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The Story of a Baby Shark-Sized Earworm
How a children’s campfire song gained 13 billion views on YouTube
If you had a small child in the middle of last decade, you’ll be familiar with “Baby Shark”. It’s more of an earworm than a fully-developed song, but it sure was (and is) popular with the preschool demographic. Toddlers love “Baby Shark” and their parents … less so.
To some, “Baby Shark” just might be considered torture.
In April this year, two jail officers in Oklahoma were put on probation for two years after subjecting inmates to “cruel and inhumane” treatment which included playing “Baby Shark” on a loop for hours.
If you don’t know “Baby Shark”, it’s a song about a family of sharks. Each family member is introduced with different hand motions that toddlers can easily toddlers mimic.
Since 2016, “Baby Shark” has been an internet sensation. There are hundreds of different versions of the song but the most popular is by South Korean children’s entertainment company, Pinkfong.
Pinkfong’s version has a bamboozling 13 billion views on YouTube, making it the world’s most-viewed YouTube video. In January 2019, “Baby Shark” made it to 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first Korean song that wasn’t K-pop to do so.
