Kidz Bop Cover of Sabrina Carpenter Track Goes Viral on TikTok

Kidz Bop released a sanitized version of Sabrina Carpenter's song "Tears" that sparked heated discussion across TikTok. Users discovered the children's music franchise rewrote lyrics about sexual themes into lines praising responsibility. Reaction videos flooded the platform over the weekend, racking up millions of views.

The rewritten version shifts from adult content to praise for life skills and respectful behavior: Carpenter's original lyrics "I get wet at the thought of you / Treating me like you're supposed to do / Tears run down my thighs" were changed to "I just smile at the thought of you / Being a responsible guy / Treating me like you're supposed to do / Tears fall from my eyes."

"A little communication… that's my ideal foreplay" transformed into "A little communication… yes, that's my ideal of the day." 

Influencer Ben Kearney helped push the discovery viral by joking that he "leaped out of bed" when he saw Kidz Bop tackled "Tears." His TikTok reaction video has gotten more than 5.3 million views and one million likes.

Many TikTok users thought the audio circulating online was AI-generated satire at first. The children's music brand confirmed it made the cover with actual child performers.

Fans questioned why Kidz Bop picked this particular track. The Daily Mail reported on the fan reactions. 

"They could've picked any song — and 'TEARS' was the one they chose," one user wrote. Others brought up the group's attempt to sanitize Cardi B's 2020 track "WAP," with one fan saying, "I thought they learned their lesson after the 'WAP' incident."

One TikTok user wrote that "some songs just can't be made kid-friendly — you can't unassociate the real meaning." Another declared that Kidz Bop "needs to be stopped."

Some viewers labeled the adaptation "diabolical" and insisted they be compensated for "emotional distress." Others said that sanitizing sexual songs while keeping their context is "insane and creepy."

"Just because you made it kid-friendly doesn't mean we forget the original," one TikTok user pointed out. Fans admitted the re-imagined lyrics were funny, but many argued the new lyrics made the track feel stranger.

The Daily Mail reached out to Carpenter's representatives for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication. "Tears" appears on the singer's latest studio album Man's Best Friend.

Listen to the Kidz Bop cover of "Tears" below.