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The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)

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"The Fox"
Song

"The Fox" is an electronic dance music song and viral video by Norwegian variety show duo Ylvis. The video was posted on YouTube on September 3, 2013, and has received over 26 million views.[1] It has been called "the song of the summer" and compared to K-pop hit Gangnam Style.[2][3][4][5]

The song was released as a single on iTunes in Norway on September 2, 2013,[6] and was planned to be released on iTunes in the United States on September 9.[7] However, the song was taken off both Norwegian and U.S. iTunes stores due to allegations of copyright violations by a third party.[8] There are currently no plans to release an album including the song.[7]

Background

Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker, members of the Norwegian comedy group Ylvis, produced the song and music video "The Fox" to promote the upcoming season of their television talkshow I kveld med YLVIS (Tonight with Ylvis) on TVNorge. In an interview with Billboard in the United States, Bård described the writing process for the song: "The way we work is we just sit around and talk about things and get ideas and take some notes. I guess we must have been talking about what sound a fox makes. And then we had a chance to work with Stargate, a production company in New York City...We actually did a favour for them and we asked them if they could produce a song for the new season in exchange".[7]

Music video

The video features the duo dancing in fox costumes and speculating "with deadpan seriousness"[5] about what sound a fox makes, offering possibilities such as "gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!" and "fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!" [9][10] The comedy of the piece arises in part from the increasingly ridiculous sounds proposed by the duo. The lyrics also reference morse code.

Production

The video was originally created to promote the new season of local show I kveld med YLVIS on TVNorge but was released on YouTube on TVNorge's channel and received more 21 million views.

The video was directed by Ole Martin Hafsmo with cinematography by Magnus Flåto. The choreograph was made by Thea Bay. The song itself was produced by Stargate.[9]

Reception and response

The song has appeared on top 100 iTunes charts of at least 18 countries around the world, and has reached #1 in Norway, #6 in Finland, and #9 in Estonia.[11]

Ylvis were surprised by the international success of the song, intending only to target their Norwegian audience.[7] Bård said he was "quite surprised" and that it was "supposed to entertain a few Norwegians for three minutes — and that's all."[9] Vegard described it as "definitely very shocking."[12]

Although interpreted by some commentators as a reference to the furry fandom,[13] the duo claim they did not know about its existence when producing "The Fox."[12]

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 29

References

  1. ^ Ylvis. "Ylvis - The Fox [Official music video HD]". YouTube.
  2. ^ Topher Gauk-Roger (September 6, 2013). "Latest viral sensation: Ylvis' 'The Fox'". CNN. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  3. ^ Stuart Dredge (September 6, 2013). "What the fox say? Ylvis music video goes viral on YouTube". The Guardian. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  4. ^ ""The Fox" is Weirdest Dance Song Ever [VIRAL VIDEO]". Elvis Duran and the morning show. September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Mansfield, Brian. "Your next viral video: Ylvis' 'The Fox'". USA Today. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  6. ^ "The Fox - Single". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d Nagy, Evie (September 7, 2013). "Ylvis Q&A: What 'The Fox' (Viral Stars) Say About Their Surprise Hit". Billboard. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  8. ^ http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/09/12/hit-music-video-pulled-off-itunes/
  9. ^ a b c Suebsaeng, Asawin (2013-09-05). "The Guy Behind "The Fox"—The Summer's Funniest Music Video—Talks About Going Viral". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  10. ^ Hachman, Mark (2013-09-05). "Must-see viral video of the moment: Ylvis 'The Fox'". PC World. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  11. ^ "Stats for Ylvis - The Fox in the iTunes top 100". iTunes top 100. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  12. ^ Jones, Van. "If anyone missed joke, viral video "What Does The Fox Say?" is sly tribute to sex habits of "furries." (Thus correct answer: "yiff.") #Geeks". Twitter. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Ylvis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
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