"I Know This Song" Girl Interrupting Jack Johnson's "Upside Down"

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About

"I Know This Song" Girl Interrupting Jack Johnson's "Upside Down" refers to a viral video of singer-songwriter Jack Johnson performing his song "Upside Down" (known for its usage in the Curious George movie) in a preschool classroom while a little girl continually interrupts him, saying, "I know this song." The original video was posted to YouTube in 2013. In early 2024, the video went viral on TikTok. Many thought that the video was wholesome while other discourse centered on the girl being perceived as annoying. One viral reaction read, "I know this song girl vs. hydraulic press." As it trended online, TikToker kaileen! (@defnotkaileen) claimed that she was the girl in the video and criticized people who had negative reactions.

Origin

On June 18th, 2013, YouTuber^[1] Carol Reach posted a video called "Jack Johnson sings to Preschool Class" in which singer-songwriter Jack Johnson was performing his song "Upside Down." The song was created for the 2006 film Curious George.^[2]^[3] In the YouTube video, a female student continually says, "I know this song," while Johnson plays. Over 11 years, the video received roughly 455,000 views (shown below).

Spread

The video didn't receive predominant spread until 10 years later when it was reposted by TikToker^[4] @viralclipz882 on April 12th, 2024, gaining over 20.2 million plays and 3.1 million likes in a month (shown below, left).

Going into April 2024, TikTokers started to reference the video in variant meme content, such as a video posted by TikToker^[5] @xion90k.jpg on April 15th, who posted a Curious George slow-fade in meme with "Upside Down," writing, "Gotta let the gang know I fw this song," earning over 3.3 million plays and 589,700 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

It was alleged by other TikTokers in photo slideshows and videos that comments left on TikToker^[4] @viralclipz882's original repost were mean-spirited. The comments have since been deleted on TikToker^[4] @viralclipz882's video.

For instance, on April 23rd, 2024, TikToker^[7] @i_am_bigness posted a three-photo slideshow with the video's TikTok sound,^[8] showing a Sunset Wojak and a Doomer Wojak reacting to a comment that read, "I know this song girl vs. hydraulic press" (referencing the Hydrogen Bomb vs. Coughing Baby meme). Over 15 days, the slideshow received roughly 3.6 million plays and 372,500 likes (photos shown below).

On April 29th, TikToker^[12] @happy.cub posted a slideshow using the two panels from the Bro Visited His Friend meme, referencing a comment about the "I Know This Song" girl biting the curb, gaining over 36,400 plays and 2,200 likes in nine days (shown below).

"I Know This Song" Girl Reaction

On May 6th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @defnotkaileen posted a video with the trend's TikTok sound^[8] in which she claimed to be the "I Know This Song" girl. She wrote, "me watching thousands of people say how they want me dead because of me being excited over a song from my favorite movie in kindergarten." In two days, her TikTok received roughly 7.5 million plays and 1 million likes (shown below).

Two photo slideshows were also posted by TikToker^[10]^[11] @defnotkaileen on May 6th in which she showed photos of her younger self to prove that she was the "I Know This Song" girl (shown below).