my life or anything.'"

As time passed, Russell noticed that the song was popping up in his friends' feeds and reels but he hadn't considered that he'd made a viral hit.

"But then I remember I went out to a bar and like multiple people came up to me and they're like, 'RELEASE THE SONG,'" he explains.

By August, Russell had signed with Arista Records which officially released the single on Aug. 18. In September, the song debuted as No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Now, two months after the song shook up TikTok and went viral, Russell says it has also dramatically altered his life. The week that “Lil Boo Thang” debuted, the music producer who had been working in finance for a tech company issued his notice.

"The thought of something that was kind of an accident, creating a whole new path for my life," Russell says of his success. "Now I'm thinking of things that I never thought I would say."

The unthinkable? More music release dates, potential collaborations and events. All of the things that make for more than the "aspiring two-hit wonder" Russell self-deprecatingly describes himself as in his Instagram bio.

"It's just super exciting. Being at a moment where, like, something is connecting with a lot of people on like a really big scale," Russell shares. "I get messages or emails or DMS, from people being like, 'this song helped me through this difficult time'... I feel a lot of purpose in that. So I'm like, I want to be able to do that for people, you know, mean something to people for, you know, as long as they'll have me."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com