Where did Pen Pineapple Apple Pen come from?

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen originated on YouTube around 2016. Piko Taro is a Japanese comedian, singer, and performer known for comedic songs and absurdist humor.

Is Pen Pineapple Apple Pen still popular in 2026?

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen is no longer widely used, though it occasionally resurfaces in throwback or ironic contexts.

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen

Q: What is Pen Pineapple Apple Pen?

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen a dead viral video sensation from 2016 featuring Japanese comedian Piko Taro singing and dancing to the earworm song 'Pen Pineapple Apple Pen' (PPAP).

2016video/musicdead

Published March 10, 2026

Also known as: Pen Pineapple Apple Pen Meme · PPAP

A dead viral video sensation from 2016 featuring Japanese comedian Piko Taro singing and dancing to the earworm song 'Pen Pineapple Apple Pen' (PPAP). The song became a global trend before rapidly fading.

earworm memes japanese internet memes viral song memes mid 2010s memes dance memes

Overview

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen is a dead viral craze from 2016 featuring Japanese comedian Piko Taro's song and music video of the same name. The song consists primarily of the repeated lyrics 'I have a pen, I have an apple, ah! Pineapple, pen!' paired with a simple, memorable dance. The hit achieved remarkable viral scale despite (or perhaps because of) its complete meaninglessness. The song has no narrative, message, or deeper meaning, it's purely an earworm built on nonsensical lyrics and a catchy melody. This simplicity allowed it to achieve global reach transcending language and cultural barriers. Despite its massive initial popularity, PPAP proved to be a short-lived craze. The novelty exhausted itself quickly, and by 2017, the song had largely disappeared from popular consciousness. Today, it's remembered as a quirky artifact of 2016 rather than a lasting massive trend.

Piko Taro is a Japanese comedian, singer, and performer known for comedic songs and absurdist humor. He released 'Pen Pineapple Apple Pen' in August 2016, seemingly as another comedic song project. However, the song achieved unprecedented viral success, becoming the first Japanese viral hit to achieve such global scale. The song's success was built on the infectious melody, simple-to-learn dance, and the complete absurdity of the premise. The song has no logical meaning or purpose, it's simply a person demonstrating that they have these objects and combining them. This meaningless premise somehow became universally appealing. The craze coincided with a period when short-form videos were becoming the dominant medium for viral content. YouTube and emerging platforms made instant global distribution of videos possible. PPAP's simple video format was ideal for viral spread across these platforms.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

YouTube

Creator

Piko Taro

Date

2016

Japanese comedian and singer Piko Taro released 'Pen Pineapple Apple Pen' in August 2016. The nonsensical yet catchy song featured Piko Taro performing a simple dance with a pen, pineapple, apple, and pen. The video went viral globally despite the absurd premise.

How It Spread

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen went viral globally in 2016, achieving unprecedented reach for a song based entirely on a nonsensical premise. The song's infectious melody combined with the absurdist lyrics made it instantly memorable. The video accumulated hundreds of millions of views across platforms. The thing achieved remarkable mainstream adoption. Celebrities and major figures participated in parodies and versions of the song. The song appeared in commercials, was covered by major artists, and sparked countless variations. The simplicity of the lyrics (essentially just listing objects) made the song easily translatable across languages. By 2017, the moment had largely faded as the novelty wore off. Despite the initial explosion of popularity, the trend proved to be short-lived. Today, PPAP is remembered as one of the most viral yet ultimately forgotten trends, achieving massive scale temporarily before disappearing.

Platforms

YouTubeTwitterInstagramTikTok

Timeline

2016-08-25

Piko Taro releases PPAP

2016-09-01

Viral spread begins globally

2016-10-01

Peak popularity with massive mainstream adoption

2016-11-01

Begins declining as novelty wears

2017-onwards

Largely forgotten outside occasional references

2018-01-01

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2019-01-01

Brands and companies started using Pen Pineapple Apple Pen in marketing

2021-01-01

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen entered the broader pop culture conversation

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Engaging with PPAP primarily involved watching the original video, which featured Piko Taro showing the simple dance while holding a pen, pineapple, apple, and pen, singing along to the nonsensical lyrics. The simplicity of the choreography meant that people could recreate the video or perform the dance. Variations included: celebrities and major figures creating parodies, remixes and covers by established artists, different language versions, and people performing the dance in creative locations. The most popular variations maintained the core concept while adding celebrity involvement or creative twists.

Watch the original Pen Pineapple Apple Pen video to learn the moves

Practice the key dance moves at your own pace

Record yourself doing the dance with good lighting and framing

Post your version on TikTok or Instagram with the trending audio

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen represented the strength of nonsensical, absurdist content to achieve massive viral success. The moment demonstrated that meaning and message weren't necessary for viral things, sometimes pure entertainment value was enough. The sensation also showed how easily cultural moments could achieve global scale through modern distribution. A song by a Japanese comedian with no English lyrics (beyond 'pen' and basic English words) achieved worldwide popularity. This illustrated the increasingly globalized nature of viral events. The thing's rapid decline illustrated the distinction between viral sensation and lasting cultural impact. Despite achieving massive scale, PPAP faded quickly once the novelty wore off. This contrasted with musical events that achieve both viral success and lasting popularity.

Fun Facts

PPAP became one of the most viewed music videos on YouTube despite its absurdist premise

The song has no deeper meaning or narrative, it's purely nonsensical

Major celebrities and artists created parodies and covers of the song

The hit was particularly dominant in 2016 but largely faded by 2017

PPAP's global success was unprecedented for Japanese absurdist comedy content

The Pen Pineapple Apple Pen meme has been shared millions of times across social media

You can create your own Pen Pineapple Apple Pen meme using free tools like Imgflip

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen first appeared in 2016

The meme is still remixed and adapted by creators

Brands and marketers have used Pen Pineapple Apple Pen in their campaigns

The meme is still remixed and adapted by creators