It was 2013. The internet was a different place then. Smaller. Louder. We didn't have TikTok feeds constantly feeding us micro-doses of dopamine, so when something weird happened, we all looked at it at the same time. That’s how we ended up with Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, two Norwegian brothers better known as Ylvis, screaming about elephant trunks and "fraka-kaka-kaka" in the middle of a forest. Honestly, "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" shouldn't have worked. It was meant to be a joke, a deliberate failure, and yet it became a cultural landmark that defined an era of digital absurdity.
Most people remember the fox costumes. They remember the high-pitched "wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow." But if you dig into the mechanics of why "What Does the Fox Say" blew up, you find a weirdly perfect storm of high-end production value and absolute nonsense. It wasn't just a "funny video." It was a high-budget parody of the very industry that ended up crowning it a hit.
The Viral Architecture of Nonsense
Let's be real for a second. The song is actually a banger. That's the secret sauce. Ylvis didn't just record a silly song on a laptop in their basement. They worked with Stargate. Yes, the same Stargate that produced "Firework" for Katy Perry and "Diamonds" for Rihanna. Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, the duo behind the production house, are pop royalty.
The Ylvisåker brothers actually wanted to make a "bad" song. They had a talk show in Norway called I kveld med YLVIS, and the idea for the music video was to use a "favor" from a massive production house to create something so stupid it would fail. They thought that wasting a world-class production team's time on a song about fox noises would be the ultimate prank. Instead, the polished, radio-ready synths combined with the lyrical insanity created something the internet couldn't stop sharing.
The math was simple. Take top-tier EDM production. Add a hook that even a toddler can memorize. Release it right as YouTube's sharing algorithms were peaking.
It exploded.
Within weeks, it wasn't just a Norwegian comedy sketch. It was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at number 6. For a song about "joff-tchoff-tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoff," that's genuinely insane.
Why the Fox? The Science of the "Brain Worm"
Why do we still talk about it? Why does "What Does the Fox Say" still get stuck in your head the moment someone mentions the title? Musicologists often point to the "earworm" factor, but there's a specific linguistic trick happening here.
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The song uses onomatopoeia—words that mimic sounds—in a way that feels like a children’s nursery rhyme gone off the rails. Humans are wired to respond to rhythmic, repetitive animal sounds. It's how we teach kids to speak. "The cow goes moo." "The duck goes quack." By asking a question with no universally accepted answer—because, let’s be honest, most of us don't know what a fox sounds like—the song creates a "curiosity gap."
Biologically, foxes actually bark, scream, and make a sound called "gekkering," which sounds a bit like a chattering laugh. But "Gekkering" isn't a pop hook. "Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding" is.
Breaking Down the Lyrics
The verses are surprisingly poetic. They talk about "blue eyes," "pointy nose," and "chasing mice." It sets up a beautiful, almost majestic image of a forest creature. Then, the beat drops. The contrast between the serious, moody verses and the chaotic, nonsensical chorus is a classic comedic technique called "incongruity."
You expect a profound realization. You get "a-hee-ahee-ha-hee."
The Legacy of the 2013 Internet
We have to look at the context. This was the year of "Harlem Shake." It was the year "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus came out. The internet was transitioning from the "old web" of niche forums into the "new web" of massive, centralized social media platforms. "What Does the Fox Say" was one of the first truly global memes that moved from a local TV show to the entire world in under 72 hours.
It also changed how we view international comedy. Before Ylvis, it was rare for a non-English language comedy act to dominate US charts without a massive label push. They proved that if the content is "sticky" enough, the language barrier doesn't matter. The absurdity is the universal language.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often think Ylvis were "one-hit wonders" who got lucky. That's not really true. In Norway, they were already huge. They are incredibly talented musicians and comedians who have been performing for decades. If you look at their other work, like "Stonehenge" or "Massachusetts," you see the same pattern: high-quality music paired with incredibly specific, weirdly intellectual humor.
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They weren't trying to be famous. They were trying to be funny.
The Sound of the Fox: Reality vs. Fiction
Since everyone asks: what does a fox actually say?
If you've ever lived near a wooded area, you know the real answer is "terrifying screams." Red foxes, the most common species, have a vocal range that includes over 20 different calls. During mating season, they emit a "vixen's scream" that sounds remarkably like a human being in distress.
They also bark. It’s a sharp, high-pitched "yap" that sounds like a small dog but with more rasp.
- The Bark: Used for identification and long-distance communication.
- The Scream: Primarily used by females (vixens) during the breeding season.
- The Gekker: A stuttering, throaty sound made during play or fights.
- The Whine: High-pitched sounds made by kits (cubs) to get attention.
None of these sounds are particularly "musical." Ylvis was right to invent their own. The reality is far less catchy and significantly more haunting at 3:00 AM in your backyard.
Survival in the Digital Age
"What Does the Fox Say" remains a case study in digital marketing. It teaches us that you can't force a viral hit. If the brothers had set out to make "the most viral video of 2013," they probably would have failed. Because they were trying to make a joke about the industry, the industry embraced the irony.
It also highlights the "innocence" of that era. There was no political agenda. No "cancel culture" debate. No complex meta-narrative. It was just a song about a fox. In a world that feels increasingly heavy, there’s something nostalgic about a video that just wanted to make you laugh at something stupid.
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The video currently sits at over 1.1 billion views on YouTube. Think about that number. One. Billion. That is roughly one-eighth of the human population that has watched two Norwegians dance in the woods.
Actionable Steps for Navigating Viral Content
If you're a creator or just someone who wants to understand the "why" behind the next big thing, here is how you can apply the "Fox" logic to the modern world:
Stop trying to be perfect.
The Ylvis brothers weren't trying to look cool. They were wearing cheap animal costumes. Authenticity and a willingness to look ridiculous are more valuable than a $10,000 wardrobe.
Focus on "Contrast."
The reason the song worked was the "Serious Verse / Stupid Chorus" dynamic. If you’re making content, look for two things that don’t belong together and mash them up.
Quality still matters.
Don't confuse "silly" with "low quality." The song sounds like a million dollars because it was produced by the best in the business. If you're going to do something dumb, do it with the highest possible level of craft.
Don't chase the trend; be the weirdness.
By the time you see a trend on your "For You" page, it's already over. "What Does the Fox Say" didn't follow a trend. It was so out of left field that people had to share it just to ask, "Did you see this?"
The song might be a decade old, but its DNA is in everything from "Baby Shark" to the latest absurdist TikTok sound. It taught us that the internet doesn't want logic. It wants a beat you can dance to and a question that doesn't need a real answer.
Next time you hear a weird noise in the woods, just remember: it's probably not a fox singing EDM. But wouldn't it be better if it were?