That annoying little song that’s incredibly hard to get out of your head has racked up 13 billion views on YouTube.
I’ve never felt so sorry for my parents until now.
‘Baby Shark’ was created in 2016 by Korean entertainment group Pinkfong.
But, the song's two-minute video clip started gaining momentum in 2017 and became the first video to generate 10 billion views on YouTube.
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Yep, that means it even overtook 'Despacito'.
Even Elon Musk tweeted about it in 2021, joking the video has ‘more views than humans.’
But as of last month, the video proceeded to hit 13 billion views on the online video-sharing platform.
Just to put things in perspective, ‘Baby Shark’ has more than double the number of views for smash hits, including 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran and 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth.
According to a report from BonusInsider, the catchy yet unbearable song has accumulated $22 million from its views on YouTube alone.
The outlet says the YouTube clip pulls in around $283,000 every month for its creators, which is based roughly 150 million views.
I mean, Pinkfong might as well just announce their early retirement.
Forbes recently sat down with Pinkfong’s CEO and co-founder, Kim Min-seok, who reflected on the song turning seven and the company’s plans for growth and expansion.
They’re showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
“We’ve initiated a new growth plan to expand into a global content powerhouse that creates content and entertaining experiences for family members of all ages,” the 42-year-old CEO told the outlet.
“We are developing various formats and genres of content that can attract untapped audiences beyond kids.”
Last year, Pinkfong partnered with Million Volt, a Seoul-based animation studio backed by CJ ENM, an entertainment unit of Korean billionaire Lee Jay-hyun’s CJ Group, and Korean billionaire Bang Jun-hyuk’s mobile-gaming company Netmarble.
The new partnership has seen the development of SEALOOK, an animation series that follows a group of silly seals in a mockumentary-style sitcom.
And while the premise may sound simple enough, it looks like Pinkfong has another hit on their hands, as the show has already hit four million YouTube subscribers.
But these are not just kids.
According to the company, more than 60 per cent of subscribers are between the ages of 18 and 34.
So, I guess their plans of world domination are slowly unfolding.
Watch this space.
Charisa Bossinakis