Kidz Bop Kids take it to the next level on Kidz Bop 37 by covering “Mi Gente” and “New Rules”
The first Kidz Bop album came out in 2001, but today’s Kidz Bop Kids are more polished and sophisticated than their predecessors. The Kidz Bop franchise takes pop songs and makes them kid-friendly and its latest installment is Kidz Bop 37, which features vocalists Ahnya, Sierra, Julianna, Cooper, Freddy, and Isaiah. You can see them in action on the cover of Camila Cabello’s “Havana.” In the video, the Kidz Bop girls channel their G-rated version of @camila_cabello while the boys bring Bruno Mars moves.
The Latin flavor of “Havana” is just the appetizer for the Kidz Bop cover of “Mi Gente,” originally by J. Balvin, Willy William, and Beyoncé on the remix. The mostly Spanish language hit, which reached #3 on the Hot 100, is a transformation for Kidz Bop. When I reviewed Kidz Bop 35 last year, I faulted the franchise for not covering the #1 global smash “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber on the remix. “Mi Gente” is atonement for the exclusion of “Despacito” in 2017 and indicates that Kidz Bop is belatedly realizing that 25% of U.S. population under age 16 is of Hispanic origin.
Kidz Bop Kids are getting more in tune with today’s music trends
In addition to the highlights of “Havana” and “Mi Gente,” Kidz Bop 37 pushes the envelope when it comes to which pop songs the Kids cover. Sure, there are safe hits like “Feel It Still” (originally by Portugal. The Man), but then there’s “New Rules,” originally by Dua Lipa, which is not an obvious choice for Kidz Bop with lines like “if you’re under him, you ain’t gettin’ over him.” Yet the songwriters behind Kidz Bop pull off the conversion of “New Rules.” The line becomes “you know you’re gonna meet up with your friends in the morning / and if you’re there with him, you ain’t gettin’ over him.” Lipa’s rules somehow stay intact – if you want to get over your ex, don’t hang out with him. And the Kidz are not finished. They take over Taylor Swift‘s “Look What You Made Me Do” and make it better by excluding Swift’s heavy-handed phone call (“the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now…’cause she’s dead”). Their version of Halsey’s “Bad At Love” keeps the original’s pronouns by flipping the verses between the girl and boy Kidz Bop Kids. Overall, the sanitation of originals’ is curbed and Kidz Bop 37 is better as a result.
Kidz Bop Kids are taking their brand to Canada
Given that children age out of being children, turnover on the Kidz Bop Kids squad is inevitable. It appears that Kidz Bop 37 is the last hurrah for Sierra, who has left the group and is now known as @sierrabofficial. But fear not. The latest Kidz Bop squad includes three new faces – Indigo and Olivia hail from California, and then there’s Shane from Nevada who already was a dancer on Justin Bieber‘s Purpose tour. The new version of Kidz Bop Kids already has a video for “Finesse (Remix)” (originally by Bruno Mars and Cardi B) up on YouTube, previewing Kidz Bop 38 and the new squad’s Kidz Bop Live tour. In just a few months we’ll know if the new lineup of Kidz Bop Kids can build on top of advances delivered by Kidz Bop 37.
Kidz Bop Summer 2018 tour consists of 37 North American stops