About

Ariana Grande "Bop It" refers to a series of jokes and memes parodying the song "Sweetener" by recording artist Ariana Grande, which some say is reminiscent of the children's interactive toy "Bop It."

Origin

In 1996, the toymaker Hasbro released "Bop It," a handheld game that instructs players to bop, twist or smack different areas of the device, similar to the game "Simon Says." To instruct players, the game features pre-recorded audio, saying, "bop it, hit it, twist it."^[1]

On August 17th, 2018, Ariana Grande released the album Sweetener.^[2] The album's title-track, "Sweetener," included the lyrics:

And then you get it, get it, get it, get it (ayy)
Hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it (ayy)
Flip it, flip it, flip it
You make me say oh, oh (sheesh, sheesh)
Twist it, twist it, twist it, twist it
Mix it and mix it and mix it and mix it
Kiss it, kiss it, kiss it
You make me say oh, oh (sheesh, sheesh)

Spread

Shortly after the song's release, fans of Grande began comparing the song's lyrics to "Bop It." One of the earliest reviews of the song came from Twitter ^[3] user @ItsDobrikBitch. They compared the song to the game (shown below, left), writing, "Mess. It sounds like someone playing with a "Bop It" toy. You'll see why. It has some very promising parts but they're not enough to save the song. This could've been a fire ass jam but the 'get it get it hit it flip it' ruins it."

As more people heard the song, the tone of the comparisons took a more comical tone. People posted pictures of "Bop It" toys along with the lyrics to the song (examples below, center and right).

Several media outlets covered the comparisons and memes, including Bustle,^[4] Cosmopolitan,^[5] Yahoo, ^[6]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References