It’s the song you just cannot get out of your head. It’s the viral dance challenge taking over Instagram. It’s the YouTube video with more than 2.3 billion views: It’s Baby Shark (doo doo doo doo doo doo).
While “Baby Shark” is a classic camp song kids all over America sang for decades, Korean education company Pinkfong reinvigorated the song with a dance video featuring a few adorable kids, color-saturated graphics, and moves that are easy to master. Pinkfong posted its “Baby Shark Dance” YouTube video in June 2016, and the views continue to climb. While every parent with a child younger than 5 has likely watched the video a dozen times, Baby Shark became a pop culture phenomenon—with celebrities getting in on the fun, too.
James Corden performed a slower, classy rendition of the song on The Late Late Show in September, featuring Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner as Mommy Shark and international singing sensation Josh Groban as Daddy Shark. Ellen Degeneres even did her own rendition on her daytime talk show, subbing in “Ellen Show” for “Baby Shark” lyrics.
“Baby Shark” even landed itself on Billboard’s Hot 100 list for multiple weeks in January, peaking at 32. A children’s song is officially one of the hottest songs in the country.
“We took ‘Baby Shark’ to a whole new level. Adding upbeat rhythms, a fresh melody, and characters, we’ve recreated slow and monotonous children’s songs into animated music videos with lively, vivid characters,” says Bin Jeong, CEO of Pinkfong USA.
And there’s no end in sight for Baby Shark and his family. Pinkfong and its licensing partners are set to debut a full line of Baby Shark products this year. Soon, kids will be wearing Baby Shark T-shirts, playing with Baby Shark toys, and reading Baby Shark books.
“With the rising trend of Baby Shark, we are in the process of rolling out physical products ranging from books to toys, and other consumer products, including apparel, accessories, and home,” Jeong says.
WowWee partnered with Pinkfong last September, and quickly rolled out a small line of Baby Shark Song Dolls for $16.99 and Sound Cubes for $7.99 for presale on Amazon on December 1. The toys sold out in two days.
This year, WowWee also has a Baby Shark Dancing Song Doll plush; Baby Shark Fingerlings; and Baby Shark, Mommy Shark, and Daddy Shark singing plush puppets with speed control. The faster kids open and close each puppet’s mouth, the faster it will sing “Baby Shark.”
“We’re excited to launch a toy line that marries the incredible Baby Shark music and characters with WowWee’s signature innovation and interactive play. We crafted a robust selection of items to satisfy customers across toy categories and channels,” says Emily Chacra, brand manager at WowWee.
In addition to WowWee, Pinkfong also partnered with Cardinal/Spin Master, Hasbro, and Basic Fun! for more toys and games.
But wait—there’s more. Kids can take a break from the “Baby Shark” YouTube video because new Baby Shark content is coming. “We already have strong short-form content production/distribution and live shows/concerts happening around the world, and will be launching long-form content such as the Pinkfong Wonderstar 3-D animated series and Baby Shark shorts for TV, as well as a Baby Shark movie,” Jeong says.
Adults and kids alike will have the song stuck in their heads for months to come. It’s not the end (doo doo doo doo doo doo).
This article was originally published in the Pop Insider’s Winter 2019 Issue No. 2, click here to read more!
