TikTok: Sea shanty sets sail towards top 10 music chart

Nathan Evans's shanties are a viral internet sensation

Sea shanties have become increasingly popular on platforms like TikTok - but now one is also set to make it into the top 10 on the Official Singles Chart.

Postman Nathan Evans has gone viral for his sea shanty Wellerman which he first posted to TikTok back in July last year.

Soon lots of other people were joining in to do their own versions of his performance.

Based on preliminary sales and early streaming reports, it looks like the song will be the highest new entry on this week's chart, according to the official first look.

On Sunday The Official Chart: First Look on BBC Radio 1 gave a first glance of the top 20 ahead of Friday's Official Singles Chart Top 100.

Wellerman is the most downloaded song of the week so far, two days into the tracking week, the Official Charts Company said.

The track is a cover of Bristol group The Longest Johns' 2018 song, which also entered the Official Top 40 just last week, debuting at Number 37.

Nathan, 26, from Airdrie in Scotland, has now quit his job as a postman after starting a new viral craze of sea-shantying on TikTok (dubbed ShantyTok) and signing a record deal with Polydor Records.

Nathan has released his own take on the shanty, plus a dance remix produced by 220 Kid and Billen Ted, which is tipped to enter the charts at number four.

He said: "Back in the day when the shanties were sung, it was to bring everybody together, to keep them all in time, to keep the morale high.

"Especially in this time when everybody's stuck at home, they're doing their remote working - they can join in, and it kind of brings everybody together.

"So I think it's just kind of brought it into this day and age. It makes it feel like you're all united. Especially seeing how creative everybody can be with it."

What do you think of sea shanties? Have you been getting into them on TikTok or are they not for you? Let us know in the comments below.