It’s time to face the music: Muppets, OK Go plan viral sensation

17 Aug 2011

The Muppets are back and want to trump previous internet video viral hits like ‘Ode to Joy’ and ‘Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody’ with a new celebrational, tributational, most sensational version of the ‘Muppet Show Theme Song’ with pop band OK Go, one of the most downloaded bands ever.

The new music video will appear on 26 August on VEVO, VEVO Mobile and VEVO on YouTube at 8am (EST) on 26 August.

The song, written by Jim Henson and Sam Pottle, opened and closed The Muppet Show for five seasons in the UK and US, from 1976-1981. The new track was produced by OK Go and mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT).

The music video was directed by Kirk Thatcher, who previously directed two Webby award-winning videos for the Muppets, Ode to Joy (more than 15m YouTube views) and Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody (more than 21m YouTube views).

OK Go and The Muppets collaborate

OK Go has been called the most downloaded band ever, with more than 200m streams on YouTube alone. The band has won numerous honours, including a Grammy for Here It Goes Again (aka, “the treadmill video”), a 2010 Webby ‘Special Achievement Award’ recognising the band as ‘Film & Video Artist of the Year’ and two UK Music Video Awards for This Too Shall Pass (Rube Goldberg Machine Version).

Kermit the frog adds: “The Muppets have performed this song lots of times, but not like this. OK Go never does anything the way you’d expect it. Damian, Tim, Dan and Andy like to mix things up and get a little loopy. I think they were Muppets in a previous lifetime.”

To see a trailer of what’s planned, click here.

OK Go and Kermit

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com