One day Charles Berthoud woke up and asked, “What if Billie Jean was the hardest song in the world”? As one of the biggest bass YouTubers on the planet, he was just the man to turn it into reality. In the hit 8.7 million view video, Berthoud put Michael Jackson’s timeless hit through its paces, throwing every technique in the book at it and taking it to new places. The reason why Berthoud has two million subs is not only because of his astounding skills, but also because he’s a brilliant arranger and melodic player.
So as a result, we got to hear “Billie Jean” played as a slap bass workout, with a harmonic melody and with Jackson’s vocal melody played on bass – all done in a deliciously tasteful and catchy way. But there was one part in particular that viewers couldn’t stop raving about. It was the section Berthoud called “Tappy Jean,” where he created a ridiculously complex and incredibly beautiful two-handed tapping melody. The Music Man is a longtime Berthoud subscriber, and we could listen to his bass wizardry all day!
Berthoud has many hit videos on the ‘Tube, but the “Billie Jean” vid really hit the mark, becoming his most-viewed upload on the platform. Fans couldn’t get enough, and added comments such as “I could listen to Tappy Jean for the rest of my life. I think it might be the most beautiful 10 seconds of music ever recorded” and “I just saw this for the first time. I dropped my jaw open. I’ve been a guitar player for over 50 years and I’ve never encountered a bass player this good.”
Berthoud’s “hardest song in the world” series was such a hit that he had to give it several comebacks. Another mind-bending entry in the series is when he workshopped the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication.” This was an excellent song choice as the Chili’s ear for melody is superb, and it gives Berthoud so much to work with in his arrangement of this ‘90s classic.
Charles Berthoud is a British YouTuber known for his brilliant and wacky bass antics. He often features rearrangements of popular songs on his channel, but he has also found success with his original music on the platform. Berthoud initially found a wider audience through his online videos. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that since breaking out online, he has also toured across Europe, North America, South America, and Japan, and also branched out into music education.