Domino Santantonio | Fifteen seconds that changed everything

A fifteen-second clip of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” got millions of views in a few hours, and a working Montreal drummer’s career changed shape overnight.

That is the short version. The longer one is more interesting, because Domino Santantonio was already a professional touring musician before the internet noticed — and what she has built since is a proper career rather than a moment.

Who is Domino Santantonio?

Domino Santantonio is a drummer from Montreal, Canada.

Before the viral clip she was known mainly for her work with the Québécois artist Roxane Bruneau — a real touring gig, in a French-language market that most of the English-speaking drumming world never sees.

She had also competed in Hit Like A Girl as far back as 2015, and returned as a judge for the 2021 finals, which is a nice arc.

The clip

During the pandemic she posted a fifteen-second cover of “Hips Don’t Lie” to TikTok.

Millions of views within hours. Half a million followers on that platform alone. Her videos across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have since passed 50 million views, and she was picked for TikTok Canada’s “It Starts On TikTok” campaign — billboards across the country and national television.

Drumeo’s voters gave her TikTok Drummer Of The Year in 2025.

What Domino Santantonio actually does

She plays pop drums properly. The clips are short, but the playing in them is correct: right feel, right dynamics, right part. That is why they travelled.

She is a live performer first. The touring work with Roxane Bruneau is the foundation, and it shows in how solid the time is.

She understands the format. Fifteen seconds is a brutal constraint. What makes her videos work is that each one has a hook — a specific moment that pays off — rather than being a fragment of a longer performance.

She is relentlessly cheerful about it. Drumeo once described her as the happiest drummer on TikTok, which sounds like a backhanded compliment and is not. The obvious enjoyment is a large part of the appeal, and it is not a common quality in online drumming, which tends towards the grim and technical.

Domino Santantonio’s setup

• Cymbals — Paiste.
• Sticks — Vic Firth, where she is a listed artist.
• Audio — Beyerdynamic.
• Retail and education partners including Thomann, Drumeo and GEWA Music.

Every era, with buy links, is on Domino Santantonio’s Rig Vault page.

Want the sound without the rig?

The lesson here is not gear. It is production, and it is worth taking seriously if you post drumming online.

Sort your audio out. The single biggest difference between a video that travels and one that does not is whether the drums sound like a record. A pair of overheads and a kick mic through a cheap interface will beat a phone microphone every time.

Then have one idea per clip. A fill, a groove, a joke, a surprise. Not a performance — a moment.

And play something people know. “Hips Don’t Lie” is not a drummer’s song. That is precisely why the clip reached people who are not drummers.

The Gear Guru will spec the kit; our electronic drum kit guide covers quiet recording options if you live in a flat.

Where to start

• The “Hips Don’t Lie” clip. For the history.
• Her longer YouTube covers. Where the actual playing is.
• Live footage with Roxane Bruneau. The day job.

Final thoughts

There is a lazy assumption that viral drummers are not real ones. Santantonio is a useful counter-example: a working touring professional whose reach happened to expand by several orders of magnitude because of a fifteen-second video.

The clip is the door. The career is what she did after walking through it — and five years on, she is still here, still touring, and still posting.

See Domino Santantonio’s full rig in the Rig Vault, or read about El Estepario Siberiano — the other drummer on this site whose career was built online and then verified on stage.