When Vitamin C’s seminal hit “Graduation (Friends Forever)” hit the airwaves in January 2000, it became something of an anthem for hordes of high school and college seniors heading into the new millennium.
The song is a coming-of-age allegory about the transition into adulthood and the passage of time, a farewell to a life one leaves behind upon graduation.
With many Americans seeking to bid adieu to 2020, Vizzy Hard Seltzer has teamed up with Vitamin C to reimagine and recreate her karaoke classic to help drinkers “graduate” from 2020, says Cat Garabrant, associate marketing manager for the brand.
The resulting song, a two-minute tongue-in-cheek rewrite incorporating the various indignities and injustices of 2020 called “Graduation 2020 (Worst Year Ever)” debuted this week on Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify, with a karaoke music video available on Vizzy's YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
With lyrics such as “we spent our lives inside the house for a year, so we texted exes and adopted dogs,” and “we’ve had bad luck, enough to go around, like launching a seltzer when the bars closed down,” the song seeks to tap into the pervasive pandemic fatigue that has defined 2020.
“With many of us ready to say goodbye to 2020, we knew we had to create a send-off to remember,” Garabrant says. “As the first hard seltzer with antioxidant Vitamin C, Vizzy has been looking for the right time to pair up with Vitamin C, the artist with the most iconic farewell anthem ever.”
Vitamin C, whose given name is Colleen Fitzpatrick, said “When Vizzy approached me about creating an epic farewell ballad, I knew it was something I wanted to be part of.”
The Los Angeles-based musician, who remains in the music industry but in a different capacity, will donate a portion of earnings from the project to the United States Bartenders’ Guild’s National Charity Foundation and its Bartender Emergency Assistance Program. The nonprofit supports hospitality and service industry professionals, millions of whom are out of work or underemployed due to shutdowns and disruptions caused by the global pandemic.
She also plans to donate a portion of earnings to a Los Angeles County COVID-relief charity for vulnerable groups.
Vizzy will match the donation to USBG, a nonprofit that Molson Coors Beverage Co. has supported throughout 2020, starting with a $1 million donation announced in March.
“This has been a tough year for so many,” Garabrant says. “The song is the ultimate farewell anthem, a way to say goodbye to 2020 and start looking forward to 2021.”