Baby Shark swims passed the 10bn views mark to set new YouTube record

It's been more than five-and-a-half years since the world was rocked by the epidemic that is Baby Shark and the viral hit is still going strong, setting a new streaming record on YouTube.

The catchy tune and its accompanying video became the first video ever to hit 10-billion views on Thursday.

It beat out another real earworm: Despacito by Luis Fonsi ft Daddy Yankee.

The song has spawned countless covers, TV shows and tonnes of merchandise. Its creators, Korean-based kids channel Pinkfong‚ have a live tour planned for 2022.

The 80-minute show features Baby Shark and friends exploring the sea, learning about colours, shapes and numbers while singing infectious tunes.

But what makes the song so catchy? According to Rob Jardine‚ head of the research at the NeuroLeadership Institute in Johannesburg, it's all about patterns.

“The first thing we have to understand about the brain is that it likes patterns. Things are easier to recall if we put a pattern to it. We like to think in patterns too — that’s what ‘doo-doo’ is. It creates a repeated pattern.”

He said when this is combined with a bit of novelty, the result is a real earworm.

“Having the different accents of the voices is quite novel. It’s the same reason songs that often have a high-pitched hook or a different accent are catchy‚” said Jardine.

As if you haven't already a billion times, watch the Baby Shark video below and add to the record-breaking count.