There has been a controversy ever since singer and social activist Abrar-ul-Haq criticized modern day mothers for singing ‘Baby Shark’ rather than lullabies.
But what is ‘Baby Shark’ and what is it so popular?
‘Baby Shark’ became well-known in 2016, when Pinkfong, a South Korean entertainment company, released a YouTube video featuring the song which went viral. By November 2020, Pinkfong’s version became the most-viewed YouTube video of all time, with over 9 billion views.
At one-minute-an-21-seconds long, the song’s repetitive “doo-doo-doo-du-du-du-du-du-du” refrain invites endless replays. Coupled with simple and easy to follow dance steps, it has become extremely popular among kids, especially under the age of five.
Although it is unclear who the original writer of the song is, it is said to be a popular American campfire song which has been sung and recreated a couple of times. Various entities have copyrighted original videos and sound recordings of the song, and some have trademarked merchandise based on their version.
Pingfrog version
‘Baby Shark’ was further popularized by a video produced by Seoul-based production company Pinkfong. The original video for ‘Baby Shark’ was uploaded on November 26, 2015.
All videos related to Pinkfong’s song had garnered around 5 billion views by January 2020. The most popular of these videos, “Baby Shark Dance”, was uploaded on June 17, 2016, and went viral.
On 2 November 2020, four years after it was uploaded, it became the most-viewed YouTube video of all time after surpassing Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” with 7.04 billion views.
Baby Shark became a global sensation after it was remixed and recreated by the Seoul-based production company Pinkfong. Sung by 10-year-old Korean-American singer Hope Segoine, the video of the English version of the song, released in June 2016, broke the record of being the most-watched video.
Although the song is in public domain and not owned by Pinkfong, the company was sued in 2019 by children’s songwriter Jonathan Wright, who had recorded a similar version in 2011 and argued that he held copyright on his own take on the material.
Popularity
Baby Shark became an international hit, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2019, and also made it to the UK Top 40 list. Pinkfong stands to have made about $5.2 million from YouTube streams alone. The song first went viral in south-east Asia, and then in the US and Europe.
It prompted a spin-off live tour, merchandise, books and more, plus reworkings of the song, including one featuring Luis Fonsi and another promoting handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baby Shark Challenge
The song became a viral internet trend in 2017, when scores of families and communities in Indonesia were uploading videos doing their versions of the dance.
In 2018, #BabySharkChallenge became a viral trend on TikTok. As it entered the top music charts in the UK, actor-comedian James Corden featured it on ‘The Late Late Show’, and crooned the hit song along with Sophie Turner and Josh Groban.
Due to its popularity, this version of the song has spurred an online dance craze (sometimes referred to as the ‘Baby Shark Challenge’) while being cited as “the next big thing after the domination of Gangnam Style”.
K-pop groups including Blackpink and Red Velvet 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. The song went viral in the Western world in August 2018.
Controversies and legacy
While the English version simply lists the 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, a South Korean newspaper published a front-page editorial condemning these lyrics as sexist.
‘Baby Shark’ has appeared in media like films and video games. In 2019 and 2020, the song was featured in ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2’ and ‘Rubber’ and was playable in Just Dance 2020.
In March 2020, Pinkfong released a new interactive version of the song that encourages children to properly wash their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
