Baby Shark

"Baby Shark" is a children's song about a family of sharks. It was a popular German song starting in 2007, and it recently became popular again as an international internet challenge, originating in South Korea.

History

German version

The dance version of "Baby Shark" originated from a 2007 YouTube video called "Kleiner Hai" published by Alexandra Müller.[1] This version is set to the theme of Jaws and tells the story of a baby shark who grows up and eats a swimmer.[2] The video gained popularity shortly after[3] and alemuel was offered a record deal by the label EMI Müller[4], which published the song accompanied by disco beats on May 30, 2008. The single peaked at place 25 of the German charts[5] and place 21 of the Austrian charts [6]. Based on the single and the original video, the youtube community created a popular music video which is a typical example of crowdsourcing. The German version of the song remains popular among German youth groups and multiple variations (also in different dialects of German [7]) have been published since it first gained popularity in 2007.

Pinkfong versions

The "Baby Shark" song was popularized by a video produced by Pinkfong, an education brand under South Korean media startup SmartStudy, titled "Baby Shark" (Hangul: 상어 가족; RR: Sang-eo Gajok; lit. shark family) released on November 25, 2015, which has garnered over 130 million views as of October 2018.[8] This version of the song starts with bars from Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 which are reminiscent of music from the movie Jaws. The song features a family of sharks which go hunt a school of fish which escape to safety.[9] It became a viral video in Indonesia in 2017, and throughout the year it spread to many other Asian countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia. The mobile app was among the top 10 most downloaded in the family apps category in South Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia in 2017.[10] As of September 2018, the dance version of the "Baby Shark" song, uploaded on June 17, 2016,[11] has received over 1.8 billion views worldwide, making it the 33rd most viewed video on YouTube.[12]

Due to its popularity, it has spurred an online dance craze (or referred to as Baby Shark Challenge) around the world, while being cited as "the next big thing after the domination of Gangnam Style". K-pop groups including Girls' Generation, Red Velvet and Black Pink have been credited with further spreading the viral song through their coverage of the song and dance, specifically on their featured TV shows and concerts.[13][14] The song began to go viral in the Western world in August 2018.[15] In September 2018, Ellen DeGeneres released her own version of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and James Corden performed a version on The Late Late Show with James Corden.[16]

While the English version just listed members of the shark family, the Korean version says Mommy Shark is "pretty", Daddy Shark is "strong", Grandma Shark is "kind" and Grandpa Shark is "cool". In January 2018, the South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun published a front-page editorial condemning these lyrics as sexist. In May 2018, the Liberty Korea Party started using "Baby Shark" to promote its candidates, prompting SmartStudy to threaten legal action over copyright infringement.[2][17]

Chart performance

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 41
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[19] 39
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[20] 12
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 32

References

  1. ↑ "Where did the Baby Shark song come from?". Evening Standard. September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Pineros, Benjamin (September 18, 2018). "Sexism, German memes and right-wing chants: Behind the 'Baby Shark' viral sensation". Techly. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Schnappt der "kleine Hai" nach "Schnappi"?". Bild Zeitung online. May 29, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Alemuel Biografie". last fm. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Offizielle deutsche Charts https://www.offiziellecharts.de/suche?artist_search=Alemuel&do_search=do. Retrieved October 6, 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ austriancharts.at https://austriancharts.at/search.asp?cat=s&search=Alemuel. Retrieved October 6, 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Hassendoerper. "WRS Baby Hai". YouTube. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Baby Shark | Animal Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Children". November 25, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ Sen, Indrani. "The story behind the astonishingly viral Baby Shark YouTube video". Quartzy. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "PINKFONG". www.facebook.com.
  11. ↑ "Baby Shark Dance | Sing and Dance! | Animal Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Children". June 17, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Who Is Behind The Viral 'Baby Shark' Song And How Is It Taking Over Our Lives?". Rojakdaily.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  13. ↑ Ramirez, Elaine. "How This 'Baby Shark' Video Went Insanely Viral In Indonesia". Forbes.
  14. ↑ ""Baby Shark" Dance Craze From South Korea Dominates Online World". Phil News. September 27, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  15. ↑ Sen, Indrani (August 27, 2018). "The story behind the astonishingly viral Baby Shark YouTube video". Quartz. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  16. ↑ "James Corden, Ellen, and The Internet: Why is Everyone Dancing to 'Baby Shark' Nursery Jingle?". News18. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  17. ↑ Ryall, Julian (September 5, 2018). "Viral children's song Baby Shark embroiled in row over sexism". The Independent. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  19. ↑ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 39, 28 september 2018". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
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