From my blog - 20 things that I love about this video.
01 The way that the directors seem to have no shame about what they are doing. I think that a lot of people wouldn't fully commit to making a good video for a recording like this, but they seem to genuinely appreciate the song, and this completely ridiculous version of it. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kidz Bop, this is a very faithful cover version recorded by session players, but with a whole bunch of little kids belting out the chorus along with the lead singer. The directors foreground the subtext of the Kidz Bop enterprise and strike gold with a clip about little kids pretending to be pop stars.
02 It's such an earnest celebration of the creativity and imagination of children, not to mention their ability to make their own fun out of whatever is around them.
03 The way that the "let's make our own video" aesthetic is maintained throughout all of the non-fantasy framing sequences up until the end, when it cuts to some random home video of a school event that they were taping over.
04 The way the animated drawings of the kid brother are super cute, but not really flashy. They look like actual kid drawings come to life.
05 The design of the animal costumes, especially the walrus. They get the right combination of cuteness and radness.
06 The chemistry between the kids playing the brother and sister. The little bits of bickering seem very real to me.
07 The kids in the audience are about half the age of the tween singer on stage, which totally makes sense with kid logic. Little kids expect pop stars to be older than them.
08 Shark microphone!
09 The face the girl makes when she mimes along to "I even fell for that stupid love song." It's like she knows everything and nothing about adult relationships. I remember being that age and aspiring to pop drama and relating to lyrics about things I've never experienced. Lucky for her she didn't grow up with whiny alt-rock.
10 If only I could see just one show in my life where the audience is as uniformly enthusiastic and passionate as this bunch of kindergarteners.
11 The little brother gives the nod of approval from the sidelines - he's a big shot manager!
12 I stop noticing that it's not the Kelly Clarkson version of the song by the time the first chorus hits. Every single time!
13 The way that one little with the white collar looks like she's having some kind of religious experience after the tween singer kicks her hair back after the "again and again and again" part.
14 The walrus clicking his sticks in the air during the "Maps" riff.
15 The tiger jumping up and doing a split!
16 The way that crazy Asian kid in the yellow shirt looks like he's about to turn into the Incredible Hulk.
17 The way the dancing tiger seems clumsy, triumphant, and vaguely menacing all at the same time.
18 That solemn look the tween singer gives the camera before the end of the song. This was a lot of fun, but she's serious!
19 The way that the singing zebra seems to come out of nowhere.
20 The gator is the archetypal rock bass player - lanky, unassuming, slightly goofy, prone to hopping. He's Krist Novoselic in green felt.
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 12 May 2005 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)