Well, it was a close-fought battle that went right down to the final hour, but in the end Keller Williams and his video for "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" beat out Sugar Free Allstars' video for "Cars and Trucks" to be declared KidVid Tournament 2011 champion.

A tip of the cap to SFA, who beat a number of strong videos with their funky cartoon on their way to the championship and nearly pulled off the stunning upset. But it was not to be, as Williams' video took the crown. A video, I might add, which manages to retain viewers' attention with a simple concept -- Williams creates a loop (seemingly live), and a bunch of folks hula hoop their way through the rest of the video. Maybe it retains viewers' attention because of that simple concept.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank once again all my fellow kids' music writers who helped with this year's tournament by hosting various components -- Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl, Out With the Kids, Ages 3 and Up!, Gooney Bird Kids, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, and Dadnabbit. I think we'll do this again next year.

So, for the last time, here is your KidVid Tournament 2011 champion...

Keller Williams - "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did it start with the brackets? Or maybe even before then with the list of my favorite videos? No, KidVid Tournament 2011 really started many months if not years ago when the two artists here today first came up with the germ of an idea for a song, then followed that up with an idea for a video.

The KidVid Tournament 2011 Championship features Keller Williams and his video for "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" going up against Sugar Free Allstars and the video for "Cars and Trucks." SFA's been a giant-killer all tournament -- can they come through one more time?

This is the championship matchup when fans can sometimes get a little frenzied, so just a few reminders:
1) This is for fun. There is no money, schwag, or anything except a final congratulatory post and the self-satisfaction that your favorite artist/video won an internet popularity contest. So please balance your attitude accordingly.
2) Please watch both videos -- many of you may know who you're going to vote for, but these are both excellent videos and worth your time.
3) One vote per household please.
4) All votes are due by 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Monday).

Thanks, and have fun!

Keller Williams - "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" [YouTube]

Sugar Free Allstars - "Cars and Trucks" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today it's time for the other KidVid Tournament 2011 semifinal. This matchup features the Ella Jenkins Regional winner, the #4 seed which busted everyone's brackets, Sugar Free Allstars' video for "Cars and Trucks," going up against last year's finalist Caspar Babypants, the winner of this year's Leadbelly Regional with "$9.99." They're both animated -- sort of -- but very different. Even if you came here intending to vote for one or the other, I hope you'll take 2 or 3 minutes and check out the competition's song and video. Polls close at 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Friday). As always, one vote per household, and play nice.

Caspar Babypants - "$9.99" [YouTube]

Sugar Free Allstars - "Cars and Trucks" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hope you've taken the opportunity to watch a lot of great videos and vote for your favorites at a lot of great kids music sites over the past couple weeks -- now the four videos which won their regionals will compete here at Zooglobble to finish determining the KidVid Tournament 2011 champion. The first semi-final matchup features Keller Williams, who won the Pete Seeger Region with his video for "Hula Hoop to Da Loop," going up against Debbie and Friends, the winner of the Woody Guthrie Region with "Cinderella." Two very different videos, indeed, so even if you came here intending to vote for one or the other, I hope you'll take 3 or 4 minutes and check out the competition's song and video. Polls close at 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Thursday). As always, one vote per household, and play nice.

Debbie and Friends - "Cinderella" [YouTube]

Keller Williams - "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are down to the last Round 2 matchup in KidVid Tournament 2011. It features the Leadbelly Regional, hosted today by Bill over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. The winner of the matchup between the #1 seed, Caspar Babypants' "$9.99" and the #2 seed, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke's "Big Pet Pig," will be the last entrant in the KidVid Tournament 2011's final four videos. The competition is for today and today only, so head here, watch both videos, and vote your heart. Or your head. Or toes. Whatever, really.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Day 1 of Day 3 of second round voting for KidVid Tournament 2011 and it's time for the Ella Jenkins Regional. This regional final features The Not-Its' and their video for "Green Light, Go!" (a #2 seed) facing Sugar Free Allstars, the only #4 seed to make it out of the first round. Watch both and vote over at Out with the Kids today and today only. Vote here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's the second day of second round voting for KidVid Tournament 2011 (there's something synchronistic in that, right?) features the Woody Guthrie Regional. It's the matchup between the Bazillions' "Preposition" (a #1 seed) vs. Debbie and Friends and the #2 seed "Cinderella." Vote over at Gooney Bird Kids today and today only. Vote here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know, it's almost the end of the day, but I did want to highlight that the first day of second round voting for KidVid Tournament 2011 starts today with the matchup in the Pete Seeger Regional. It features Keller Williams and his #1 seeded video "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" up against #2 seed Recess Monkey and "Black Hole in My Room." All the action (OK, the videos and the poll) can be found over at Ages 3 and Up! right here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It started with my favorite kids music videos of the year. Then you voted on your favorites at Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl. Then you went to Out With the Kids, Ages 3 and Up!, Gooney Bird Kids, and Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child to vote in Round 1. Maybe you even went to Dadnabbit (or should've, anyway) to read Jeff's handicapping of the brackets.

All that, and we still have seven matchups to go. Here, then, are the Round 1 winners who will be facing off in Round 2.

Ella Jenkins Region: The Not-Its!, "Green Light, Go!" (2) vs. Sugar Free Allstars, "Cars and Trucks" (4)
Pete Seeger Region: Keller Williams, "Hula Hoop To Da Loop" (1) vs. Recess Monkey, "Black Hole in My Room" (2)
Leadbelly Region: Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2)
Woody Guthrie Region: The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2)

Some of the winners won in blowouts, some in squeakers, but all of these (friendly) face-offs will get even closer here in this next round. Even though I like the Sugar Free Allstars video (it made my Top 25 list, after all), it makes me a little sad that John and Mark's "A Counting Error," my favorite video of the year, didn't make it to round 2, but that's the perils of fandom, right?

Round 2 will start on Saturday, March 26. Which matchup will kick off Round 2 and where will it be found? Well, you'll just have to wait for Saturday to find out...

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's final first round day of KidVid Tournament 2011 action. The last regional host is Bill Childs at the venerable Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child radio show. He's hosting two matchups for the Pete Seeger Regional:

-- Keller Williams, "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" (1) vs. Justin Roberts, "Obsessed by Trucks" (4) [vote here]
-- Recess Monkey, "Black Hole in My Room" (2) vs. Jamie Broza, "Waters of March" (3) [vote here]

Vote today, and if you need a second (or first, or seventh) opinion, Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit is providing commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've had an exciting weekend of KidVid Tournament 2011 action, but we're not done yet with the first round. Today's action moves down south as Gwyneth over at Gooney Bird Kids is hosting two matchups for the Leadbelly Regional:

-- Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. The Verve Pipe, "When One Became Two" (4)
-- Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2) vs. Holly Throsby, "Fish & Mice" (3)

Don't forget -- if you're looking for commentary before or after you vote (today only!) Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit is providing commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Day 1 of KidVid Tournament 2011 is in the books, Day 2 is next. Head on over today to Ages 3 and Up! for your chance to vote on the next two matchups, featuring the Ella Jenkins Region:

-- John Upchurch and Mark Greenberg, "A Counting Error" (1) vs. Sugar Free Allstars, "Cars and Trucks" (4)
-- The Not-Its!, "Green Light, Go!" (2) vs. Essie Jain, "What a Big Wide World" (3)

And before (or after) you vote there, Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit continues to provide his commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, that's right. Head on over today to Out With the Kids for your chance to vote on the first two matchups in KidVid Tournament 2011, featuring the Woody Guthrie Region:

-- The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Coal Train Railroad (and Readeez), "Just the Juice, Jack" (4) -- watch and vote here.
-- Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2) vs. Billy Kelly, "The Sky Floats (and So Do Boats)" (3) -- watch and vote here.

And, if you want a second opinion on the videos, Jeff Giles, the fine writer and mastermind behind Dadnabbit, has graciously agreed to provide his thoughts on the whole bracket. Read his take on the day's competition here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You already know about my favorite kids music videos of the year. This past weekend many of you headed over to the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl to vote on your favorites from that list. (Thanks, Dave! And thanks Jeff for the swanky logo.)

Combining my original, partially-ranked list with the rankings from the poll, I now have the brackets for KidVid Tournament 2011. It was a little difficult trying to merge the two and honor the high-ranked entries in each -- I visualize Salteens sitting in front of their monitor, stunned, while Jim Nantz interviews the lead singer who says that he just can't understand how the Tournament Committee overlooked them. (Also note: I excluded Secret Agent 23 Skidoo from the beginning because he won a couple years ago, and I exempt prior winners for a number of years.).

I've got 16 great kids music videos, ready to compete against each other in a friendly single-elimination tournament, with readers picking the winners in each round. The tournament starts Friday, but here's the entire bracket...

Ella Jenkins Region
John Upchurch & Mark Greenberg, "A Counting Error" (1) vs. Sugar Free Allstars, "Cars and Trucks" (4)
The Not-Its!, "Green Light, Go!" (2) vs. Essie Jain, "What a Big Wide World" (3)

Pete Seeger Region
Keller Williams, "Hula Hoop To Da Loop" (1) vs. Justin Roberts, "Obsessed by Trucks" (4)
Recess Monkey, "Black Hole in My Room" (2) vs. Jamie Broza, "Waters of March" (3)

Leadbelly Region
Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. The Verve Pipe, "When One Became Two" (4)
Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2) vs. Holly Throsby, "Fish and Mice" (3)

Woody Guthrie Region
The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Coal Train Railroad (and Readeez), "Just the Juice, Jack" (4)
Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2) vs. Billy Kelly, "The Sky Floats (and So Do Boats)" (3)

Now, as I mentioned before, some of my friends around the kids music world will be hosting the first and second round matchups. Here's the schedule of when you'll want to check out their sites for the first round. I mean, you should be doing so, regularly, but still.

Out With the Kids: Friday, 3/18
Ages 3 and Up!: Saturday, 3/19
Gooney Bird Kids: Monday, 3/21
Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child: Tuesday, 3/22

As for which matchups will be featured on each site on each day, well, for that, you'll just have to tune in.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And I need help. Not just yours, either.

That's right, it's almost time for the formal start of KidVid Tournament 2011 and this year I'm getting help from a number of my fellow family music writers and radio hosts.

Starting tomorrow, Dave Loftin from the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl will be is hosting a poll where he'll be asking you (yes, you) to select your favorites from amongst my 25 favorite kids music videos of 2010. Go here, watch the videos, and vote at the poll on the right side of the page.

Think of it like Tournament Week before KidVid Tournament 2011 -- some videos will play themselves into the tourney, and some on the bubble will fall out. (I did something similar last year.)

That will happen over the span of maybe 48 hours, and starting late next week, you'll be able to vote for your favorite videos in head-to-head matchups at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, Ages 3 and Up!, Out With the Kids, and Gooney Bird Radio. They'll host the first and second rounds -- just like real regionals! (Except for the part where there's no west coast representation.) And by the end of March and beginning of April, we'll come back here for the semifinals and finals.

All the while (or at least part of the while), Jeff Giles from Dadnabbit will provide a little commentary. I'd say he's the Billy Packer of KidVid, but maybe I shouldn't.

Anyway, should be fun, follow along here for all you need to know and enjoy the ride!

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I realize that picking my favorite kids music videos gets harder every year. But I do it for you, loyal readers. My list of videos I seriously considered was at least 40 (the number of videos I saw or even featured on this site was even larger). I knew that narrowing it down to 20, the size of last year's list, would omit some really good videos. So I bumped that total up to 25.

There are many things that go into selecting the videos -- how much I like the song, if the song was actually released this year, if the video was actually released this year, personal whimsy -- but I think the list as a whole stands up as fairly representative of the year's best.

Here, then, are my 25 favorite kids music videos from 2010 (2010 defined roughly as March 1, 2010 - February 28, 2011 -- I'm just assuming nothing else super cool gets released in the next 4 days). I'll start off with the #1 video of the year, rank the next 9, and another unranked 15.

If you'd like, you can also watch the YouTube playlist...

.... or you can watch the whole list at my YouTube playlist of these 25 kids music videos (excluding the Keller Williams video, not available on YouTube).

1. John Upchurch & Mark Greenberg - "A Counting Error" [YouTube]

My appreciation for this video (and song) may border on irrational, but I think it's perfect in its own skewed way. This so completely needs to be on Sesame Street.

Continue reading "My Favorite Kids Music Videos of 2010" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)