--- title: "Genius Musicians Are Making Songs That Play When Children Yell “Poop” at Alexa" description: "Many kids — and their parents — have stumbled on a fascinating discovery: that yelling “poop” at their Alexa devices made a certain song play." date: "2022-09-03" modified: "2022-09-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/musicians-poop-alexa" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "Alexa" - "Amazon" - "music" - "tech" --- # Genius Musicians Are Making Songs That Play When Children Yell “Poop” at Alexa ![Many kids — and their parents — have stumbled on a fascinating discovery: that yelling “poop” at their Alexa devices made a certain song play.]() *\Image: Amazon/Futurism\* Many kids — and their parents — have stumbled on a fascinating discovery: that yelling “poop” at their Alexa devices made a certain song play. New [reporting by *BuzzFeed*]() about the defecation-themed songs reveals that the artists behind these gross and hilarious childrens’ songs found that as the streams have accumulated, so too have the royalties. In other words, hoping that children will yell “poop” at smart home devices is a sound business model. The first artist profiled — Oregon music teacher Dan Helpish, who plays under the name Dandyland — told *BuzzFeed*’s Katie Notopoulos that he was shocked to discover his song “Poopy Stupid Butt” had become a pandemic favorite. Helpish said that the song was written collaboratively between himself, his partner and music school co-runner Kristen Muir, and their special needs students when they prompted three students to come up with a phrase that had five syllables. One girl hollered “poopy stupid butt!” and the rest was history as the kids began riffing off of the theme, with Helpish writing down their muses’ every word. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x273hYfUoM4&t=95s The result was “Poopy Stupid Butt,” which Helpish uploaded to Amazon Music and subsequently forgot about until COVID-19 lockdowns began and kids were stuck at home alongside their parents and devices. The song that once garnered about $100 in streaming revenue per month suddenly began racking up plays, and ultimately the couple earned more than $10,000 in revenue from more than 10 million streams. As Notopoulos notes from “lived experience,” children love to yell “poop” at Alexa devices, and when they do, songs like “Poopy Stupid Butt” tend to play. Another Alexa favorite, she found, are those written by SEO expert musician Matt Farley, who has a bunch of goofy songs about poop under the stage names “The Toilet Bowl Cleaners” and “The Odd Man Who Sings About Poop, Puke, and Pee.” Though [Farley suggested in 2021]() that his poop songs were hits due to kids having fun in their parents’ Spotify accounts, he added in his interview with *BuzzFeed* that Amazon Music does account for his main streaming income, which lends credence to Notopoulos’ theory. (Amazon didn’t respond to *BuzzFeed*’s request for comment.) “Amazon is at least 30% of my income, and the others go down from there,” Farley told the reporter. “It’s gotta be from Alexa. Amazon Music isn’t something big music fans use.” Until Amazon confirms or denies that children yelling “poop” at Alexa devices has resulted in a huge streaming uptick for artists who publish potty humor songs on its streaming service, there’s no way to know whether or not the theory is correct. But given that kids love yelling about poop and that these artists have made money from their poop-themed songs for kids, it’s not a far stretch. **READ MORE:** [Kids Yell “Poop” At Alexa, And These Musicians Profit]() \[*BuzzFeed*\] **More on streaming:** [*Netflix is Letting Directors Retroactively Edit Shows Now*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()