It's taken a young Australian mother sinking her songwriting teeth into the global children's entertainment market to finally doo doo doo the bidding of millions of parents and see off apex earworm Baby Shark.
Regional NSW writer Lyndsie Storer's song I Found Happiness Today has — at last — dethroned universal viral phenomenon Baby Shark as the number one children's song on the iTunes charts.
And she is thrilled to surpass the song from South Korean group Pinkfong that has delighted children and tested parental sanity with its irresistible hook and record-breaking 8.7 billion YouTube views since 2017.
"The first time I looked at the charts I was number two and Baby Shark was above me and I thought then, 'Ooh, I wonder if I can beat Baby Shark'," she said.
"My daughter used to sing it quite a lot and she does have a Baby Shark toy in the bath.
"It's quite a catchy song that a lot of people know."
Daughter, 5, 'really impressed'
Storer has released numerous songs but until now her children's music has been largely undiscovered.
However, her five-year-old daughter Eden has had some sneak previews.
"She's definitely my biggest fan," she said.
"Yesterday her teacher played the song to her whole class, so she was really impressed by that."
'Grateful' for lockdown
The creative all-rounder from Broken Hill, who now lives in Gol Gol on the Murray River near Mildura, has also written a children’s book, What Does It Mean To Be Grateful, which went to number one on the "hot new sellers" Amazon charts this month.
She said both the single and the book originated during a pandemic lockdown.
“It [the lockdown] really opened my eyes to a lot of things, especially things like gratitude,” Storer said.
"I was really feeling quite grateful last year because I got to spend more time with my husband, because his work stopped, and my daughter couldn't go to kinder for a while, so we got to spend more time together and there was a lot of bonding.
Community 'really got behind me'
Storer, who also writes music for adults, is working on two new children's songs and has started a business that focuses on mindfulness for children.
The former Broken Hill North Public School and Willyama High School student left Broken Hill in 2010 but still feels a connection with the Silver City.
"They've really got behind me and I really, really appreciate it, so thank you."
