Cupid, an R&B singer-songwriter based in Lafayette, is the creator of one of the bestselling songs to emerge from Louisiana. His 2007 single, “Cupid Shuffle,” sold 5 million records and spawned one of the world’s most popular line dances. The dance, performed everywhere from family reunions to NFL games, landed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008 for the largest line dance assembled. More than seventeen thousand people danced to the song at the Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour in Atlanta to achieve the record. The original “Cupid Shuffle” video has more than 93 million views on YouTube as of 2024. Associated videos of fans dancing, along with instructional clips, have garnered more than 100 million views.

Born Bryson Bernard on October 10, 1982, in Lafayette, Cupid started in music as a choir singer at Progressive Baptist Church. A graduate of Northside High School, he earned a full track scholarship to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. However, he soon left collegiate running behind, instead forming a local band, Fifth Element, before pursuing a solo career. By 2001 he received radio airplay with the single “Do Yo Thang,” followed by “Swing Around the Rosey” and other hits from his 2005 album The King of Down South R&B.

Cupid’s career exploded following a collaboration with DJ and producer Brandon “Mr. Phat” Neazy of Lafayette. Their production, “Cupid Shuffle,” became popular at clubs and radio stations around Lafayette before quickly spreading across the South and beyond.

Atlantic Records picked up the single for national release on Cupid’s 2007 Time for Change album. The song’s popularity grew and peaked at sixty-six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and twenty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The line dance became a fixture in pop culture across the globe.

In 2008 three Miami Dolphins players did the “Cupid Shuffle” after scoring a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers. The dance has appeared in movies and TV shows, such as New Girl, Step Up 2: The Streets, Ginny and Georgia, Jumping the Broom, and a Philippine talent search series, Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break. Walt Disney World characters have danced the song in their productions. First Lady Michelle Obama included the song in her “Let’s Move” campaign encouraging children to fight obesity through fitness and dance. In addition Cupid has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, and other nationally syndicated TV and radio programs.

In 2022, when the Louisiana State University and Southern University football teams competed for the first time, both schools’ bands played and danced the “Shuffle” during the halftime show in Tiger Stadium. That same year, on July 19, the Recording Industry Association of America listed “Cupid Shuffle” on its list of platinum records, with more than five million certified units sold.

In 2014 Cupid released “CuRobicks,” a full-body, aerobic workout video. He and author Elvira Guzman partnered on his 2022 self-published book, Trust Your Gift: An Interactive Guide to Achieve Your Purpose. The book revealed that Cupid suffered a stroke in 2016 and had to lip sync at concerts as he rehabilitated his voice.

Billed as the “Linedance King,” Cupid continues to tour globally. Cupid’s Dance Party Radio show airs Saturday nights on Z105.9 KFXZ, part of the Delta Media Corporation based in Carencro, Louisiana.