“The Fox” is a song by Norweigan comedy music duo Ylvis. The song and its accompanying music video gained Internet popularity following its release in September 2013 due to its absurd lyrics describing the titular animal. The video has attained over 8.5 million views on YouTube in less than a week following its upload.
Origin
Ylvis is a comedy duo from Bergen, Norway consisting of brothers Bård Ylvisåker (born 1972) and Vegard Ylvisåker (born 1979).[1] Active since 2000, Ylvis are primarily known in their home country for their improvisational comedy and television programs on the TV Norge network.[1]“The Fox” was written and recorded by the duo for their TV series I kveld med YLVIS,[2] and was produced by renowned Norwegian production duo StarGate.[3] The music video for the song was directed by Ole Martin Hafsmo[4] and uploaded to YouTube by TV Norge on September 3, 2013.[5] Its simplistic lyrics describe the sounds various animals make, while the chorus consists almost entirely of random onomatopoeic sounds describing what a fox would sound like.[6]
Spread
Following its upload in September 2013, the video became a viral hit due to its humorous lyrical and visual content. In just three days following its release, it was viewed over 2 million times on YouTube.[7] Several media outlets jokingly referred to the video as the “song of the summer” and drew comparisons to PSY’s “Gangnam Style”.[8][9] In Norway, “The Fox” quickly shot to number one on the iTunes Top 100 download chart.[10] Interviewed by Billboard about the video’s sudden popularity, Bård Ylvisåker of Ylvis responded:[11]
Q: So I guess this has been an insane 24 hours? Did you expect this to happen or did you think it would just go around Norway?
A: Very much so. No we didn’t even think of it. It was for our talk show, starting this Tuesday. It was released to get some attention in Norway. Beyond that we hadn’t even thought about it, it’s really crazy.
Q: Do you have any idea how it happened?
A: None. What surprised me the most is that even the very earliest comments on YouTube were “This one is going to go viral,” “This is the new Gangam Style.” Everything was about it going viral. Normally, you know we get some hits and we get some comments, but they’re all about the actual contents of the songs. But this was mostly about the phenomenon, which was really strange, even when it was only at 100,000 views.
External References
[3]CNN– Latest viral sensation: Ylvis’ ‘The Fox’
[4]Mother Jones – The Guy Behind ‘The Fox’--The Summer’s Funniest Music Video--Talks About Going Viral
[5]YouTube – Ylvis – The Fox [Official music video HD]
[6]NBC– Vixen video goes viral: Here’s what the fox actually says
[7]The Guardian – What the fox say? Ylvis music video goes viral on YouTube
[8]Gawker – Two Guys You’ve Never Heard Of Just Released the Song of the Summer
[9]Stuff.co.nz – Is this the next Gangnam Style?
[10]Snkhan – iTunes Norway Top 100 Song Downloads
[11]Billboard – Ylvis Q&A: What ‘The Fox’ (Viral Stars) Say About Their Surprise Hit