Former Game Designer's "Dancing 2008" Puts Minnesota Teen Singer Past Madonna

Matt Harding is a serendipity magnet. That's how pal Gary Schyman describes the former Activision designer who gained fame after he left Pandemic Studios to roam the world. While on his travels in 2005, he had a friend film him doing a silly little dance, not very good at that, in every town, village, city and burg he passed through. The dances were edited together and eventually found their way from his blog to YouTube where he scored millions of views, found his 15 minutes of fame in the national media and picked up Stride gum as a sponsor to further his globe-hopping journeys.

Harding's most recent version of his "Dancing" videos is cast against a stirring bit of world music accompanied by the beautiful voice of a 17-year-old Minneapolis high school student. Palbasha Siddique is the owner of that voice and thanks to "Dancing 2008," she has become the top download on Amazon, displacing the likes of Madonna and Mariah Carey. The video has been viewed more than 4 million times in the past fortnight.

Harding started out working at a videogame store and then became a games journalist for GameWeek. At 19, he put down his pen and became a game designer at Activision, Los Angeles. After nearly a decade in the industry, Harding realized he no longer wanted to spend his days behind a monitor "growing fat and getting pale skin." A sarcastic crack about the cliches of shoot 'em ups to a friend at Pandemic Studios reportedly spawned the idea for Destroy All Humans. Uncomfortable with spending the next two years writing a game about killing everything, Harding took it on the road and began his jig-fueled odyssey.

Harding's dancing videos are wonderful because they use an absurd little dance to reveal how enormously similar we all are, regardless of culture. It's a powerful message that has touched many people's lives, and the video has given a Minnesota teenager a chance to do what she loves. Harding is also a living example of the very best that game culture offers, the ability to build communities that transcend time and place, and he's a reminder that even bad dancing is still good.

[via Minneapolis Star Tribune]