Just when you thought Baby shark doo doo doo do do (admit it – you didn’t read that, you sang it) was behind you, along comes Santa Shark to drive you crazy for the festive season.
Unless you’ve been living in the middle of nowhere for the last year, or maybe somewhere in outer space, you’ll know Korean group Pink Fong’s can’t-get-it-out-of-your-brain YouTube hit, Baby Shark.
Well, it’s time to get back in the water!
The viral sensation
Loved by toddlers and loathed by parents everywhere, the catchy tune sparked its own challenge. Social media was bombarded with a swarm of videos of fully-grown adults jumping out of their cars and dancing along down the road, doing all the actions.
Parents across the globe soon found themselves singing the pesky tune while doing the dishes, cooking dinner, or during some other unsuspecting household chore, whether or not the kids were in the room. The solution? Give your brain the side-eye for betraying you and quickly sing something else to prove you’re still cool.
Or be like this family who synched their Christmas lights display to the annoying song. Yes, really.
There’s a new shark in town
Now for the kicker. YouTube channel Super Simple Songs decided that one baby shark just isn’t enough. They’ve given the song a festive facelift, complete with Santa shark (ho-ho-ho), Reindeer sharks and even Elf sharks. The new video already has close to 4 million views in only a few days, proving that the Baby Shark madness is here to stay for a bit longer!
Take a look for yourself! But don’t blame us if Santa Shark gets stuck in your head …
Make it stop!
Social media is blowing up in response to the new version and the comments are hilarious. One Facebook user posted: “Oh, for the love of God, please stop the insanity!”
And this from another Facebook user: “Omg noooooooooo baby shark is bad enough please spare me the pain.”
Twitter users also chimed in. One person wrote: “Baby Shark has evolved. Santa Shark is here. Run.”
Baby Shark has evolved.
Santa Shark is here.Run. pic.twitter.com/3OQGioJ7Oy
— Ivory Wolf (@IvoryWolf13) December 8, 2018
While you’re absorbing all that, take another look at the crazy Baby Shark cover that launched a thousand copycat videos.
Why you shouldn’t run
Despite the fact that your immediate reaction is probably also to hide and avoid the new video at all costs, there are plenty of people who are loving the fishy Christmas tune and many reasons why a good sing song is actually beneficial to your little ones’ development.
Singing is a great way to develop language skills like speech patterns, communication and vocabulary. Songs like the dreaded Baby Shark and Santa Shark are actually great for helping kids learn concepts and themes, such as the names of people within a family, or Christmas icons. Songs with actions or dance moves are even better as they help to develop fine and gross motor skills, memory, timing and coordination.
So, if your kids are loving Santa shark and it’s getting them up and singing, let’s just suck it up and sing it with them.
Just make sure you’re ready for it to be stuck on repeat in your brain for the next few months. You never know. Maybe someone will create Cupid Shark in time for Valentine’s Day and then we can sing that too!
Need a break from all things sharky? Check out this list of the top 10 Christmas songs you can sing instead!
