Think Your Idea Isn’t Good Enough? Baby Shark Begs to Differ
And who are we to argue with the most-watched video on YouTube?
I am suffering from imposter syndrome big time right now. I don’t know why this syndrome decided to rear its ugly head today but my finger has been hovering over the “publish” button and then finding its way to “delete” before my brain even has any say in the matter.
While I’m over here wasting time writing articles and then promptly wiping them from existence, my two-year-old is repeatedly asking me to play “a doo-doo” on YouTube.
No, my kid’s not asking me to play poop videos, chill out.
She’s still working on her words but what she’s asking for is the song “Baby Shark” owned by The Pinkfong Company.
I decided to give up any hope of productivity today and play the video for my impatient daughter. I almost choked on the lukewarm coffee I’d been trying to drink all morning (mom struggles) when I saw that “Baby Shark” has 12 Billion views on YouTube. Yup, billion with a “B”.
Turns out, my toddler isn't the only one asking for “a doo-doo” on Youtube. Ok, she really needs to give it a better name.
After doing some research, I learned this song was written sometime last century but became big when Pinkfong (a South Korean entertainment company) created the now-famous YouTube video for it.
Baby Shark is now the most-watched video on YouTube.
I will describe this little diddy to you but you might want to just see it for yourself on YouTube. Watch two seconds of it and you get the entire thing.
Baby Shark is a song about a (spoiler alert) baby shark and his family. The lyrics are few: Baby Shark, doo-doo doo-doo then Mommy Shark, doo-doo doo-doo followed by daddy, grandma, and grandpa shark in the same pattern of lyrical genius.
While the lyrics are profound and heartfelt, the video isn’t anything crazy. A cute little boy and girl lip-syncing with a cartoon ocean backdrop.
The concept is so simple. Yet kids love it. There’s even a live “Baby Shark” show that tours around the country.
I wonder if The Pinkfong Company ever suffered from imposter syndrome while making the “Baby Shark” music video.
I can imagine if I proposed the idea of “Baby Shark” to my husband.
“I wrote a song. The only words are going to be baby, mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa shark followed by doo doo doo doo. What do you think?”
That idea would have gotten shut down faster than I did when I asked my parents if I could get my belly button pierced at age 15. (Had they said yes, Claudia the Australian exchange student wouldn’t have had to do it with a safety pin and it probably wouldn’t have gotten so infected, but I digress, as usual.)
If you’re having doubts about your blogging, vlogging, or are lacking the courage to get ideas out in the universe, think of the simplicity of “Baby Shark.”
Maybe your ideas will flop. Maybe they won’t. No way of knowing unless you put them out there. If your finger is hovering over that “publish” button, hit it!
You’ll feel better if you just doo-doo doo-doo it.
Also by the author: