The Kidz Bop franchise was started in 2000 as a means of making Top 40 songs friendly for younger ears by taking out the potty language and replacing them with nicer lyrics. As a testament to just how successful this idea has been, Kidz Bop 24 will be released on July 16, and the latest compilation album is bringing old favorites like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Pitbull and Justin Timberlake back into your homes, while also introducing our next generation to Macklemore.
So how exactly do the Kidz Bop Kids take a song like “Thrift Shop” (not to mention “Can’t Hold Us Back”) and make it suitable for young ears? By getting adorably creative, of course.
For example, instead of “I’m hunting, looking for a come-up, this is f*cking awesome,” the Kidz sing, “This is really awesome” and instead of “Walk up to the club like, ‘What up, I’ve got a big c*ck’” they sing, “Walk up to the club like, ‘What up, I’ve got a hit song’.” And the part about R. Kelly’s sheets? Haha, they’re just smelly cleats!
Anyway, good luck scrubbing this song out of your head today.
Also, you may notice that the Wikipedia entry for Kidz Bop 24 and the track listing has an original Kidz Bop Kids song entitled, “Kurt Cobain.” While I was very intrigued by this, it seems to be a prank, as the song isn’t listed on the official site and leads to this on a YouTube search (NSFW lyrics).
