Harry Potter, ‘Chocolate Rain’ win YouTube awards
Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES—A puppet show version of “Harry Potter” featuring a naked Dumbledore and an enigmatic song called “Chocolate Rain” by a Minnesota graduate student were among the winners of YouTube’s second annual video awards, the Web site said on Friday. Tay Zonday, a 25-year-old baritone PhD student in American Studies, won best music with his original song “Chocolate Rain,” a rhythmic electric keyboard-backed number whose curious lyrics could be a political statement — or humorous nonsense.
The song, one of about 30 videos Zonday has posted, has been covered by singer John Mayer and rockers Green Day, and he has performed it live on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show. “I would say basically (I started) just like millions of other people making videos in their living rooms,” Zonday told reporters. “That’s become so much a part of our lives.”
A homemade version of the special effects-laden Harry Potter movies, called “The Potter Puppet Pals in ‘The Mysterious Ticking Noise”’ captured the comedy award. The puppet show features an a capella song with an appearance by a naked, but not anatomically correct, Professor Dumbledore and an explosive ending.