In less than a month, 11 year-old Mason Ramsey has made the dizzying journey from his quiet hometown of Golconda, Ill. – population of just over 700 people – to viral internet fame. Next up? Coachella music festival.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Me: which aisle can i find light bulbs?<br><br>Walmart employee: <a href="https://t.co/bwiWQAsz6O">pic.twitter.com/bwiWQAsz6O</a></p>— David (@dumbassvegan) <a href="https://twitter.com/dumbassvegan/status/978650667094040576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Now seen over 20 million (!) times and counting, the viral video of Ramsey performing a version of Hank Williams' nearly 70-year-old hit "Lovesick Blues" inside a local Walmart – which earned the young buckaroo the profoundly original title of "The Yodeling Walmart Kid" – has already landed him an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show "Ellen." On the program, DeGeneres made one of Ramsey's life-long dreams come true by telling him he'd been booked to perform at the famous country music venue Grand Ole Opry. And if that wasn't big enough news, Walmart has officially invited Ramsey to back and come perform at one of their locations, and in turn they plan to award $15,000 towards his college tuition.
Ramsey revealed to DeGeneres that his trip to Burbank, Calif., to appear on the program was also his first-ever ride on an airplane.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">my friends on a plane to Coachella with the yodel kid <a href="https://t.co/7a5Ahf5cdk">pic.twitter.com/7a5Ahf5cdk</a></p>— goth pretzel (@presleynardella) <a href="https://twitter.com/presleynardella/status/984881374497726464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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With so much buzz around the young performer, joking questions quickly began to fly through the Twitterverse about whether Ramsey would be making a surprise appearance at the upcoming Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival taking place in Indio, Calif., over the coming two weekends.
Well, it seems the festival's promoters have called the internet's bluff, as Ramsey has confirmed he will be making a trip to the desert to make an appearance onstage alongside rising DJ Whethan.
TMZ and numerous other outlets have also made reports that Post Malone is planning on bring Ramsey up on stage as well, though that appearance will have to wait until Coachella's second weekend, as Ramsey's performance at the Grand Ole Opry is currently scheduled for the same day Post is slated to perform this coming weekend.
To top it all off, Billboard is reporting that the Ramsey Effect is in full swing, as his viral performance of Hank William's 1949 hit has shot "Lovesick Blues" to No. 2 on their LyricFind Global chart, which tracks global searches for song lyrics, and contributed to a 654% uptick in downloads and 1,800 percent jump in streaming between Mar. 30 – Apr. 5.
