It was late 2013, and you couldn't go five minutes without hearing a "ring-ding-ding" or a "wa-pa-pa-pa-pow." It felt like a fever dream. One day we were all living normal lives, and the next, everyone was wearing furry ears and screaming nonsense at their computer screens. Honestly, it was a weird time. But even now, years later, the question still pops up in trivia nights and nostalgic YouTube rabbit holes: who sings what the fox say?
The short answer is Ylvis.
If that sounds like a typo, it’s not. It’s the stage name for a pair of brothers from Norway who never actually intended for the song to be a hit. In fact, they were trying to do the exact opposite.
The Brothers Behind the Mask: Who is Ylvis?
Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker are the duo behind the madness. They’re comedians. Specifically, they’re Norwegian variety artists who had been famous in their home country for over a decade before the fox ever spoke. Since 2000, they had been doing everything from cabaret to hosting their own talk show, I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis).
They aren't just guys in costumes. They are legit performers. Vegard is a licensed pilot. Bård is a musician and dancer. They grew up in places like Mozambique and Angola because of their father’s work, which they’ve said in interviews helped shape their "outsider" sense of humor. They always felt a little bit like they were looking at the world through a different lens.
Why did they make the song?
The whole thing was a joke. Seriously. They wanted to promote the new season of their talk show, and they had this idea to make an "anti-hit." They reached out to Stargate, the legendary production team that has worked with Rihanna and Beyoncé. The goal was to use one of the best production houses in the world to create the most incredibly stupid song possible.
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They thought it would flop. They wanted it to flop so they could talk about how they wasted Stargate’s time on their show. Instead, it became the most-watched YouTube video of 2013. Life is funny like that.
Who Sings What the Fox Say? Explaining the Viral Madness
When we talk about who sings what the fox say, we have to mention the production value. This wasn't some guy in his bedroom with a webcam. This was a high-budget music video with choreography by Thea Bay and cinematography that looked like a million bucks.
The song starts out almost like a children’s book.
"Dog goes woof. Cat goes meow."
It’s innocent.
It’s safe.
Then, it takes a hard left turn into absolute chaos. The brothers start making sounds that aren't just animal noises; they’re parodies of the dubstep and EDM drops that were everywhere at the time. "Fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!" isn't a fox; it's a synthesizer on a bender.
The Real Sounds vs. The Song
Does a fox actually say "ding-ding-ding"? No. Not even close. If you’ve ever lived near a forest at night, you know the real sound is way more terrifying. They bark, yelp, and occasionally make a sound like a person screaming for help.
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Ylvis knew this, of course. The absurdity was the point. They were poking fun at the fact that we have words for "moo" and "quack," but the fox — this beautiful, mysterious animal — was left out of the onomatopoeia club.
Where Are the Ylvis Brothers Now?
It’s now 2026. You might think they vanished into the "one-hit wonder" graveyard, but they’re actually doing great. They never wanted to be global pop stars. After the madness of the iHeartRadio festival and The Ellen DeGeneres Show died down, they went back to Norway.
They’ve continued making television. In 2018, they released Stories from Norway, which was basically a musical documentary series. It’s brilliant. It takes real-life scandals and turns them into high-production musical numbers. They also appeared on the Norwegian version of Taskmaster (Kongen Befaler).
As of early 2026, they are still active. They have tour dates lined up, including a show in Kristiansand this July. They’ve stayed true to their roots as comedians who happen to be very good at music, rather than musicians who are trying to be funny.
The Legacy of the Fox
The song has over 1.1 billion views.
That’s a lot of people wondering what the fox says.
It hit number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
At the time, it was the highest-charting song by a Norwegian artist since A-ha’s "Take On Me."
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It’s easy to dismiss it as "that annoying song from ten years ago," but it actually changed how people thought about viral marketing. It proved that you didn't need a traditional record label push if the content was weird enough to make people share it.
What You Should Do Next
If you only know Ylvis from the fox song, you’re missing out. They have a whole catalog of comedy music that is actually better written.
- Watch "Stonehenge." It’s an epic power ballad about the mystery of the stone circles, and the production is arguably better than the fox song.
- Check out "The Cabin." It’s a R&B slow jam about the very specific Norwegian obsession with remote, rustic cabins. It’s hilarious.
- Look for "Stories from Norway." If you can find it with subtitles, it’s some of the best musical satire produced in the last decade.
The lesson here? Sometimes the things we do as a joke end up being the things that define us. Ylvis set out to make a "terrible" song, and in doing so, they created a piece of internet history that isn't going away anytime soon.
Go back and watch the video again. Notice the background dancers. Look at the serious faces they maintain while wearing onesies. It’s high-level commitment to a bit, and honestly, we should all aspire to have that much fun with our work.