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Baby Shark Dance

You might remember it as baby shark song, Pinkfong Baby Shark

Latest viral16 of 24

2016·The platform era·skill

The most-viewed video ever uploaded, and a genuine question about which of many versions is canonical.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
baby shark song
Spread in
2016
Format
Video
Era
The platform era
Made by
Pinkfong, of the company SmartStudy
Taken from
A camp singalong that had been sung for decades and is believed to be in the public domain
Record
Most-viewed video on YouTube since 2 November 2020; first to ten billion views
Origin
Origin not yet established
Available
Playable from the source

Why it matteredWhat changed

It is the most-watched video on YouTube and the first to ten billion views, and it is a recording of a camp singalong that was already decades old.

TimelineIn order

  1. Made

    Alexandra Müller, performing as Alemuel, posts a German version, Kleiner Hai, to YouTube.1

  2. Remixed

    Johnny Only releases a non-violent version aimed at toddlers.1

  3. Posted

    Pinkfong uploads its first, Korean-language version.1

  4. Posted

    Pinkfong uploads Baby Shark Dance.1

  5. Mainstream

    The song enters the Billboard Hot 100 at number 32.1

  6. Record

    With 7.04 billion views it passes Despacito to become the most-viewed video on YouTube.1

  7. Record

    It becomes the first video on YouTube to reach ten billion views.1

  8. Later

    South Korea’s Supreme Court dismisses Johnny Only’s claim that Pinkfong copied his version.1

The version you rememberNot the same thing

The version people rememberBaby Shark Dance, by Pinkfong

The 2016 Pinkfong video.1

The earliest knownA camp song, and Kleiner Hai

The song had been sung at camps for decades. The earliest version named as a video is a German one from 2007.1

What people misrememberSet straight

Commonly remembered asPinkfong wrote Baby Shark.

ActuallyPinkfong arranged and recorded a song that already existed. A court found it had not copied the earlier recording it was accused of copying.1

Commonly remembered asA 2016 song.

ActuallyThe Pinkfong video is from 2016. A version had been on YouTube since 2007 and the song is older than that.1

More from hereIn this collection

RelatedMore like this

Records this one is explicitly related to — a copy, a remake, a parody, the same meme or the same maker.

Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later

This is the copy ViralWorld can show you. Whether it is the first is not established.

Where it came fromWhat we know

Original source uncertain. This is the earliest copy currently known.

View this upload on YouTube

No original upload has been established for this record. The index is showing the earliest copy it currently knows about, and says so rather than guessing.

Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.

Where
Known on YouTube.

ConnectedFollow it further

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Baby Shark

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

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