Caramelldansen
Encyclopedia
"Caramelldansen" is the first track and the lead single of the album Supergott
released in November 2001
by the Swedish music group Caramell
. It is also a popular Internet meme
that began in the second half of 2006 in the Internet community 4chan
.
The meme
started as a fifteen frame Flash
animation loop showing Mai and Mii, characters of the Japanese
visual novel
Popotan
doing a hip swing dance with their hands over their heads to imitate rabbit ears, and the chorus of the sped up version of the song "Caramelldansen" sung by Malin and Katia from Swedish music group Caramell. The sped up version of the song is now known as "Caramelldansen (SpeedyCake Remix)".
first appeared as a Japanese PC
game on December 12, 2002. After the anime
was aired from July 17 to October 2, 2003, short GIF
animations clips were created from the opening of the game and posted on the internet. It was not long before parts from the introduction of the PC game were captured too. Caramelldansen is also known as the in Japan.
As the meme gained popularity, artists and fans started to copy the animation and include other characters performing the dance. The first ones were based only on the GIF animation loop. After Caramelldansen was released, most of the later animations were based on it. The real boom of the meme began at the end of 2007 in Japan (known as the "Uma uma Boom") where an explosion of different Caramelldansen versions appeared first in Japanese video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga
and later reposted on YouTube
by either the original authors or by fans.
Caramelldansen is known in Japan as "Uma uma dance" (ウマウマダンス), because of the song chorus misheard lyrics (soramimi
) of "u-u-ua-ua", ウッーウッーウマウマ (u- u- umauma, "uma" is suggested to mean or in Japanese). The title sometimes adds (ﾟ∀ﾟ) to the end. Also part of the misheard lyrics "Dansa med oss, klappa era händer" ("Dance with us, clap your hands") make reference to "Barusamiko-su Yappa irahen de" ("(I) don't want any Balsamic vinegar
after all" in the Kansai dialect) so the song has a different interpretation in Japanese than the original Swedish lyrics.
In April 2008, Japanese music distributor Quake Inc.
gained the rights from the original Caramell producers, Remixed Records, to distribute the sped-up version of the original song in Asia, releasing first an album which included Caramelldansen and other popular meme songs at the time, this follows up an album sung by Toromi, the voice actor who played Mii in Popotan who sang her own version of the song, and follows a single and an album dedicated to the Swedish band. On May 25, 2008, Caramelldansen achieved number one in the international music chart in Japan for two weeks, and on June 2 managed to obtain number sixteen in the Japanese combined chart, beating Bon Jovi
with their song "Have a Nice Day
" the last one who entered that chart three years ago. One part of the song predicts its world-wide popularity. On May 1, 2008, Remixed Records released the sped-up version of the original Supergott album on Apple's iTunes Store
. The album was called "Supergott Speedy Mixes". This was followed by the single "Caramelldansen Speedy Mixes" and on September 16 a single with the English version of the song called "Caramelldancing". A German version of the song, "Caramelltanzen", was released on April 15, 2009. On March 2, 2009, Caramelldansen was awarded single of the year (international section) in the 23rd Japan Gold Disc Award
.
After the "U-u-uma uma[Maxi]" single was released in Japan on May 21, 2008, the original concept of the Caramell group was changed. First in Japan, Malin and Katia were replaced by their anime character counterparts, removing the rest of the band members, and later for the original Swedish release, all members were replaced by 3 anime-like girls called "Caramella Girls
". The idea of the new Swedish concept came from Youtube, showing more than 16,000 different versions of the original flash animation, including small loops, complete song shorts and live action videos. "We are definitely not disappointed and we were never able to sing the song at this pace", said Katia Löfgren. "We do not know who developed the dance, but it is simple and is apparently very well liked in Japan," said Malin Sundström.
While the group Caramell disbanded in 2002, the group's music started to spread widely across the Internet thanks to the popularity of this Internet meme. Malin Sundström, one of the former singers of the group, commented on the popularity of the meme: "We felt that it was time to move on; that one of our songs now may be a breakthrough is just a bonus." Caramell's Juha "Millboy" Myllylä, responding to questions from Japanese show Netstar NHK
, said that he first learned of the dance on YouTube. When asked if he does the dance himself, he responded "Yeah, well, the dance is very funny to do, so I used to do it every time, I mean in the shower, and I used to show my family and my friends to make them dance. I like it. It's very funny."
In July 2009, the Taiwanese gaming company Gamania
launched an advertising campaign with the "Caramelldansen" song for the Japanese version of its online game Lucent Heart. "Caramelldansen" has also been used in Japanese arcade games. On November 18, 2009, an interactive game version of the dance was released for the Apple iPhone
and iPod Touch
. On November 23, 2009, the team behind popular comedy site LoadingReadyRun
performed the dance made famous by the meme as part of a task in the Desert Bus charity appeal. The team chose to perform the dance to raise money for the charity Child's Play
, founded by Jerry Holkins
and Mike Krahulik
in 2003. The dance was also streamed by live web cam to those following the Desert Bus appeal through LoadingReadyRun and online gaming magazine The Escapist
. In August 2010, the American Disney Channel program Phineas and Ferb
used an imitation of the dance in their "Summer Belongs to You" special, during their characters' stop in Tokyo, Japan.
On March 18, 2011, Caramella Girls launched their first single as a virtual group
, the song "Boogie Bam Dance" was recorded by Caramell's original vocalists Malin and Katia and its available in 3 different languages (English, Spanish, and German).
Supergott
Supergott is the second and final album by Swedish music group Caramell. It is famous for containing the popular dance song "Caramelldansen"....
released in November 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
by the Swedish music group Caramell
Caramell
Caramell is a Swedish musical group, formed by singers Katia Löfgren and Malin Sundström and producers Jorge "Vasco" Vasconcelo and Juha "Millboy" Myllylä. All except Vasconcelo and Myllylä come from Sweden...
. It is also a popular Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
that began in the second half of 2006 in the Internet community 4chan
4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
.
The meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
started as a fifteen frame Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
animation loop showing Mai and Mii, characters of the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
Popotan
Popotan
is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Petit Ferret with character designs by Akio Watanabe under the alias Poyoyon Rock. It was originally released as a PC game for CD-ROM on December 13, 2002 and subsequently re-released on DVD-ROM and for the PlayStation 2 with certain scenes removed...
doing a hip swing dance with their hands over their heads to imitate rabbit ears, and the chorus of the sped up version of the song "Caramelldansen" sung by Malin and Katia from Swedish music group Caramell. The sped up version of the song is now known as "Caramelldansen (SpeedyCake Remix)".
Internet phenomenon
Background
PopotanPopotan
is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Petit Ferret with character designs by Akio Watanabe under the alias Poyoyon Rock. It was originally released as a PC game for CD-ROM on December 13, 2002 and subsequently re-released on DVD-ROM and for the PlayStation 2 with certain scenes removed...
first appeared as a Japanese PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game on December 12, 2002. After the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
was aired from July 17 to October 2, 2003, short GIF
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
animations clips were created from the opening of the game and posted on the internet. It was not long before parts from the introduction of the PC game were captured too. Caramelldansen is also known as the in Japan.
As the meme gained popularity, artists and fans started to copy the animation and include other characters performing the dance. The first ones were based only on the GIF animation loop. After Caramelldansen was released, most of the later animations were based on it. The real boom of the meme began at the end of 2007 in Japan (known as the "Uma uma Boom") where an explosion of different Caramelldansen versions appeared first in Japanese video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga
Nico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
and later reposted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
by either the original authors or by fans.
Popularity
The meme is not limited to the small Flash animation loops. 3D animation shorts have been released performing the dance, and live action videos made by fans.Caramelldansen is known in Japan as "Uma uma dance" (ウマウマダンス), because of the song chorus misheard lyrics (soramimi
Soramimi
or ; is a Japanese term for homophonic translation of song lyrics, that is, interpreting lyrics in one language as similar-sounding lyrics in another language...
) of "u-u-ua-ua", ウッーウッーウマウマ (u- u- umauma, "uma" is suggested to mean or in Japanese). The title sometimes adds (ﾟ∀ﾟ) to the end. Also part of the misheard lyrics "Dansa med oss, klappa era händer" ("Dance with us, clap your hands") make reference to "Barusamiko-su Yappa irahen de" ("(I) don't want any Balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is a condiment originating from Italy.The original traditional product , made from a reduction of cooked white Trebbiano grape juice and not a vinegar in the usual sense, has been made in Modena and Reggio Emilia since the Middle Ages: the production of the balsamic vinegar is...
after all" in the Kansai dialect) so the song has a different interpretation in Japanese than the original Swedish lyrics.
In April 2008, Japanese music distributor Quake Inc.
Quake Inc.
Quake Inc. is a Japanese media company for the purposes as the music publisher. The company was originally founded as a printer company in 2001 but it became a music company Quake Records in 2003. In 2005, the company was renamed to Quake Holdings. The company became a subsidiary of Pony Canyon in...
gained the rights from the original Caramell producers, Remixed Records, to distribute the sped-up version of the original song in Asia, releasing first an album which included Caramelldansen and other popular meme songs at the time, this follows up an album sung by Toromi, the voice actor who played Mii in Popotan who sang her own version of the song, and follows a single and an album dedicated to the Swedish band. On May 25, 2008, Caramelldansen achieved number one in the international music chart in Japan for two weeks, and on June 2 managed to obtain number sixteen in the Japanese combined chart, beating Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
with their song "Have a Nice Day
Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi song)
"Have a Nice Day" is Bon Jovi's first single off the 2005 album Have a Nice Day. It was first performed at the 2004 American Music Awards, where an incomplete version of the song was played. The final version of the song was first performed in full at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on July 2,...
" the last one who entered that chart three years ago. One part of the song predicts its world-wide popularity. On May 1, 2008, Remixed Records released the sped-up version of the original Supergott album on Apple's iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. The album was called "Supergott Speedy Mixes". This was followed by the single "Caramelldansen Speedy Mixes" and on September 16 a single with the English version of the song called "Caramelldancing". A German version of the song, "Caramelltanzen", was released on April 15, 2009. On March 2, 2009, Caramelldansen was awarded single of the year (international section) in the 23rd Japan Gold Disc Award
Japan Gold Disc Award
The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************...
.
After the "U-u-uma uma[Maxi]" single was released in Japan on May 21, 2008, the original concept of the Caramell group was changed. First in Japan, Malin and Katia were replaced by their anime character counterparts, removing the rest of the band members, and later for the original Swedish release, all members were replaced by 3 anime-like girls called "Caramella Girls
Caramell
Caramell is a Swedish musical group, formed by singers Katia Löfgren and Malin Sundström and producers Jorge "Vasco" Vasconcelo and Juha "Millboy" Myllylä. All except Vasconcelo and Myllylä come from Sweden...
". The idea of the new Swedish concept came from Youtube, showing more than 16,000 different versions of the original flash animation, including small loops, complete song shorts and live action videos. "We are definitely not disappointed and we were never able to sing the song at this pace", said Katia Löfgren. "We do not know who developed the dance, but it is simple and is apparently very well liked in Japan," said Malin Sundström.
While the group Caramell disbanded in 2002, the group's music started to spread widely across the Internet thanks to the popularity of this Internet meme. Malin Sundström, one of the former singers of the group, commented on the popularity of the meme: "We felt that it was time to move on; that one of our songs now may be a breakthrough is just a bonus." Caramell's Juha "Millboy" Myllylä, responding to questions from Japanese show Netstar NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, said that he first learned of the dance on YouTube. When asked if he does the dance himself, he responded "Yeah, well, the dance is very funny to do, so I used to do it every time, I mean in the shower, and I used to show my family and my friends to make them dance. I like it. It's very funny."
In July 2009, the Taiwanese gaming company Gamania
Gamania
Gamania Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. is a PC online game and digital entertainment corporation with its headquarters located in New Taipei, Taiwan....
launched an advertising campaign with the "Caramelldansen" song for the Japanese version of its online game Lucent Heart. "Caramelldansen" has also been used in Japanese arcade games. On November 18, 2009, an interactive game version of the dance was released for the Apple iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
. On November 23, 2009, the team behind popular comedy site LoadingReadyRun
LoadingReadyRun
LoadingReadyRun, often abbreviated to LRR, is a Canadian sketch comedy website, based in Victoria, British Columbia, founded by Graham Stark and Paul Saunders...
performed the dance made famous by the meme as part of a task in the Desert Bus charity appeal. The team chose to perform the dance to raise money for the charity Child's Play
Child's Play (charity)
Child's Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins founded Child's Play in 2003 to improve the lives of sick children by...
, founded by Jerry Holkins
Jerry Holkins
Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins né Parkinson is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals...
and Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...
in 2003. The dance was also streamed by live web cam to those following the Desert Bus appeal through LoadingReadyRun and online gaming magazine The Escapist
The Escapist (magazine)
The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...
. In August 2010, the American Disney Channel program Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
used an imitation of the dance in their "Summer Belongs to You" special, during their characters' stop in Tokyo, Japan.
On March 18, 2011, Caramella Girls launched their first single as a virtual group
Virtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
, the song "Boogie Bam Dance" was recorded by Caramell's original vocalists Malin and Katia and its available in 3 different languages (English, Spanish, and German).
Media
After 2008, official releases of the song and animation from this meme started to appear.Japanese
- Uma Uma Dekiru Trance wo Tsukutte Mita ("Tried making a trance you can Uma Uma to" ウマウマできるトランスを作ってみた) (Album - April 16, 2008)
- Toro☆Uma (とろ☆ウマ) (Album - May 11, 2008)
- U-u-uma uma[Maxi] (ウッーウッーウマウマ[Maxi]) (Single - May 21, 2008)
- U-u-uma uma[Speed] (ウッーウッーウマウマ(゜∀゜)SPEEDアルバム) (Album - June 18, 2008)
- Caramelldansen (Official Japanese Version) (Single - December 3, 2009)
Swedish
- Supergott Speedy Mixes (Album - May 1, 2008)
- Caramelldansen Maxi (Single - June 25, 2008)
English
- Caramelldancing (Single - September 16, 2008)
- Caramelldancing (Christmas Version) (Single - November 26, 2009)
- Boogie Bam Dance (Single - March 18, 2011)
Television
- TV comercial for Gamania's Lucent Heart videogame.
- Clubland TVClubland TVClubland TV is a music channel broadcasting on Sky channel 383 and Freesat channel 514 in the United Kingdom. It features dance music videos and is based from the Clubland compilation albums...
has the track with original Swedish lyrics on the playlist with a partially 3D animated video with the Caramella Girls.
Video games
- Step follow game for iPhone.
- In Eden Eternal, a free-to-play MMORPG from X-Legend and AeriaGames, the Dance 1 character animation is identical to the Caramelldansen.
- In Lucent Heart, another free-to-play MMORPG from Gamania and Beanfun!, Dance 6's animation is identical to the Caramelldansen, and a remix to the song is also played.
- In "Osu!", a music/rhythm game that is open source, "Caramelldansen (Speedy Cake Version)" is one of the games most popular maps, along with many other versions of the song.
- In "Scanctum", a firstperson shooter/Tower Defence