At this point, it’s impossible to escape “Planet of the Bass,” a loving parody of 90’s Eurodance that originated as a 50-second TikTok skit, exploded into a viral meme, and is now a full-length song and music video.
What is Planet of the Bass?
“Planet of the Bass” is a satirical song performed by comedian Kyle Gordon and singer-songwriter Chrissi Poland, with Gordon having co-written the tune with Brooks Allison, a writer for The Tonight Show.
Gordon appears in the original TikTok skit with influencer Audrey Trullinger, the two performing as vaguely European characters known as “DJ Crazy Times” and “Ms. Biljana Electronica.”
The skit has steadily grown in popularity, to the point where the song was recently performed live at a Jonas Brothers concert, inspiring the audience to sing along.
How did the parody become so popular?
On July 28th, Gordon first posted the skit on his TikTok channel, @kylegordonisgreat, titled “Every European Dance Song in the 1990s.”
The skit proved fairly successful on TikTok (it’s accumulated more than 9 million views), but its cultural reach received a significant boost through “X,” formerly known as Twitter, where Gordon’s post has been viewed more than 110 million times, according to X’s metrics.
In previous interviews, Gordon explained that his alter-ego DJ Crazy Times is not a new creation; in fact, he has been playing the character since college. Gordon attributes the sudden explosion of interest in his character to the Barbie movie, which elevated the 1997 song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, ushering in the Eurodance Renaissance.
The song seems to have arrived at the perfect point in the nostalgia cycle, with commentators praising it as a perfectly executed parody, lovingly satirizing the gloriously garish aesthetic of the 90’s.
The lyrics, written in broken English, took on a life of their own, the phrase “Life, it never die, women are my favorite guy” instantly becoming a meme in itself.
Inevitable backlash
After the skit went viral, Gordon seized the moment, releasing two additional versions of the song on TikTok, with yoga influencer Mara Olney and TikToker Sabrina Brier playing the role of Ms. Biljana Electronica (Chrissi Poland’s vocals remained on all three clips).
This proved a smart TikTok strategy, seemingly catering to the whims of an algorithm that rewards constant content, but sparked backlash from fans who demanded the return of Trullinger, the original Biljana Electronica.
Repeatedly recasting Biljana Electronica wasn’t just an attempt to churn out fresh content, but a nod to the conventions of the genre, in which female performers are often swapped without explanation. One X user wrote: “Trust me, switching the girl around is the most europop thing ever. He’s 100% committed.”
Not everyone got the joke, with some users taking Trullinger’s absence personally, or criticizing the new videos as desperate; one X user joked that “this version has a sadness that you only see in eastern European gay porn.” Others were more direct, simply posting: “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER.”
Some X users even delved into Gordon’s past attempts at internet fame and mocked his sense of humor, while others branded him a “milkshake duck” (meaning a content creator who goes viral, before being revealed as problematic and rejected by the masses).
The backlash cycle didn’t gain much traction as the intent became clear, with the catchy tune proving immune to criticism.
The TikTok skit becomes a real song
Despite waves of hype and backlash, the meme never went away, inspiring tributes and fan art. At one point, comedian Amy Poehler released a TikTok clip of her singing along to the original clip, prompting Trullinger to film a duet celebrating the crossover.
On Tuesday, August 15th, Gordon released the full “Planet of the Bass” song and official music video, featuring the long-awaited return of Audrey Trullinger (along with a cheeky reference to her alter-egos).
The video is packed with endearingly low-budget sci-fi props, capturing the surreal tone and synthetic textures of classic Eurodance hits. The song will feature on Gordon’s upcoming musical parody album, which will satirize a variety of genres.
On the night of the song’s release, Gordon and Trullinger even got to perform “Planet of the Bass” together at the Jonas Brothers concert at Boston’s TD Garden, marking the official jump from meme to mainstream pop song.
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