Social media erupt with ‘Pen Pineapple Apple Pen’ memes, parodies
“Pen Pineapple Apple Pen,” or “PPAP,” a Japanese song brandished by many as an infectiously viral “ringtone,” has not only “brainwashed” Japanese social media but also other Asian online users.
The frenzy track was performed by Piko-Taro, a fictional character brainstormed by comedian-DJ Kosaka Daimaou, whose real name is Kazuhiko Kosaka. Although the comic clip went live on the video-sharing site for a month, it was only felicitously celebrated by social media when it was posted by several Facebook pages in the past few days.
Clad in yellow garments and an animal print scarf, Piko-Taro was likened to Borsalino Kizaru, the swanky marine admiral in the smash-hit anime series “One Piece.”
The music video, uploaded on Piko-Taro’s YouTube account, has amassed 6.6 million views while a similar clip posted on 9GAG’s Facebook page has garnered 54.6 million views as of Wednesday.
Several Asian social media pages enhanced their creative skills by making memes of the Japanese sensational hit.
Aside from hilarious memes, parodies of PPAP surfaced online. One Facebook user from Thailand remixed the song into an upbeat hit for bars while one Japanese YouTuber created a metal rock mash-up of a pineapple, apple and a pen.
A Filipino netizen created his goofy dance number of the viral hit, which also went viral with 1.5 million views.
Singaporean beatbox prodigy and social media star Dharni also created his own version of PPAP.
When asked by a Twitter user how he invented the catchy jingle, Daimaou responded, “When I was making this music with play, I was singing all too soon.”
When I was making this music with play, I was singing all too soon. https://t.co/eKFq5WgPds
— ピコ太郎(PIKOTARO) (@pikotaro_ppap) September 26, 2016
Japanese teens who were inspired by the song’s simple lyrics sketched artworks of an apple, pineapple and pen.
うさまるPPAP#落書き#うさまる#ppap #ぺんぱいなっぽーあっぽーぺん pic.twitter.com/wVYjSm4f32
— saya «photo&design» (@bugsbunny3838) September 26, 2016
#PPAP #pineapple #apple #pen #penpineappleapplepen
I JUST CANT…..Pineapple and apple is innocent ._. pic.twitter.com/8IbHICPyrr
— none (@Ryanhigaismybae) September 25, 2016
#PPAP pic.twitter.com/wIBPaa1v1N
— にか (@takishimanica) September 26, 2016
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Daimaou, 43, mentioned that he conceptualized the jingle while he was “eating fruits and facing his computer” one day. It was the entertainer’s debut English song, and he feels aghast with its accelerating popularity online.
READ: Sway to the viral Japanese hit ‘Pen Pineapple Apple Pen’
“It was totally unexpected,” he told the news site. “The way it spread rapidly around the world made me realize for the first time that I was singing in English. I was so happy that my height increased by three inches!”
Daimaou was born in Aomori City, Japan, and previously appeared in the 2012 film “Karasu No Oyayubi” (By Rule of Crow’s Thumb). Gianna Francesca Catolico
