The child star of Baby Shark Dance, the most-watched video in YouTube history, has made his K-pop debut a decade after finding global fame.
Park Geonroung was seven when he appeared in the colourful 2016 video, performing the simple dance moves that would eventually be watched billions of times around the world.
Now aged 17, Park has returned under the stage name Baby Shark Boy, releasing his first K-pop digital single, Wave, on Thursday with the backing of The Pinkfong Company, which owns the copyright to Baby Shark. The track also features Joohoney from the K-pop group Monsta X.
“Baby Shark Dance brought joy to people around the world, and I’m very grateful that so many people still remember me from 10 years ago,” Park told Reuters. “That made me want to come back and connect with people through music again.”
The new track gives an explicit nod to the song that made him famous. Wave opens with the familiar Baby Shark melody before transitioning into an electropop track. Park also contributed to the lyrics.
He said the release was intended to mark the start of a longer career.
“Wave feels more like a new beginning than a one-off project,” he said. “I hope to keep showing different sides of myself through music as well as other kinds of content.”
How big was Baby Shark?
Few viral hits have achieved anything approaching the reach of Baby Shark.
The children's song, about a family of sharks, was turned into Baby Shark Dance by South Korean children's entertainment company Pinkfong and uploaded to YouTube in June 2016.
Its repetitive “baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” refrain and accompanying hand movements helped to turn it into an international phenomenon, spawning a global dance craze, countless parodies and appearances at sporting events.
In November 2020, Baby Shark Dance overtook Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito to become the most-viewed video in YouTube history.
It has since extended that lead considerably, surpassing 17.2 billion views – more than twice the population of the planet.
The song's reach extended well beyond YouTube. It has been played at the White House and referenced by US President Donald Trump as well as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
It even found a home in Dubai. In 2019, Baby Shark was added to the repertoire of The Dubai Fountain, joining a playlist that has included songs by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. The children's hit was chosen by the public for the Downtown Dubai attraction in an online poll.
