Piko-Taro’s ‘Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen’ cracks Billboard’s top 100 singles

“Comedian Piko-Taro’s music video ‘Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen,’ abbreviated as ‘PPAP,’ that recently went viral on social media has entered the weekly U.S. Billboard Top 100 singles chart at 77th,” Daisuke Kikuchi reports for The Japan Times. “”

“It is the first time in 26 years that a Japanese artist has made the U.S. chart. The last was singer Seiko Matsuda, whose song ‘The Right Combination’ reached No. 54 in 1990,” Kikuchi reports. “Billboard says the song, which lasts just 45 seconds, is the shortest-ever to make it into the Top 100.”

“Chart rankings are determined by the number of radio air plays, sales and online streams,” Kikuchi reports. “Currently, Piko-Taro’s video is available on streaming services such as Spotify and can also be downloaded from iTunes.”

“In the video, Piko-Taro, dressed in garish animal-print lounge wear, wraparound sunglasses and a punch perm, dances in a humorous style and repeats simple lyrics consisting mainly of three words: ‘apple,’ ‘pineapple’ and ‘pen,'” Kikuchi reports. “Phrases such as ‘This is a pen’ and ‘This is an apple’ are traditionally the first English phrases students in Japan learn in school.”

Read more in the full article here.

“Piko-Taro — sprung from the imagination of Japanese comedian and DJ Daimaou Kosaka — makes his record-setting Hot 100 arrival with his viral hit, which starts almost exclusively from 5.7 million U.S. streams (nearly all from YouTube clicks) in the week ending Oct. 13, according to Nielsen Music,” Gary Trust reports for Billboard. “It also enters the Streaming Songs chart at No. 46.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen.” We’ve had it floating around in our heads for a month now!

It’s just so catchy! It’s got to be one of the catchiest ditties of all time.

It’s available on Apple Music, too. It’s best to just put it on loop all day. 😉

Plus, of course, it’s massive subliminal advertising for Apple Pen(cil).