Boy who helped 'Baby Shark' go viral makes comeback with new K-pop tune
SEOUL, South Korea -- A decade after dancing in the "Baby Shark" video that would become YouTube's biggest hit, a 17-year-old is returning to music with a K-pop solo.
Park Geonroung, who appeared in The Pinkfong Company's "Baby Shark" video when he was only 7, is making his debut as a solo K-pop performer with an electro pop song "WAVE."
The new release comes roughly 10 years after the children's song began its extraordinary run online, accumulating more than 17.2 billion views on YouTube as of Wednesday.
"I remember when 'Baby Shark Dance' became the most-watched video on YouTube," Park told ABC News in a written interview. "I started seeing my face on the news, and the view counts had reached a number that almost didn't seem real."
For viewers who remember him from "Baby Shark," the transformation is striking.
"WAVE" presents Park as a young K-pop performer rather than the child whom audiences saw dancing alongside Pinkfong's 'Baby Shark' characters in a light blue swimming suit. But the new project also seeks to carry over the upbeat personality and energy associated with his childhood appearance, adding a more mature sound and idol-style presentation.
His debut comes as The Pinkfong Company explores what can follow the enormous success of "Baby Shark."
The South Korean company built its international profile through children's songs and characters, with "Baby Shark" becoming its defining global property. The song traveled far beyond its original young audience, spawning dance challenges, merchandise, television content and other projects and turning Pinkfong into a recognizable entertainment brand around the world.
A decade later, the company is looking beyond that formula. Launching a K-pop solo artist represents a new direction for a business best known for children's entertainment. It also presents an unusual opportunity: One of the children associated with the company's biggest cultural phenomenon is now old enough to pursue an audience of his own.
"The release marks a new music project from The Pinkfong Company, drawing on the real-life growth story behind one of its global intellectual properties," The Pinkfong Company said in a statement to ABC News.
Park is stepping in front of the camera not simply as the boy from "Baby Shark," but as an artist trying to build the next stage of his career. By writing his own lyrics and through the recording and choreography process, he gave serious thought about how he wanted to present himself.
"With the song WAVE, I'm not simply looking back on those memories -- I'm building on that starting point and moving forward with my own voice and story," Park told ABC News.
