The classics win again. “Baby Shark” has swum to the top of the YouTube charts, officially becoming the most viewed YouTube video of all time—with an incredible 7.04 billion views. In case you’ve been away from civilisation over the last couple of years, the children’s song was sung by Hope Segoine and produced by Pinkfong, a Korean educational company.
Since the 17th of June 2016, Baby Shark has been one of the most popular children’s songs—as any parent would testify. Doo doo doo doo, right? If you have somehow managed to forget what the track sounds like, allow me to bless your ears:
In achieving its new status as the most played video on YouTube, Baby Shark overtook yet another classic (earworm)—“Despacito”, by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. However, the popular dance track has had less time to get those views, having been uploaded at the beginning of 2017.
Pinkfong also released a version of the song to encourage kids to wash their hands—a particularly important message amidst the COVID-19 pandemic these days—which amassed over 26 million views on its own:
Meanwhile, coming in at number three (after Baby Shark and Despacito) for most-viewed videos on YouTube is Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”, followed by “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. Number five and six? More kid songs: “Masha and the Bear” and “Johny Johny Yes Papa“.
Suffice it to say, children form a huge demographic in viewership, which is why companies like YouTube have implemented parental controls, or even kid-friendly accounts via YouTube Kids. However, the internet can still be a dangerous place—even YouTube. For now, let’s enjoy the fact that Baby Shark is a 100 percent kid-friendly track, and it appears that children everywhere are still doo doo doo doo doo-ing the Baby Shark dance.
