Watch 8-year-old drummer crush Led Zeppelin's Good Times Bad Times

Meet eight-year-old Yoyoka Soma, whose performance of John Bonham's drum part from Led Zeppelin's Good Times Bad Times has prompted praise from all corners of the internet.

The video of Yoyoka, whose favourite drummers are John Bonham, Chris Coleman and Benny Greb, is taken from the 2018 Hit Like A Girl contest, a global drumming contest for female percussionists.

"As Hit Like A Girl is a contest only for women, I definitely can’t lose it," says Yoyoka. "I want to be the best female drummer. Thanks to the great support by my family and fans, I can continue the practice and other musical activities. I want to show the best result of my daily practice and come out on top of this contest!"

"When I was a just small baby, my parents had a home studio and there were various kinds of instruments," adds Yoyoka. "My parents were performing music activities as amateur singer-songwriters and they cradled me with their music. When I listened to their songs and guitar performances, I was eager to join them and couldn’t stop beating out a rhythm. That was why I started playing the drums. 

"The drum was the first instrument in which I felt an interest in my life. My parents’ music peers often visited us to play together. I was glued to the powerful and dynamic performances by the drummers. At age two, I was playing the drums as if I were playing with toys. 

"At age four, I started performing at concerts. At age five, my family band Kaneaiyoyoka was formed by my parents. We have released two self-produced CD albums so far. Not only the drums, I also play the keyboard and perform as a vocalist. I compose lyrics and music as well.

"As a drummer, I enjoy being groove, tones and try to support vocalists carefully. My dream is to be the best drummer in the world. In addition, I want to be an artist who can do anything: playing all instruments, recording music, mixing the sound and designing the CD album jackets. As I am aiming at overseas activities, I am studying English conversation. I want to become friends with people all over the world through my musical activities!"

For more videos from the Hit Like A Girl contest, visit their website

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.