A Long Island DJ and father-of-two has earned himself a well-deserved five minutes of fame after a video of his seriously sassy dance moves was posted online, quickly taking the world by storm.
John Lawless, 50, of Centereach, Long Island, was caught on camera showing off some very impressive skills while boogying along to Jackson 5 hit I Want You Back at the start of a Janet Jackson concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 15.
What was intended to be a fun night out for John and his 21-year-old son Kevin – who is, coincidentally, an aspiring dancer – turned into something so much more when John’s passionate dance performance was caught on camera by an impressed onlooker.
Groovy baby! Long Island father-of-two John Lawless, 50, was filmed dancing passionately to Jackson 5 hit I Want You Back while at a Janet Jackson concert in Brooklyn
The clip, which appears to have been filmed by someone sitting several rows behind John, shows him standing up from his seat and singing along to the popular Jackson 5 song, throwing some spectacular shapes at the same time.
From throwing his arms out to the side to spinning around on the spot, there is no shortage to his impressive skill set.
He also appears to know all of the words to the 1969 hit, mouthing along expertly while continuing to flaunt his fierce dancing.
Bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘dance like no one is watching’, John clearly impressed the crowd around him, many of whom can be seen looking up at him and smiling happily at his performance.
And while some children might have been embarrassed to see their dads putting on such a show, Kevin told Newsday Long Island that he thought his father’s impromptu show was ‘spectacular’.
Boogy on down! The Jackson 5 fan’s confidence and enthusiasm has been applauded by many of the videos 33 million viewers
John, meanwhile, was absolutely shocked by his new-found fame, saying, ‘When I go to concerts with my daughter or wife, they don’t really like to let me loose.’
He continued, ‘I was just taken aback at how positive everybody’s comments were and thankful they appreciated my art.’
And there certainly has been an impressive amount of appreciation, with the video of John’s dancing racking up tens of millions of views on Facebook, where it was posted by Lashea Battle along with the caption: ‘Homeboy was so serious I’m crying!’
Not only did the video go viral on Facebook, it also took over other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, with 43,765 retweets and 82,770 likes on Twitter after it was shared by user, @MJJLegion, a tribute page for the late Michael Jackson.
Another concert-goer, Nico Vargas-Germain, also posted a second video of John dancing the night away to Michael’s 1992 song Remember The Times on Instagram and that video has 96,074 views and counting.