儿歌《鲨鱼宝宝》在媒体上大获成功

 'Baby Shark' Enjoys Big Bite of Media Success

In the words of comedian¹ James Corden, every so often a song comes along that defines² a generation:

Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo. Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo.

The late-night television host, carpool karaoke king and father of three young children was talking about the children’s song “Baby Shark.”

Maybe you have not heard the song, but that seems impossible. In 2015, a South Korean educational content maker³, Pinkfong, released its first “Baby Shark” video. Later, it broke the internet with a version that mixed animation⁴ and two loveable human kids. The video shows them dancing to the story of a shark family, K-pop style. The video has more than 2 billion views on YouTube.

A group called Super Simple also has well-loved versions of the song, and YouTube provides a huge number of other “Baby Shark” offerings to choose from.

And then came #babysharkchallenge. People began to record themselves performing the song and dance, and posting the recordings⁵ on social media. Now, stores are selling “Baby Shark” children’s clothing, books and toys.

“Our toddler’s shark video addiction⁶ is a huge issue in our household,” said Columbus, Ohio mom Kitty French. She said the song was cute at first but now has become an “earworm” that the adults have tired of.

Not all adults feel that way. Many are continuing to post “Baby Shark”-linked videos of themselves and their children. In one, a little girl urges the electronic assistant Alexa to play her favorite shark song. The girl becomes upset by the smart device’s not-so-smart lack of understanding.

In another video, a family in the U.S. state of Texas has designed its Christmas lights to go on and off with the beat of the “Baby Shark” music.

“Baby Shark,” helper shark

Some parents of special needs kids think “Baby Shark” is more than fun. They argue it has helped their young ones.

Holly⁷ Anderson of the U.S. state Utah is a mother of four. Her 3-year-old son has autism, a disorder⁸ that can affect social skills, speech and other areas. His therapist uses children’s songs on YouTube, including “Baby Shark,” to help patients.

Anderson said her son “has a very difficult time staying still, even for a moment, and usually spends his time running around in therapy.”

But she said the “Baby Shark” song and video helps her son calm down.

Bob Cunningham is an educator and adviser⁹ for the nonprofit Understood.org. The organization supports parents of kids with learning and attention issues. He praised “Baby Shark” as catchy¹⁰ and colorful.

He added, “Both the music and the animation are predictable, with repeated words, phrases, colors and movements.”

The combinations can capture and keep children’s attention, even for children who have trouble paying attention, Cunningham said. The song and video also occupy most of the senses at the same time and combine language with music and movement. This combination can appeal to kids who struggle with any of those things individually. For example, the movement can support less-developed language, and the music can offer support when movements are difficult, he said.

Corden, host of “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” is not the only star to get involved with the baby shark craze. He invited Sophie Turner, Josh Groban and a choir¹¹ to perform the song on his show.

TV entertainer Ellen DeGeneres also used the song on her show.

“Baby Shark,” rich shark

In addition to being famous, “Baby Shark” sells. A Montreal-based company, WowWee, has a Pinkfong license¹² for North America to sell the shark family in soft toys. The toys sing when pressed in the middle. The online marketplace Amazon took orders for the toys with a guarantee that they would arrive by Christmas. WowWee’s chief technology officer, Davin Sufer, said they sold out in less than three days.

Each toy costs just less than $20. Sufer would not say how many were sold. Many of the buyers, however, are now re-selling the toys for more than $100 each on Amazon.

The privately-held WowWee was already in talks with Pinkfong as far back as nearly a year ago when “Baby Shark” truly exploded, said Sufer.

The businessman has three kids of his own. Last summer, his 9-year-old daughter who came home from camp last summer singing the song before she knew his involvement.

He said of the song, “You hear it once or twice and you hear yourself singing, 'doo doo doo doo doo doo.' I could see maybe parents getting a little tired of it, but kids aren’t.”

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 defines   

规定( define的第三人称单数 )； 使明确； 精确地解释； 画出…的线条

参考例句：

• This name defines us all. 这个名字造就了我们。 来自演讲部分
• The range of incomes over which this happens defines the 'poverty trap'. 发生在这种情况的收入范围，称为“贫困陷阱。”

3 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

4 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

5 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

6 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

7 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

11 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

12 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。