Building a Catalogue Fans Want to Own
Aalai, the 28-year-old songstress from Bermuda, is currently captivating her nation’s soundscape with her hit “Dum da da,” a bright, soulful Soca track that has become a fixture on local charts. Yet for those paying closer attention, this moment is not an overnight arrival but the latest chapter in a quiet, steady journey that began in a much different season.
It’s easy to forget the world stopped in March 2020, but in Bermuda, the stillness was broken by the warm, lilting phrase, “You make me go da da dum.” “Letter,” Aalai’s debut single, was where her soulful voice began to carve out a place on her island airwaves and digital shelves. Inspired by 50 Cent’s “21 Questions,” “Letter” was her way of writing back, creating a song that people found themselves in, relatable, warm, and unexpectedly enduring.
For a first release, “Letter” showed its strength, peaking at #30 on Bermuda’s iTunes Top 100 and #33 on Apple Music’s R&B/Soul charts while gathering 2,700 Spotify streams, mostly from small but telling pockets in the UK and across Africa, including Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Africa. For an independent artist, these signals meant something real. People far beyond Bermuda were finding her sound, saving it, and returning to it. “Letter” remained on Bermuda’s Apple Music R&B/Soul chart for over two years, through April 2022, proof of a listener base that didn’t just pass through but returned consistently and patiently.
While “Letter” quietly became a staple in Bermuda, Aalai tested her sound with “Six Feet” in July 2020, leaning into Pop while her debut thrived in R&B/Soul. It entered Bermuda’s iTunes Top 200 at #104 and the Apple Music Pop chart at #151 but didn’t immediately catch on, perhaps overshadowed by the warmth of “Letter.” Soon after, the world sank deeper into the pandemic, and a pause followed, a necessary quiet for an independent artist navigating uncertain terrain.
In January 2023, Aalai returned post-pandemic with a fittingly named track, “Life,” a soulful R&B track that found a brief chart moment at #133 on Bermuda’s Apple Music R&B chart. That September, “Guava” arrived, climbing slightly higher to #126, marking an encouraging upward tick that showed her listeners were still there, still curious. “Guava” also generated just over 1,000 Spotify streams, again in the UK and Africa, quietly building a path of discovery in spaces far from Bermuda’s shores. While neither song lingered as long as “Letter,” they mattered, proving that even after pauses, the connection remained.
After another break of more than a year and a half, in May 2025 Aalai shifted direction with “Dum da da,” her first Soca release, filed under the “World” genre on streaming platforms. In many ways, it was a reinvention of her lyrics from “Letter,” “You make me go da da dum,” turned on its head and reborn as a bright, spirited Soca groove carrying her soulful warmth into the energy of Bermuda’s Carnival. “Dum da da” was described as a joyous ride with revelry, rhythm, and rhyme wrapped in playful lyrics, a song for festival lovers and beyond.
The track debuted at #130 on Bermuda’s Apple Music World chart on May 27, leaping into the top three by the next day as Carnival approached. Many Carnival songs burn brightly and fade, but “Dum da da” held steady, remaining in the top three through July 3. On June 23, it reached #1 on Bermuda’s iTunes Top 100, a purchase-based chart that signals listeners willing to put down real dollars, a deeper commitment than a casual stream.
The song’s reach extended beyond Bermuda. In Grenada, amid Spicemas preparations, it debuted at #5 on the iTunes Top 100 on June 26. In the British Virgin Islands, it climbed to #13 on Apple Music’s World chart on June 29, remaining there for over a week. In the United States, “Dum da da” found buyers willing to add it to their libraries, peaking at #66 on the iTunes World chart on June 22. These purchases reflected more than curiosity; they signaled that her music was resonating with audiences beyond her familiar coastlines.
Alongside the original came the “Dum da da Roadmix,” crafted for DJs and Carnival road. It entered Bermuda’s Apple Music (World) charts at #132, rose to #7 by June 12 during Carnival week in Bermuda, and peaked at #3 on June 30 long after the road faded, comfortably maintaining a top-10 presence alongside the original. This was a testament to the song’s versatility and the island’s appetite for her evolving sound.
“Dum da da” also created ripples across her back catalogue. Five years after its release, “Six Feet” found a resurgence, peaking again at #151 in June 2025, while “Guava” reemerged in the same week. This was proof that when people find a song they love, they dig deeper, giving older tracks new breath and value.
The Carnival-driven engine in Bermuda proved Aalai’s music could thrive in a festive, local context, while her quietly consistent Spotify signals in the UK and across Africa suggest an untapped lane worth nurturing as she evolves her sound. This is not overnight virality, but something sturdier, a slow, patient building of a catalogue people want to own, one purchase, one stream, one listener at a time.
Piece by piece, chart by chart, Aalai is showing what patient catalogue building looks like in real time. Whether in Carnival crowds in Bermuda or quiet headphone moments in London or Lagos, her music is finding ears ready to listen and often to buy.
Take a listen to Aalai’s catalogue:
