Stray Kids Hyunjin’s Viral “Sakuranbo” Video Gets Noticed By Singer Ai Otsuka
Ai Otsuka‘s 2003 breakthrough single “Sakuranbo,” or “Cherry,” is still beloved all around the world and even reached the TikTok of Stray Kids!
Ai Otsuka is a very popular singer in Japan whose single “Sakuranbo” topped the Top 200 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for 103 weeks! She has also made the theme song for numerous anime and manga, including Nana, Boys Over Flowers, and Fruits Basket.
The “Sakuranbo” dance on TikTok went viral last year, with the song having thousands of videos under it of people doing the adorable moves! @tiktok_stage, an account dedicated to K-Pop idols doing various challenges, even posted this video in November 2020 of idols like NCT‘s WinWin and OnlyOneOf‘s Nine doing the dance.
@tiktok_stage Who is the cutest? #sakuranbo #사쿠란보 #WayV #OnlyOneOf #AB6IX #tiktokstage #틱톡스테이지 #kpop #fyp
But none have blown up quite like Hyunjin‘s dance! Stray Kids’ Japanese TikTok account posted videos of all 8 members doing the challenge, with 3–6 million views for each of them. But Hyunjin’s video has totally gone viral with almost 12 million views and 2.3 million likes!
@straykids_japan 笑顔咲く #STAY とつながってたい🍒💗 #さくらんぼ #さくらんぼチャレンジ#사쿠란보 #사쿠란보챌린지#sakuranbo #Hyunjin #ヒョンジン#StrayKids #スキズ #ALLIN
Ai Otsuka posted a screenshot of Hyunjin’s TikTok on her Twitter account and her Instagram story. She liked the post and wrote, in Korean, “Thank you!”
감사합니다👯♀
AIO#さくらんぼhttps://t.co/zYpX3WPWAQ pic.twitter.com/ubZ8nbUIpi
— 大塚 愛 (@ai_otsuka99) August 30, 2021
She explained in a reply that her friend’s daughter is a huge STAY!
My acquaintance’s daughter who loves K-Pop always tells me excitedly, ‘It’s Stray Kids! Amazing!‘
— Ai Otsuka
K-POP大好きな知人の娘さんが、いつも興奮気味に教えてくれる😂Stray Kidsだよ！すごいよ！って
— 大塚 愛 (@ai_otsuka99) August 30, 2021
To be noticed by the original singer herself amidst all of the other videos is such an honor! Hyunjin definitely did “Sakuranbo” justice with his TikTok.
