Dick in a Box
Encyclopedia
"Dick in a Box" is a song by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island
featuring singer Justin Timberlake
. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live
as an SNL Digital Short
on December 16, 2006. The song regards two early 1990s R&B
ballad singers (Andy Samberg
and Timberlake) crooning a holiday song about making a gift to their girlfriends of their penis
es, which they have wrapped in boxes (strategically placed) and then topped with bows.
The song was originated from Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels
asking Samberg to write a track to showcase Timberlake's singing abilities. "Dick in a Box" was recorded in one night, with its music video filmed the following day. After being screened by NBC
executives for content, the short debuted less than a few hours later. In its original network airing, the word "dick", a recurring word in the chorus, was bleeped
16 times.
Saturday Night Live producers made the decision to publish the uncensored version of the short online after its broadcast debut. "Dick in a Box", like its predecessor
, became a major viral hit on the Internet. It received a very favorable audience and critical reception. The song won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. The popularity of the short led to ongoing collaborations with Timberlake in his each succeeding SNL visit, in 2009 with "Motherlover" and "3-Way (The Golden Rule)
" in 2011.
The music video portrays two balladeers (played by Samberg and Timberlake) singing about giving Christmas gifts to their lovers (played by Maya Rudolph
and Kristen Wiig
, respectively). Each man has a gift-wrapped box attached to his waist. The lyrics include step-by-step instructions on how to create the "gift" (1: "Cut a hole in a box", 2: "Put your junk in that box", 3: "Make her open the box... and that's the way you do it!"). They also sing about how a "dick in a box" is better than other gifts and is suitable for any holiday or occasion. At the end of the film, they are both arrested and taken away by the NYPD
, presumably for indecent exposure
, after they bring their boxes "backstage at the CMAs
".
The style of the video and the musical performance is inspired by early-1990s R&B
/new jack swing
acts like Color Me Badd
, Jodeci
and R. Kelly
; The Lonely Island and Timberlake were fans of such acts while growing up. The premise also resembles a scene in the 1982 Barry Levinson
film Diner
, in which Mickey Rourke
places his penis inside a box of popcorn at a movie theater to win a bet, and a scene in the 1980 Claude Pinoteau
film La Boum
, in which a junior high school student performs an identical act for fun.
called Andy Samberg into his office and asked him to try to "write something funny" to showcase the singing skills of Timberlake, both the host and musical guest. The song featured was written and produced by Timberlake and Samberg, fellow Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer
and Jorma Taccone
, Taccone's brother Asa Taccone, and associate music director Katreese Barnes. Samberg said the writing team originally came up with a different idea for Timberlake, but show honcho Lorne Michaels insisted they exploit his musical side. Taccone came up with the "dick in a box" premise. Samberg, along with Schaffer and Taccone, presented a rough draft of the song to Timberlake on Thursday afternoon, and, after reworking it to Timberlake's specifications, Samberg and Timberlake recorded the song in Samberg's office around midnight that night. According to Samberg, Timberlake "didn't even blink" upon hearing the idea, and was immediately receptive to recording it. Timberlake recalled that the musicians were "laughing hysterically" during its production, and that the "delirium of no sleep" contributed to the humor of the song. Though his voice cracked a few times during recording and he was a bit nervous working with Timberlake, Samberg said his "insanely" easygoing attitude put him at ease. The duo spent much of Friday and Saturday filming the music video in and around New York City
, and it was not until 4pm on the day of the show's broadcast — less than eight hours before the show was to go live — was the video in sufficient shape to be shown to the NBC executive responsible for late-night programming, Rick Ludwin.
The show's producers had already concluded on their own that the video would have to be bleeped to be broadcast, but had a special request for Ludwin: would they be given permission to make the uncensored version available online. Ludwin's first instinct was that they shouldn't, but upon seeing the video with a representative from the NBC legal department, he found himself laughing and realized that those searching on the Internet specifically for the video would not be shocked. The material was still touchy enough that Ludwin sought final approval for the Web version of the video from Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment, and Jeff Zucker
, chief executive of NBCUniversal Television Group, both of whom approved the idea. Another executive suggested that a disclaimer be placed before the Web-only version of the video that warned of its explicit content, a proposal that was immediately accepted. The video was edited most of Saturday, in time for its television debut.
NBC added the video to YouTube
, where it received more than 28 million views. At least 18 additional copies were also posted to various YouTube and Google Video
accounts, bringing the total views to over 35.3 million. On October 21, 2007, NBC took down its YouTube channel in preparation for the launch of Hulu
.
On December 22, 2006, the Parents Television Council
called on NBC to "rethink its decision to post an uncensored version of a Saturday Night Live sketch on both its own website and YouTube". When the sketch aired on SNL, NBC bleeped out the word dick a total of 16 times.
Some radio stations played the edited version (called "Junk in a Box") as an unofficial single by Timberlake. The version used was recorded from the SNL broadcast.
The song won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. After being notified of his Emmy win, Timberlake performed the song at his concert at the Tacoma Dome
in Washington.
featuring singer Justin Timberlake
. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live
as an SNL Digital Short
on May 9, 2009. A sequel of the collaborators' earlier short, "Dick in a Box", the song finds the two early 1990s R&B
ballad singers (Andy Samberg
and Timberlake) singing of their desire to have sex with each other's mothers (Patricia Clarkson
and Susan Sarandon
) as the ultimate tribute to Mother's Day.
The short was an effort between the two artists during a sleepless week of writing, recording and shooting before it aired. The song was written by The Lonely Island (Samberg, Jorma Taccone
, and Akiva Schaffer
) with Timberlake on the Tuesday before the short's premiere. Samberg and Timberlake recorded the song in an all-night session two days later, with a 20-hour video shoot commencing the next day. Schaffer began editing the footage early Saturday morning and only completed the short within minutes of its broadcast debut, finalizing the video while the show was already live.
Released the day before Mother's Day 2009, the video was an immediate viral hit, in the same vein of its predecessor. The song was released as a single shortly before the release of The Lonely Island's sophomore record, Turtleneck & Chain
.
covered the song while on their 2006 Light Grenades Tour.
Umphrey's McGee
covered the song, complete with box props, as the first song of their encore on December 31, 2006 show at the Aragon Ballroom
in Chicago
, with percussionist Andy Farag
contributing vocals in the Andy Samberg role and Brendan Bayliss
singing Justin Timberlake's part. The multi-camera video is available on YouTube.
In "Koi Pond
", the sixth season Halloween episode of The Office, Michael dresses in a suit with a silk shirt and gold chains, with a box wrapped as a present attached to his waist.
On an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
, DeGeneres performed a jingle for AQUA2GO water drink boxes to the tune of "Dick in a Box".
Facebook
created a virtual gift shop for Valentine's Day
that included a box with a bow on top and a hole cut into one of its sides.
A parody from the female perspective, Leah Kauffman
's "My Box in a Box", appeared on YouTube
and has since been viewed over 4.5 million times. On January 8, 2007, on Countdown with Keith Olbermann
, Olbermann called "My Box in a Box" the "#1 most viralest video" in the world. The video received press coverage in a wide variety of media, including Rolling Stone
and Cosmopolitan
.
The internet comedy series "Web Zeroes" made a number of references during its inital episode in October 2009, beginning with the character Alex singing the "step 1" line in response to a "how" question.
The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy troupe composed of Akiva "Kiv" Schaffer, Jorma "Jorm" Taccone, and David Andrew "Andy" Samberg, best known for their comedic music. Originally from Berkeley, California, the group is currently based in New York City. The group broke out due to their...
featuring singer Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
as an SNL Digital Short
SNL Digital Shorts
An SNL Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for airing on NBC's Saturday Night Live, generally produced and written by The Lonely Island , though originated by Adam McKay, in collaboration with SNL hosts, writers, and cast members...
on December 16, 2006. The song regards two early 1990s R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballad singers (Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg
David Andrew "Andy" Samberg is an American actor, comedian, rapper and writer best known as a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live...
and Timberlake) crooning a holiday song about making a gift to their girlfriends of their penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
es, which they have wrapped in boxes (strategically placed) and then topped with bows.
The song was originated from Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
asking Samberg to write a track to showcase Timberlake's singing abilities. "Dick in a Box" was recorded in one night, with its music video filmed the following day. After being screened by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
executives for content, the short debuted less than a few hours later. In its original network airing, the word "dick", a recurring word in the chorus, was bleeped
Bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio...
16 times.
Saturday Night Live producers made the decision to publish the uncensored version of the short online after its broadcast debut. "Dick in a Box", like its predecessor
Lazy Sunday
"Lazy Sunday" is a song and short video by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, released on December 17, 2005, broadcast on Saturday Night Live as the second Digital Short...
, became a major viral hit on the Internet. It received a very favorable audience and critical reception. The song won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. The popularity of the short led to ongoing collaborations with Timberlake in his each succeeding SNL visit, in 2009 with "Motherlover" and "3-Way (The Golden Rule)
3-Way (The Golden Rule)
"3-Way " is a song by American comedy music group The Lonely Island featuring American pop singers Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. It appeared as an SNL Digital Short in the May 21, 2011 episode of the sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live , which saw Timberlake and Gaga as the host...
" in 2011.
Plot and style
Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...
and Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...
, respectively). Each man has a gift-wrapped box attached to his waist. The lyrics include step-by-step instructions on how to create the "gift" (1: "Cut a hole in a box", 2: "Put your junk in that box", 3: "Make her open the box... and that's the way you do it!"). They also sing about how a "dick in a box" is better than other gifts and is suitable for any holiday or occasion. At the end of the film, they are both arrested and taken away by the NYPD
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
, presumably for indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
, after they bring their boxes "backstage at the CMAs
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...
".
The style of the video and the musical performance is inspired by early-1990s R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
/new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
acts like Color Me Badd
Color Me Badd
Color Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton...
, Jodeci
Jodeci
Jodeci is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & Jojo,...
and R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
; The Lonely Island and Timberlake were fans of such acts while growing up. The premise also resembles a scene in the 1982 Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
film Diner
Diner (film)
Diner is a 1982 comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. Levinson's screen directing debut, Diner is the first in his "Baltimore films", which also include the subsequent Tin Men, Avalon and Liberty Heights.-Plot:...
, in which Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
places his penis inside a box of popcorn at a movie theater to win a bet, and a scene in the 1980 Claude Pinoteau
Claude Pinoteau
Claude Pinoteau is a French film director and scriptwriter. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts de Seine, Île-de-France, France.- Filmography :* 1971 : It Only Happens to Others...
film La Boum
La boum
La boum is a 1980 French language motion picture comedy directed by Claude Pinoteau, and starring Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, and Sophie Marceau appearing in her film début. The movie was an international box-office hit. The music was written by Vladimir Cosma, with Richard Sanderson singing...
, in which a junior high school student performs an identical act for fun.
Background
The song began development on the Tuesday before the show's airdate (December 12), when Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
called Andy Samberg into his office and asked him to try to "write something funny" to showcase the singing skills of Timberlake, both the host and musical guest. The song featured was written and produced by Timberlake and Samberg, fellow Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer
Akiva Schaffer
Akiva Schaffer is an American writer for Saturday Night Live, a film director, songwriter, and a member of The Lonely Island, a sketch-comedy troupe that first found success on the Internet, which includes SNL cast member Andy Samberg and SNL writer Jorma Taccone...
and Jorma Taccone
Jorma Taccone
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American comedy writer-actor-director. Taccone is one third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer...
, Taccone's brother Asa Taccone, and associate music director Katreese Barnes. Samberg said the writing team originally came up with a different idea for Timberlake, but show honcho Lorne Michaels insisted they exploit his musical side. Taccone came up with the "dick in a box" premise. Samberg, along with Schaffer and Taccone, presented a rough draft of the song to Timberlake on Thursday afternoon, and, after reworking it to Timberlake's specifications, Samberg and Timberlake recorded the song in Samberg's office around midnight that night. According to Samberg, Timberlake "didn't even blink" upon hearing the idea, and was immediately receptive to recording it. Timberlake recalled that the musicians were "laughing hysterically" during its production, and that the "delirium of no sleep" contributed to the humor of the song. Though his voice cracked a few times during recording and he was a bit nervous working with Timberlake, Samberg said his "insanely" easygoing attitude put him at ease. The duo spent much of Friday and Saturday filming the music video in and around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and it was not until 4pm on the day of the show's broadcast — less than eight hours before the show was to go live — was the video in sufficient shape to be shown to the NBC executive responsible for late-night programming, Rick Ludwin.
The show's producers had already concluded on their own that the video would have to be bleeped to be broadcast, but had a special request for Ludwin: would they be given permission to make the uncensored version available online. Ludwin's first instinct was that they shouldn't, but upon seeing the video with a representative from the NBC legal department, he found himself laughing and realized that those searching on the Internet specifically for the video would not be shocked. The material was still touchy enough that Ludwin sought final approval for the Web version of the video from Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment, and Jeff Zucker
Jeff Zucker
Jeffrey "Jeff" Zucker is an American television executive and former President and CEO of NBCUniversal.-Personal life:Zucker was born to Jewish-American parents in Homestead, Florida, near Miami. His father was a cardiologist, and his mother, Arlene, was a school teacher...
, chief executive of NBCUniversal Television Group, both of whom approved the idea. Another executive suggested that a disclaimer be placed before the Web-only version of the video that warned of its explicit content, a proposal that was immediately accepted. The video was edited most of Saturday, in time for its television debut.
Response
An uncensored version was made available on the Saturday Night Live website after the show was aired. It features the same audience response track, as the short was aired uncensored to the in-studio audience.NBC added the video to 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....
, where it received more than 28 million views. At least 18 additional copies were also posted to various YouTube and Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
accounts, bringing the total views to over 35.3 million. On October 21, 2007, NBC took down its YouTube channel in preparation for the launch of Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
.
On December 22, 2006, the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
called on NBC to "rethink its decision to post an uncensored version of a Saturday Night Live sketch on both its own website and YouTube". When the sketch aired on SNL, NBC bleeped out the word dick a total of 16 times.
Some radio stations played the edited version (called "Junk in a Box") as an unofficial single by Timberlake. The version used was recorded from the SNL broadcast.
The song won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. After being notified of his Emmy win, Timberlake performed the song at his concert at the Tacoma Dome
Tacoma Dome
The Tacoma Dome is an indoor arena located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, approximately 30 miles south of Seattle.-History:...
in Washington.
Motherlover
"Motherlover" is a song by American comedy troupe The Lonely IslandThe Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy troupe composed of Akiva "Kiv" Schaffer, Jorma "Jorm" Taccone, and David Andrew "Andy" Samberg, best known for their comedic music. Originally from Berkeley, California, the group is currently based in New York City. The group broke out due to their...
featuring singer Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
as an SNL Digital Short
SNL Digital Shorts
An SNL Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for airing on NBC's Saturday Night Live, generally produced and written by The Lonely Island , though originated by Adam McKay, in collaboration with SNL hosts, writers, and cast members...
on May 9, 2009. A sequel of the collaborators' earlier short, "Dick in a Box", the song finds the two early 1990s R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballad singers (Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg
David Andrew "Andy" Samberg is an American actor, comedian, rapper and writer best known as a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live...
and Timberlake) singing of their desire to have sex with each other's mothers (Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
and Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
) as the ultimate tribute to Mother's Day.
The short was an effort between the two artists during a sleepless week of writing, recording and shooting before it aired. The song was written by The Lonely Island (Samberg, Jorma Taccone
Jorma Taccone
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American comedy writer-actor-director. Taccone is one third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer...
, and Akiva Schaffer
Akiva Schaffer
Akiva Schaffer is an American writer for Saturday Night Live, a film director, songwriter, and a member of The Lonely Island, a sketch-comedy troupe that first found success on the Internet, which includes SNL cast member Andy Samberg and SNL writer Jorma Taccone...
) with Timberlake on the Tuesday before the short's premiere. Samberg and Timberlake recorded the song in an all-night session two days later, with a 20-hour video shoot commencing the next day. Schaffer began editing the footage early Saturday morning and only completed the short within minutes of its broadcast debut, finalizing the video while the show was already live.
Released the day before Mother's Day 2009, the video was an immediate viral hit, in the same vein of its predecessor. The song was released as a single shortly before the release of The Lonely Island's sophomore record, Turtleneck & Chain
Turtleneck & Chain
Turtleneck & Chain is the second studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, whose members are Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. The album was released May 10, 2011, on Universal Republic Records. Many of the songs on the album debuted on Saturday Night Live as SNL...
.
Parodies and homages
The band IncubusIncubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
covered the song while on their 2006 Light Grenades Tour.
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
covered the song, complete with box props, as the first song of their encore on December 31, 2006 show at the Aragon Ballroom
Aragon Ballroom (Chicago)
The Aragon Ballroom is the name of a ballroom in Chicago, Illinois.Located on West Lawrence Avenue approximately five miles north of downtown in the Uptown neighborhood, it was built in 1926 and designed in the Moorish architectural style with the interior resembling a Spanish village and named...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, with percussionist Andy Farag
Andy Farag
Andy Farag is the percussionist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. He was brought into the band by original drummer Mike Mirro in late 1998, shortly after the release of their debut album Greatest Hits Vol. III...
contributing vocals in the Andy Samberg role and Brendan Bayliss
Brendan Bayliss
Brendan Bayliss is an American musician, the founder, a lead guitarist alongside fellow guitarist and band member Jake Cinninger, and primary vocalist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. He formed the band in 1997 and took its moniker from the name of a distant relative he met at a wedding...
singing Justin Timberlake's part. The multi-camera video is available on YouTube.
In "Koi Pond
Koi Pond (The Office)
"Koi Pond" is the 8th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 108th episode overall. It was written by Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan and directed by Reggie Hudlin. It originally aired on NBC on October 29, 2009.In this episode, Michael and Jim head...
", the sixth season Halloween episode of The Office, Michael dresses in a suit with a silk shirt and gold chains, with a box wrapped as a present attached to his waist.
On an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, DeGeneres performed a jingle for AQUA2GO water drink boxes to the tune of "Dick in a Box".
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
created a virtual gift shop for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
that included a box with a bow on top and a hole cut into one of its sides.
A parody from the female perspective, Leah Kauffman
Leah Kauffman
Leah Kauffman is a Jewish-American singer and songwriter who is responsible for singing and writing four popular viral videos: "My Box in a Box", "I Got a Crush... on Obama", "Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl" and "I Like a Boy". The first song was written by Kauffman, the second and third were...
's "My Box in a Box", appeared 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....
and has since been viewed over 4.5 million times. On January 8, 2007, on Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
, Olbermann called "My Box in a Box" the "#1 most viralest video" in the world. The video received press coverage in a wide variety of media, including Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
.
The internet comedy series "Web Zeroes" made a number of references during its inital episode in October 2009, beginning with the character Alex singing the "step 1" line in response to a "how" question.
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
82 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
61 |