BushвЂ™s White House oozed into everything: blaming video games for mass shootings and Britney SpearsвЂ™ midriff for corrupting girls the nation over. It was a high time for pop culture panic. вЂњWhen IвЂ™d talk to my friends about this, they were very flipped out about Britney Spears or Eminem or whoever the artist of the day might be,вЂќ Chenfeld told me over the phone. By 2000, he and his friend Craig Balsam each had three kids under the age of 10, and the sonically beleaguered fathers noticed something: Even the kids in attendance were growing weary of вЂњBaby Beluga.вЂќ But while the parents could do without hearing вЂњI Love You, You Love MeвЂќ for the thousandth time, they were wary about switching from childrenвЂ™s music to Top 40 radio. But in the late вЂ™90s he spent weekend after weekend at kidsвЂ™ birthday parties, where the soundtrack was basically Barney and Raffi on repeat. How much of a parentвЂ™s identity should be sidelined in the interest of creating a safe environment for children? What does it mean for a song to be вЂњappropriateвЂќ for kids? And what gets lost when art is sanitized for its youngest potential consumers?Д¬liff ChenfeldвЂ™s children are adults now. But the franchiseвЂ™s success also raises some complicated questions.

But to its detractors, Kidz Bop is an unholy compromise between children's entertainment and adult culture, strip-mining each category for its worst qualities and Frankensteining them together, all so families can unite to listen to, say, a cloying rendition of LizzoвЂ™s вЂњTruth HurtsвЂќ so lyrically incoherent - вЂњYou couldвЂ™ve had a good friend, noncommittalвЂќ - you wonder why youвЂ™re listening to it at all.Д«ehind Kidz BopвЂ™s pop chart domination is the alchemy of an unassuming idea meeting the opportune cultural moment, and a surprisingly resilient formula in a volatile, unforgiving marketplace. Kidz Bop has become a trusted guide to pop for parents without the time or energy to keep up with music but who still want to hear todayвЂ™s hits minus any overtly sexual, drug-related, or violent lyrics. With over 21 million album sales and 24 albums that debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, the вЂњKidz Bop Kids,вЂќ as the changing cast of young performers is credited, have had more Top 10 albums than anybody save for the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and the Rolling Stones. In an era that has seen the music business all but collapse in on itself - declining album sales and revenue, streaming disrupting the traditional distribution model - Kidz Bop has managed to thrive. Since its first album, KIDZ BOP, which opened with a cover of Smash MouthвЂ™s вЂњAll StarвЂќ and closed with Sixpence None the RicherвЂ™s вЂњKiss Me,вЂќ the franchise has been one of the recording industryвЂ™s quietly enduring success stories. Perhaps thereвЂ™s no better sign of total cultural saturation than this: Even the things you donвЂ™t do can spark a news cycle. Still, Kidz Bop-esque parodies of the hit proliferated across the internet, as did a satirical news story about a Kidz Bop writer suffering a nervous breakdown while trying to write a clean version of it. While their task is sometimes as easy as swapping out swears, in the case of Cardi B and Megan Thee StallionвЂ™s terrifically profane ode to womenвЂ™s sexual desire, there was no way it could be softened. Kidz Bop - technically stylized as KIDZ BOP - has been in business for decades. If youвЂ™re familiar with the company, which PG-ifies pop hits for the early-elementary set, you can probably see why. If you couldnвЂ™t tell they were children, you definitely can once you realize the line вЂњWeвЂ™re higher than a motherfuckerвЂќ has been replaced with the bland but on-brand вЂњWeвЂ™re Kidz Bop and weвЂ™re taking over.вЂќД«ut thereвЂ™s no Kidz Bop version of, say, вЂњWAP,вЂќ no sweetened version of that driving beat or child-safe alternative lyrics. Then the vocals kick in: MinajвЂ™s petulant rapping has been replaced by several chirpier voices. The musical arrangement is just familiar enough, like one youвЂ™d hear at a karaoke bar. Have you ever heard the Kidz Bop cover of Nicki MinajвЂ™s вЂњStarshipsвЂќ? ItвЂ™s so strange, it became something of a meme.

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