This video is one of the internet’s latest viral hits. ‘The Fox’ is a comedy song performed by two brothers, Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker who call their group Ylvis presumably after their last names. The song seems exceptionally silly as it opens and that doesn’t really change as it progresses. In fact it probably gets even stranger. The song starts with the description of what noises different common animals make, and then leads to the question ‘what does the fox say?’. Well, the brothers are kind enough to give their own interpretation of what indeed the fox might say.

Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding,

Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding,

Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding, perhaps?

Obviously the chorus is just a bit of fun and nonsense, covering different random sounds that a fox could make. Maybe it’s a subtle jab at how popular music and electronic music songs often feature a chorus with no words, simply sounds like ‘ohh’ and ‘ayy’. Perhaps the song is slightly satirical in that sense. It pokes fun at the lyrical content and function of popular music, and at the same time shows that you don’t even need lyrics that make much sense to make a good song (as many, including the Beatles, have shown before). The song is quite clever when analysed, and a lot of what the brothers do is heaped with smart notions.

It’s popularity is booming at the moment with over 12,000,000 views after only being on YouTube less than a week. Will the song ever be something that can match the short-lived popularity of Gangnam Style? Can anything ever reach the same kind of popularity that song had? Its wacky music video and nonsensical lyrics certainly seem to be catching and spreading with the help of the internet. It’s certainly giving the two Ylvisåker brothers some added publicity. But this is far from the first thing they’ve done. The two have been a variety act since way back in 2000 and have quite a big following in their native Norway.

The pair’s first foray into music was with the show “Ylvis – en kabaret” (“Ylvis – a cabaret”). With the show they released their first CD-single. Since then they have had many more shows, released DVDs of their live performances and have even hosted shows on Norwegian TV. They currently host a TV talkshow known as “I kveld med YLVIS” on TV Norge which has been running since September 2011 and the music videos they release are used to promote their current show and performances. Only time will tell if the video lives up to anywhere near the performance of Gangnam Style, but it will certainly provide the two brothers with a bit more coverage. One thing’s for sure, the video is a little silly, but it’s extremely entertaining and worth a watch.

They’re also quite funny in general.