Is this The Fox the new Gangnam Style? Comedy duo stumped by their own success after single they made to parody music industry ends up as worldwide hit

Vegard and Bard Ylvisaker host a comedy show in Norway
They created the song with Stargate, who worked with Rihanna
Video has so far been viewed 141million times online
Single debuted on US charts at number 29 and hit number one in Norway
Fox costumes for Halloween have seen a huge rise in sales

PUBLISHED: 12:15 EST, 20 October 2013 | UPDATED: 02:12 EST, 21 October 2013

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A Norwegian comedy duo's surreal pop single and bizarre music video they hoped would be a flop has beaten all the odds and become a viral sensation.

The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?), a spoof pop song created by brothers Vegard and Bard Ylvisaker, has received over 141million hits on YouTube and become the fastest viewed song since Psy's Gangnam Style.

Like Gangnam Style the video features strange costumes, memorable dance moves and nonsensical lyrics which have helped it to become a top 100 hit in 18 countries.

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Acquired taste: Brothers Vegard and Bard Ylvisaker have become an internet sensation following the release of their spoof pop song The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?

Unusual: The video, a scene from which pictured above, sees dancers dressed in animal costumes prance around in a misty woodland, lit with neon lights

Comedy single expected to flop becomes world's biggest viral

Spoof: As well as some crazy dance moves, the song features various nonsensical lyrics and an repeated refrain of 'What does the fox say?', pictured

It debuted in the US at number 29, and reached number one in Norway, number six in Finland, and nine in Estonia.

The pair have also appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show, and as a special guest at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas.

The video was created as a favour by Stargate, the company which made Rihanna's Diamonds video, and was supposed to be a stunt for the brother's show I Kveld Med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis).

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The idea was to deliberately 'abuse' the company's talent by announcing their intention to make a fantastic video, only to return with the foxes song which they thought it would be impossible for anyone to like.

However the show had to be completely re-scripted after the track became an accidental overnight hit.

Last Halloween the success of Gangnam Stlye saw millions of Americans dress up as South Korean singer Psy, and this year it looks as if foxes will be the latest craze.

After the song went viral Amazon, Spirit Halloween and Buycostumes - three of the biggest costume stores in the US - reported a huge surge in sales of fox costumes.

The companies say they are struggling to keep up with a 40 per cent rise in demand and have been forced to order more stock, despite Halloween being over a week away.

South Korean musician Psy has the most viewed video on YouTube ever with 1.8billion hits, though The Fox reached 100million views faster and could set a new record

Huge hit: South Korean musician Psy has the most viewed video on YouTube ever with 1.8billion hits, though The Fox reached 100million views faster and could set a new record

The humorous pair have not revealed how much they have made from the single, though Psy's video, which was viewed 1.8billion times, reportedly earned him £3.6million from YouTube clicks alone.

The brothers have said that the original idea was to make a song about the problem of dancing in clubs and how there is no standard dance anymore - like the foxtrot or waltz - so three billion men head out every weekend without knowing what to do when they get into a club.

However the plan was changed at the last minute to feature some sort of animal sound, and while lots of different creatures were considered, the fox eventually won out.

Warner Music have now signed the brothers and are helping to promote the single, though they insist their first love will remain comedy and they have no desire to become pop stars.

Bard told THR: 'We’re comedians.And we like to sing.'

'We'll never pursue pure music as a career,' added Vegard. 'This is very new for us and everyone is asking, "What are you going to do now?" We don’t know. We’re busy trying to figure out what to do the next day.'

The comedians have produced music videos for their show before, but nothing has had quite the impact of their latest venture.

See the full video for The Fox by Ylvis here

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Tony, Cheltenham, 6 minutes ago

Wow, this is really really bad. :-(

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Mari, Florida, United States, 24 minutes ago

my kids showed this to me a long while back...it was going thru middle schools like fire...and when it makes the DM, you know its lame.

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EllieC130, Dartford, United Kingdom, 28 minutes ago

I love this song so much.

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Really247, Leeds, 44 minutes ago

I've thought for some time about the formulaic crap that passes for pop music these days. Thankfully my children listen to Kerrang radio but still like this stuff so can't complain. Can someone please do a spoof of the middle-aged white male music execs behind the 'work' of your Myli Syruses, your Rhihannas, your Beyonce's, your lady GaGaas etc? I'll tell my children about that too!!