Why 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' 's Tituss Burgess Doesn't Get Asked to Sing His Viral Hit 'Peeno Noir'

"I just get randomly sung at on the streets. It's pretty lovely," Tituss Burgess says of his song

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Published on July 28, 2015 02:45 PM

The song "Peeno Noir" became a viral hit after Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt premiered on Netflix earlier this year, but actor Tituss Burgess doesn’t get asked to sing it as often as you might think.

“I don’t get asked to sing it as much as people ask to sing it for me,” Burgess, 36, told reporters at a Television Critics Association panel Tuesday. “I just get randomly sung at on the streets. It’s pretty lovely.”

Burgess, who has been nominated for an Emmy Award this year for his work on the Netflix series, has a long list of Broadway credits, and his musical aptitude immediately appealed to the show’s creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.

“We knew we wanted Titus to sing and at one point I looked at Tituss about seven episodes in and said, ‘I think you’ve sung in every single episode,’ ” Carlock said.

As for the origins of “Peeno Noir,” Carlock said it stemmed from the writing staff’s “idea that [Titus] should try and promote himself online and make a video on the cheap.”

Burgess said a byproduct of his viral hit has been the many bottles of wine people have sent him in recent months.

“I’ve been drunk since the show aired,” he joked.