Capybara Song / Капибара

About

The Capybara Song, also known as "Капибара" by СтоЛичный Она-Нас or "Capybara" by Capital She-Us, refers to a song prevalent on TikTok that repeats the word "capybara" over and over again in reference to the rodent-like animal. The song was made by the Russian band СтоЛичный Она-Нас in mid-2022. Capybara memes became commonplace online in 2022, resulting in the Capybara Song, which was used in video memes going into early 2023. In March 2023, the Capybara Song had a resurgence in popularity which resulted in viral discourse over whether or not the song was cringe. Much of the discourse centered on a generational divide between Millennials and Zoomers.

Origin

On July 16th, 2022, Russian music group СтоЛичный Она-Нас released their single "Капибара" on Spotify.^[1] The song was first uploaded to YouTube^[2] months later, on October 19th, 2022, by the channel ZAKA BUMKA, earning roughly 775,800 views and 16,000 likes in five months. On January 25th, 2023, the "Topic" YouTube^[3] channel for СтоЛичный Она-Нас automatically uploaded the song, earning roughly 2.4 million views and 74,000 likes in two months (shown below).

Capybara Song Lyrics

Капибара (Какибара)
Капибара, капибара, капибара, капибара
Какибара (Капибара)
Какибара, какибара, какибара, какибара
Капибара (Какибара)
Капибара, капибара, капибара, какибара
Капибара (Капибара)
Капибара, капибара, капибара, капибара
[Куплет 1]
Этот зверёк реально крутой
Это, бро, капибара-бой
Этот зверёк реально крутой
Это, бро, капибара-бой
Он так бегает, типо тупой
Но он реально капибара-бой
Этот зверёк реально крутой
Он реально капибара, капибара-бой

Coinciding with the October 2022 upload of YouTuber^[2] ZAKA BUMKA's video, TikTok memes that used "Капибара" as a TikTok sound started to surface and earn viral attention during that month. Currently, the earliest known TikTok video to use the song was uploaded on October 19th, 2022 by TikTok^[4] user @bebra_6361, earning roughly 3.3 million plays and 99,400 likes in five months (shown below).

Spread

Going into late 2022, videos using the Capybara Song earned more engagement. For instance, on November 8th, 2022, TikToker^[5] @justcapybaraboy posted a Capybara-related video using the song, earning roughly 5 million likes in four months (shown below, left). In early 2023, more iterations surfaced, such as a video posted by TikToker^[6] @nostressjustmelon on February 20th, 2023 that received roughly 27 million plays and 4.1 million likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

By March 13th, 2023, the Capybara Song's TikTok^[10] sound had amassed roughly 473,600 videos using it.

Cringe Discourse

The usage of the song started to be criticized by TikTokers predominantly starting in March 2023. For instance, on March 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[7] @annoyingtoto4 posted a duet with TikToker^[8] @katie_budenberg, whose video was identified as a TikTok that @annoyingtoto4 hated. In 10 days, the duet received roughly 2.2 million plays and 295,100 likes (shown below, left). Going into 2023, the cringe-related discourse became centered on a Millennial and Zoomer generational divide. For instance, on March 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[9] @annalillyha posted a different duet with @katie_budenberg, calling her a Millennial in the caption and stating that capybaras were "funny like 6-8 months ago." In 10 days, the duet received roughly 872,300 plays and 123,500 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References