Why are TikTokers remaking classic songs with Gen Alpha slang?
The unexpected popularity of the “Fanum Tax” song, which turned Gen Alpha slang into a catchy viral tune, has spawned a new musical trend on TikTok. Now, users adapt more seemingly absurdist slang of the next generation and use it to rewrite iconic songs.
In one recent TikTok, a user named Henry (@huntcho_) rewrites the lyrics to Outkast’s 2003 mega-hit “Hey Ya!”
Instead of, “My baby don’t mess around / Because she loves me so / And this I know fo sho,” Henry switches up the lyrics to, “My grimace don’t rizz around / Unless it’s Livvy Dunn / Or if it’s baby Gronk.“
In another, Felix Bosques Harima (@felixbosquesh) takes the classic 1993 Radiohead song, “Creep,” and peppers it with nearly every Gen Alpha phrase.
“When you were in Ohio/ Couldn’t look you in the gyatt / You’re just like Adin Ross / Your mew makes me edge / You razz like Kai Cenat / In a skibidi world / I wish I was sigma / You’re so f****** sigma,” the TikToker croons in the video.
Some call this trend intentionally “cringe” since Gen Z or millennial TikTokers performing the songs might not get all the hype around the new terminology. These rewritten songs serve as parodies of a new generation that’s just starting to take shape.
Gen Alpha kids, born anytime after 2010, are just now entering their tween and teen years. Born after Gen Z, they’ve grown up fully immersed in social media, innately hyperconnected and tech-savvy. And so far, they have proved themselves masters at inventing lingo.
While at-home musicians create the bulk of these TikToks, plenty have professional production, and some sound like real songs.
In one recent cover, the artist Jack Hopewell (@hopeuarewell) turns Paul McCartney’s classic, “Let It Be,” into “Skibidi,” which Urban Dictionary describes as a made-up word used to start a conversation — usually one filled with “brain rot.”
Another remake, by Ant Saunders (@antksaunders), shows the TikToker turning the ’70s classic “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates into “Rizzler,” which is slang for someone who’s a pro at picking up women.
In the comments, many TikTokers seem to love these covers, but mostly in a “so bad, they’re good” way. Some people are even putting in requests for other songs to get a Gen Alpha spin.
To date, user @curlydaddy101 has done several rizzler-themed covers with millions of views on TikTok.
“Smells like teen spirit but rizzler version,” wrote the user @alfietucker___ on an Arctic Monkeys-inspired tune by @curlydaddy101.
“You should do sweet child o’ mine,” wrote @segswithyourmom on a Foo Fighters cover by @curlydaddy101. “will definitely be a hit.”
The social media trend appears to be taking off in a big way, with videos tagged under various Gen A slang words like sigma, gyatt and the term that started it all — Fanum tax — getting billions of views between them.
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