There are some children's entertainment projects that adults enjoy just as much as kids: The Lego Movie, The Iron Giant, Adventure Time, Elf, The Princess Bride, Spongebob Squarepants, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, every movie made by Pixar. However, one project that won't make my list is Baby Shark. Just by writing this article, the song will be stuck in my head all day, doo doo doo doo doo doo.
In case you're unfamiliar with the song, STOP READING THIS IMMEDIATELY AND RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. Still here? All right, you've been warned! Created by the South Korean production company Pinkfong, Baby Shark is a colorful 90 second minute music video starring animated sharks and children doing coordinated shark-themed dances. The lyrics shout-out the various members of shark family: "Mommy shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo / Daddy shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo / Grandma shark" - you get the point.
The video became an Internet sensation, racking up more than two billion views on YouTube and making the Billboard Top 100 chart for the second consecutive week. (When I go to the club, there's nothing I love hearing more than Baby Shark.) And if you thought this was the end of Baby Shark, think again, sweet summer child.
Bloomberg reports that Pinkfong is "planning to release short videos via Netflix Inc., a cartoon series and a musical in North America this year, one of the company’s founders said in an interview this week." If you thought The Haunting Of Hill House was scary, just wait until you finish an episode, and Netflix starts auto-playing Baby Shark.
"We’ve added the ‘K-pop factor’ into our songs, such as very trendy beats and upbeat rhythms," said Seungkyu Lee, the chief financial officer at SmartStudy, who owns PinkFong "If you’ve ever heard of ‘Baby Shark,’ you might feel the importance of community. In a group, we should walk or swim together."
For his next move, he plans to develop content for older children (between five and eight years old), and is closely examining penguins. Somewhere, I imagine there's a room full of stressed-out writers feverishly writing lyrics. "Baby penguin, dee dee dee dee dee dee - no! That's not it. Baby penguin, da da da da da da - no! Baby penguin, duh duh duh duh duh duh - ugh! Damnit! This is impossible!"
But despite the haters, the jingle is permeating our pop culture. Cardi B tweeted that her six-month old daughter, Kulture, loves the Baby Shark mixtape. Amazon is selling 'Baby Shark' costumes for dogs. And on his late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel joked that "whoever is responsible for it should be locked in prison for the rest of their lives, and then when they die their bodies should be fed to the very sharks they sang about."
It's Baby Shark's world now, we're just living in it.
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