Kidz Bop
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. |
Kidz Bop is the name of a series of popular music albums recorded for children, sold by Razor and Tie Direct, Ltd. and frequently marketed through television commercials.
Albums
So far there have been eight consecutive Kidz Bop albums. Each one features different pop music songs, with the chorus sung by the "Kidz Bop Kids" instead of the original artist. Albums typically are released within a few months of each other, at a somewhat faster pace than most other music releases.
There is also an upcoming music video which features the Kidz Bop Kids acting out several of the more popular songs featured on the albums. It should be noted that the supposed "dancing" of the Kidz Bop Kidz is in fact simply two or three of the kids jumping around randomly swinging thier arms.
Advertising
Kidz Bop is often advertised on television channels such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon that are known to be popular with younger audiences. Their commercials typically show the Kidz Bop Kids acting out each song (interpreting everything literally, of course) while a sample of it plays in the background. It then claims that the album is only available through this "exclusive TV offer," and then provides a Web site and telephone number by which it can be ordered for the "low price of $19.95."
Controversy
Many of the songs featured on the Kidz Bop albums contain explicit sexual material which some people consider inappropriate for younger audiences, the intended target of the albums. Some featured songs, such as Boulevard of Broken Dreams, also contain profanity (particularly the word "fuck"), although the albums delete the actual word from the song.
In addition to all of this, many also dislike the fact that, while most of the song is performed by the original singer or group, the chorus (or in some cases, whichever other part of the song is typically most familiar to listeners) is performed by the Kidz Bop Kids. Presumably the original artists have agreed to allow this, although the exact legal status is somewhat questionable, as is the singing ability of the Kidz Bop Kids.