From "Baby Shark" child star to K-Pop idol: Park Geon-roung announces debut single "WAVE"
Now 17, Park Geon-roung is launching his K-pop career with his debut single “WAVE,” featuring Monsta X’s Joohoney and a nostalgic nod to his “Baby Shark” fame
The child star behind the viral “Baby Shark” dance video, Park Geon-roung, is officially making his debut as a K-pop artist under the stage name Baby Shark Boy (BSB).
Park rose to global fame at a remarkably young age. Now 17, he was just seven when he appeared alongside the original animated shark in the 2016 video, which became the most-watched video in YouTube history.
The “Baby Shark” star is set to release his first digital single album, titled WAVE, on August 20, 2026. The Korean-language track will feature Joohoney of prominent K-pop group Monsta X, while Park has co-written the lyrics himself.
According to The Pinkfong Company, the song incorporates elements of the original nursery hit as a nostalgic nod to Park’s childhood fame while marking a new chapter in his career and allowing him to showcase his own musical identity.
Park’s debut is backed by The Pinkfong Company, the South Korean entertainment company behind “Baby Shark.”
Notably, the "Baby Shark Dance" video by Pinkfong broke all YouTube records by becoming the most-viewed YouTube video of all time in November 2020 (dethroning Luis Fonsi's "Despacito") and later becoming the first video in history to surpass 10 billion views.
The viral children's song has accumulated over 16.4 billion views, averaging roughly 4.7 million plays every single day.
The creators at the South Korean educational entertainment company, Pinkfong, intentionally optimized the 90-second clip to captivate young minds.
Unlike typical pop music videos that adults watch a few times, children’s content relies on a high-repetition viewing pattern.
Toddlers and preschoolers watch their favorite clips dozens of times a day on a continuous loop. Because YouTube counts repeat views from the same users, the video effectively built an unstoppable view engine powered by millions of families worldwide.
The song transcended the toddler demographic and became a mainstream pop-culture phenomenon through social media.
The #BabySharkChallenge also went viral across platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, prompting K-pop groups including Blackpink and Red Velvet, international celebrities such as Cardi B and John Legend, and millions of everyday users to recreate the song’s signature arm-clapping choreography.
