Kidz Bop is an American children's music group that produces family-friendly covers of pop songs and related media. Kidz Bop releases compilation albums that feature children covering songs that chart high on the Billboard Hot 100 or receive heavy airplay from contemporary hit radio stations several months prior to each album's release. Their cover versions use substituted language for the original profanity.
History
The concept for Kidz Bop was developed by Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam, who had previously founded the entertainment company Razor & Tie. Chenfeld said Kidz Bop was intended to fill a gap between music for very young children and mainstream pop. The first album was released in 2001 and included updated versions of popular songs like NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye and All the Small Things by Blink-182.
Razor & Tie partnered with Concord in 2015 and was acquired outright by the company in 2018. Chenfield and Balsam remained as co-CEOs through the transition before leaving the company.
In 2025, Kidz Bop released its 50th studio album.
Chart performance
Kidz Bop was named Billboard's number 1 Kids' Album Artist from 2010 to 2020.
In December 2020, Spotify announced that Kidz Bop was the top-streamed artist in the US on the Spotify Kids app.
Kidz Bop were included in Billboard's Top 100 Artists of the Decade for the 2010s at number 75.
Kidz Bop 26, released on July 15, 2014, marked the franchise's 40th charting album on the Billboard 200. Since the brand's debut in 2001, more than 20 million Kidz Bop albums have been sold worldwide.
In November 2015, Billboard Magazine announced that Kidz Bop ranked number 4 on their list of artists with the "Most Billboard 200 Top 10 Albums of All Time". The Kidz Bop Kids rank higher than iconic artists such as Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, with 22 top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.
In 2015, Kidz Bop 29 debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. In the same year, the franchise sold 1.15 million units, accounting for 23% of the children's music album category.
Kidz Bop has released the best-selling children's albums for several years; Kidz Bop 25 in 2014, Kidz Bop 27 in 2015, and Kidz Bop 31 in 2016.
Tours
2007 Kidz Bop World Tour
The Kidz Bop World Tour was a nationwide rock concert tour for children produced in partnership with VStar Entertainment Group and was Kidz Bop's first live concert tour. The tour began on October 12 in Davenport, Iowa and had sponsors including Dodge and Juicy Juice. The shows featured child vocalists and dancers backed by adult musicians.
2014 "Dream Big, Sing Loud" Tour
Kidz Bop's "Dream Big, Sing Loud" nationwide tour promoted Kidz Bop 26 in over 40 cities in 2014. Major markets included New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta. The final stop of their 2014 tour was at Radio City Music Hall, where Kidz Bop performed live to open for the Radio City Christmas.
2015 "Make Some Noise" Tour
The national live tour visited more than 50 cities in 2015, including New York, Boston, Dallas, Washington, Nashville, Baltimore, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The tour was sponsored by Build-A-Bear Workshop's Honey Girls. Audience members at the Kidz Bop tour saw a special preview of the Honey Girls' debut music video at each show.
In August 2015, Kidz Bop announced that it was extending the "Make Some Noise" tour to include nine holiday performances. The holiday shows were added following the success of the "Make Some Noise" tour's spring and summer dates.
2016 "Life of the Party" Tour
In February 2016, Kidz Bop announced it was celebrating its 15th birthday with the "Life of the Party" tour. In March 2016, Kidz Bop announced a partnership with Live Nation to add summer amphitheater dates to the "Life of the Party" Tour. In Connecticut, the tour began on July 16 at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre. Additional cities included Brooklyn, Charlotte, and Chicago.
2017 "Best Time Ever" Tour
In February 2017, Kidz Bop and Live Nation announced the "Best Time Ever" tour. The 2017 live tour visited more than 50 cities across the U.S. It included stops at BOK Center, Legoland, Greek Theatre, Boardwalk Hall, Honda Center, and Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island. The tour was sponsored by Juicy Juice Splashers, and began in April 2017.
2018 Kidz Bop Live Tour
Following the success of 2017's "Best Time Ever" tour, Kidz Bop and Live Nation announced another North American Tour, "Kidz Bop Live 2018". The tour announcement coincided with the release of Kidz Bop 37. The summer leg began in Toronto, Canada, on June 1, 2018, and performed in more than 50 cities, including Chicago, New York (Jones Beach), Los Angeles (Greek Theatre), and Boston (Leader Bank Pavilion). Four Kidz Bop Kids perform live at each concert, which were produced by SRae Productions. The creative team behind "Kidz Bop Live 2018" has previously produced tours for Imagine Dragons, The Weeknd, Rascal Flatts, and Pentatonix.
2019 Kidz Bop World Tour
In December 2018, Kidz Bop and Live Nation announced the "Kidz Bop World Tour 2019". The 2019 tour visited more than 50 cities across the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. The tour was sponsored by Subway and began on April 20 at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London.
2022 Kidz Bop Live Tour
In January 2020, Kidz Bop announced they would be doing a national tour. The tour was rescheduled to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ran from July 19 to September 14, 2022.
2023 Kidz Bop Never Stop Live Tour
In January 2023, Kidz Bop announced the Kidz Bop Never Stop Live Tour. It ran from June 21 to September 14, 2023.
Kidz Bop Live Certified Bop Tour 2025
In 2025, Kidz Bop announced the Kidz Bop Live Certified Bop Tour 2025. It ran from August 14 to September 10, 2025.
Notable Kidz Bop alumni
Fin Argus
Becky G – her song "Shower" later appeared on Kidz Bop 27
Kiana Brown
Olivia Holt
Elijah Johnson
Grant Knoche
Spencer Locke – Kidz Bop: Everyone's a Star (DVD)
Ross Lynch
Noah Munck
Zendaya – her song "Replay" later appeared as a LeapFrog exclusive on Kidz Bop 26
International expansion
United Kingdom
In February 2017, Kidz Bop announced it was launching outside the U.S. for the first time, expanding into the UK. There was a new lineup of British Kidz Bop Kids. Kidz Bop partnered with Universal Music Group, ITV, Crown Talent and Media Group and Creative Artists Agency for the UK launch, with ITV featuring the group in an episode of its star search programme The Big Audition.
The first two albums, Kidz Bop and Kidz Bop 2018, were released in the UK on March 31 and November 10, 2017, respectively. The third and fourth albums, Kidz Bop Summer '18 and Kidz Bop 2019, were released in the UK on March 23 and December 7, 2018, respectively. The fifth album, Kidz Bop 2020, was released in the UK on November 15, 2019. The sixth and seventh albums, Kidz Bop Party Playlist and Kidz Bop 2021, were released in the UK in June and October 2020, respectively. The eighth album, Kidz Bop All-Time Greatest Hits, was released in the UK on March 26, 2021. The ninth album, Kidz Bop 2022, was released in the UK on October 22, 2021.
Germany
Kidz Bop Germany and Kidz Bop Germany 2 were released in Germany on March 29 and September 6, 2019, respectively. The third and fourth albums, Kidz Bop Party Playlist! and Kidz Bop 2021, were released on April 3 and October 23, 2020, respectively. The fifth album, Kidz Bop All-Time Greatest Hits was released on March 26, 2021. The sixth album, Kidz Bop 2022, was released on October 22, 2021.
France
Kidz Bop 2022 was released in France on October 22, 2021, and was performed by the first lineup of French Kidz Bop Kids.
Mexico
Kidz Bop 2022 was released in Mexico on October 22, 2021, and was performed by the first lineup of Spanish-speaking Kidz Bop Kids.
Reception
Three months preceding the release of Kidz Bop 10 in 2006, the online tracklist was revealed to feature a cover of Fall Out Boy's "Dance, Dance". After finding out that Kidz Bop can use a song without the original artist's permission but needs their approval to change the lyrics, bassist Pete Wentz responded by requesting the removal of the cover due to the song's sexual overtones, to which Razor & Tie obliged and re-released the tracklist, eliminating "Dance, Dance".
A 2017 study on censorship in Kidz Bop found that replacing words and phrases in songs does not disassociate the original in the minds of young listeners who have heard the uncensored song, and that "repackaging adult music as kids' music" does not remove the adult themes even when words or phrases are substituted. Christopher Bell, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Colorado, has called Kidz Bop "an abomination" because it censors language but not content, altering specific words without changing or obscuring the underlying tone or meaning. He explained: "I don't need a sanitized version of 'Despacito' — I need 8-year-olds not to be singing 'Despacito' because that [song] is super dirty. And Kidz Bop doesn't always make that distinction."
In 2024, Kidz Bop was criticized by the LGBTQ media website Them for the reworked version of Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!". While the original song referenced Roan's closeted lesbian lover who is regretting her farce of a heterosexual marriage, the Kidz Bop cover version removed any hint of sexuality, replacing the words with confusing "out-of-left-field lyrical choices", according to Them. Members of the LGBTQ community have also criticized Kidz Bop for removing gay references in songs such as "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X and "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. Many Americans with conservative political views have also criticized the brand for covering songs from these two artists.