Humans with access to both the internet and young children may be familiar with “Baby Shark,” a jaunty little ditty about a family of, well, sharks. A mega-hit on YouTube, the song hit the Billboard 100 this month, making the true transition to the mainstream. However, it’s been a power trend in social video since 2016. Here are some quick “Baby Shark” facts you may not be aware of:
- The most popular “Baby Shark” video has generated 2.3B views and 5.3M engagements on YouTube.
- It’s the 22nd most-viewed YouTube video of all time — and the most-viewed video in the “Education” category ever.
- The top ten most-viewed “Baby Shark” videos have generated nearly 4.6B views.
- “Baby Shark Challenge” videos have generated 396M views on YouTube.
For those not familiar with the song, we’re excited to bring it to you for the first time. You’re welcome:
Baby Shark: A Quick Viral Video History
Although the tune of “Baby Shark” is decades old, it was reworked by Pinkfong!, a South Korean educational brand, and uploaded by the company to YouTube in June 2016. It was Pinkfong!’s version of the rhyme that captured the imagination of kids around the world and launched the viral craze. “Baby Shark” became a global phenomenon and a meme-friendly smash, with even top K-pop groups doing their own performances of the song at their concerts. Views of PinkFong!’s YouTube upload gathered pace, making it the 22nd most-viewed video in YouTube history. While the original “Baby Shark” upload has generated 2.2B views, it’s not the only version that’s doing well on the platform. In fact, the top 10 most-viewed “Baby Shark” videos have generated almost 4.6B views to date, with the following five the most-viewed of all time:
- Baby Shark Dance | Sing and Dance! – Pinkfong! (2.3B)
- Baby Shark | Kids Songs and Nursery Rhymes – Bounce Patrol Kids (537M)
- Baby Shark | CoCoMelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs – CoCoMelon (281M)
- Baby Shark | + More Kids Songs – Super Simple Songs (253M)
- Halloween Baby Shark | Kids Songs and Nursery Rhymes – Bounce Patrol Kids (247M)
“Baby Shark Challenge” Videos: 394M Views on YouTube
As if the “Baby Shark” craze wasn’t enough, like the true power trend that it is, it spawned an equally successful spin-off in the shape of “Baby Shark Challenge” videos. This dance routine soon became a full-on genuine social challenge across video platforms and apps like TikTok, and pulled in the generations to expand the appeal of the video far beyond its toddler base.
Kicking off in August 2017, the “#BabySharkChallenge” first captivated social media users in Indonesia, where people filmed themselves doing the “Baby Shark” dance moves. Much like the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” and “Harlem Shake,” the craze soon spread across the globe, helped along again by K-pop acts like BlackPink who filmed themselves dancing and singing along to the “Baby Shark” moves.
In the last three years, “Baby Shark Challenge” videos have generated 396M views on YouTube, with 388M of those views from influencer uploads, and 2.9M views from content uploaded by media and entertainment brands. Interestingly, 8M views were for live YouTube videos of the challenge. Roughly 246M of the 388M YouTube views on influencer content were generated for video uploads of between 2 and 5 minutes. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the most-viewed “Baby Shark Challenge” on the platform was uploaded by Pinkfong! and has attracted 156M views to date:
On Facebook, “Baby Shark Challenge” videos have generated 166M views, 83.8M of which can be attributed to uploads from media and entertainment publishers, with 69.4M views credited to influencer Pages.
The most-viewed “Baby Shark Challenge” on Facebook is the hilarious “Mum Makes Dad Do Baby Shark Challenge” uploaded by UNILAD Sound. The video itself is a repost from UK viral video sensation LadBaby, and has attracted 31.8M views to date.
Surprisingly few brands have created “Baby Shark” content, with only 245 uploading content around the craze in the past three years. Compare this with uploads from 21K influencers and 1.3K media and entertainment publishers and there seems to have been a wasted opportunity given the potential of the craze. However, one brand (Pinkfong!, of course) has benefited fantastically from that original 2016 upload, and is currently working on a line of “Baby Shark”-inspired soft toys to be distributed via Amazon.
We’ll just leave you with this: “Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo… .”