Playing the hitz

The Kidz Bop formula just keeps working for youth-powered entity

There’s just something nostalgic about kids singing the top-40 hits of the summer. And for parents, it’s easy to think back to magical memories from the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s spent at the pool, beach or summer camp with friends listening to one sing-along track after another. It’s that kind of feeling that the Kidz Bop tour, which returns to Cleveland for a show Aug. 4 at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, taps into every summer. “As it says in the name, Kidz Bop is today’s biggest hits sung by kids for kids,” said Kidz Bop President Victor Zaraya, calling from New York City. “I think what’s happened is there was a space for us between toddler music and the traditional teenager-influenced music. “So we kind of filled that market not only with music available on every music service but with a live show that’s great family entertainment. Because we’re all focused on high-quality music, the concept always resonates. And, there are always new kids who are growing into the demographic just like there are kids who are leaving.” Started nearly 20 years ago in Columbus when a father saw a need for parents who loved to sing the hits of the day but were often conflicted with the lyrics, Kidz Bop not only periodically releases albums of kids covering popular tunes but also created a summer tour that often acts as a child’s first official concert. Now, the Kidz Bop property is expanding. Earlier this year its stateside performers toured the U.K. performing with their British counterparts. There are also Kidz Bop performances taking place this year in Australia, Germany, London and Mexico, not to mention the morethan-50-date North American tour. After Kidz Bop’s biggest year to date in 2018, Billboard Magazine named the act its “#1 Kids’ Artist” for eight consecutive years. At this rate, it almost seems a no-brainer next chapter for Kidz Bop would be to launch an “American Bandstand”-meets-”TRL” television show. After this is mentioned to Zaraya, his enthusiastic reaction suggests the wheels are already in motion.

“I love it — I hope that gets out in the atmosphere,” Zaraya said. “We’d love to do something like that. What’s interesting about Kidz Bop is we’ve done all of this without traditional television. “Usually, kids’ properties start on TV. We went the other way. We’d love to be on TV — whatever that is, Netflix, Hulu, Nickelodeon — but if that doesn’t happen, we’ll continue to grow without it.” As far as this year’s Kidz Bop setlist, concertgoers can expect songs found on the recently released “Kidz Bop 39” (Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes” and 5 Seconds of Summer’s

“Youngblood”), as well as new tracks (Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”) and classics (DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”). Also of note: The Kidz Bop live presentation is produced by celebrated production manager Chris Gratton (Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber). “He’s really helping us work with the flow,” Zaraya said. “So you’re not just going to listen to songs being covered. There’s an actual show with lighting and some really cool special effects. There are high points and low points, with everyone walking out feeling really happy. “One of the things that we noticed is families are coming together in large groups. So just bring as many people as you want, relax and get ready to sing and dance.”

SUBMITTED PHOTOS The performers in Kidz Bop may be young, but the concept is nearly a couple of decades old.

You can’t have a rock concert without bass and drums.

Sometimes you just gotta chill with your friends.