Vuvuzela tops iTune charts

Argentina’s Lionel Messi might find them ‘annoying and distracting’, but fans have given the ‘noisy’ vuvuzelathumbs up.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo find them ‘annoying and distracting’. But fans have given the ‘noisy’ vuvuzela, which made its debut at the 2010 Football World Cup, thumbs up. The ‘Vuvuzela 2010’ application is top of the Apple iTunes application charts in the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland and Luxembourg and is climbing Indian charts swiftly.

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The iTune beat competition from other FIFA tunes like the ‘ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup’, ‘World Football Calender 2010’, ‘iLiga South Africa’ and ‘South Africa Tracker 2010’. It also finds a mention in the top ten in countries like New Zealand, Portugal, Norway, Spain and a host of countries.

Vuvuzela album? The instrument is so popular, that online retailer Amazon said sales of the horn had increased by 1,000 per cent, while South African Freddie Maake, who claims to have invented the vuvuzela, is set to release an album soon. Apple iPhone users can now also download ‘apps’, which replicate the droning sound of the plastic horn.

“The ‘noise’ is a part of the fabric of football in Africa, similar to English rattles, the football flares of Italy, the air horns of Holland and the ticker tape that greets teams in South America. The instrument was designed to bring the house down, so why is everyone complaining?” says Varun Khanna, student and football fanatic.

Vuvuzelas are modern spin-offs of traditional instruments made from spiralling kudu horns. The instrument has come under criticism from health experts, as it can generate a drone of up to 144 decibels inside stadiums, which is louder than fireworks, a plane taking off or a rock concert.