Netizens are reacting to Vybz Kartel’s recent reveal that the opening line forms gold selling song “Fever” which says “XOXO my love is every special” was inspired by the American teen Drama series Gossip Girls.
Kartel stated the genesis of the lyrics in an interview saying, “that style deh bad and it commercial.” Kartel added that he deliberately sang the song on English so that it appeals a wider audience.
Gossip Girl created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, was first aired in September 2007 based on Cecily von Ziegesar’s novel series. The show aired on The CW up until 2012, running for six seasons with 121 episodes.
Finding out Kartel’s ingenuity, one fan said, “This man has no bounds.” Another commented, “One a di baddest girl songs come from being inspired by watching a chic flick from the most gangster artiste, it nuh really add up but it work.”
On Twitter, one comedian posted, “Today years old finding out Vybz Kartel wrote “XOXO my love is very special” because of his love for the show Gossip Girl.”
A new music video is reportedly in the works for the song which has sold Silver in the U.K. (200,000) and Gold in the U.S. (500,000) according to sources close to the matter.
Kartel’s Fever was released in 2016 on his King Of The Dancehall album. He also recently revealed how he recorded the streaming hit while in prison during an interview on the Juan Epstien Podcast with Cipher Sounds and Peter Rosenberg. Kartel shared that, although he initially released pre-recorded music after his incarceration, he eventually ran out of tracks and had to record new ones using an iPhone 5.
He explained that the phone’s audio capabilities were good enough to produce high-quality sound. To mimic a studio environment, Kartel used his prison mattress as padding, recording a cappella vocals into the phone. The vocals were then sent to his engineers, DunWell and Redboom, who added the music later. He often recorded at night or during officers’ lunch breaks to avoid detection.
Set in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, it follows the lives of privileged high school students, whose personal and social exploits are exposed by an anonymous blogger known as “Gossip Girl.” Key characters include Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, and Dan Humphrey.
The show was a ratings success, praised by critics, and had a significant cultural impact, influencing teen dramas and winning 18 Teen Choice Awards. It also sparked international adaptations and a sequel that aired on HBO Max from 2021 to 2023.
