Fact Check: Is the What Does The Fox Say singer dead? Viral Ylvis funeral video debunked

Claims of the What Does the Fox Say singer Bård Ylvisåker, popularly known from the Ylvis duo, passing away have recently been doing the rounds online. This comes after a television show clip showed him lying in a coffin at a funeral. Despite the event looking realistic, it was not. The popular musician has not died in reality.

For those unversed, Ylvis is best known for the song What Does the Fox Say, which garnered immense traction online. Many were left floored once they heard the song as the bizarre lyrics were combined with a high-quality studio-level music video. In the track, which released in September 2013, the Ylvis members sing:

“Dog goes “woof,” Cat goes “meow,” Bird goes “tweet,” And mouse goes “squeak,” Cow goes “moo,” Frog goes “croak,” And the elephant goes “toot,” Duck says “quack,” And fish go “blub””

In November, a video of the Ylvis-member lying in a coffin at a funeral went viral online. Singers Maria Mena and Snorre Monsson sang What Does the Fox Say in the background with fervor.

People sitting in the church initially found their performance peculiar. However, as the song progressed, people were seen cheering on and laughing in the background.

The clip made its rounds across TikTok and YouTube. While many were made to believe the Norwegian performer had really died, this is not true, and the clip is doctored.

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What Does the Fox Say singer Bård Ylvisåker has not died

The clip going viral across social media platforms was actually taken from the VGTV series Thank you for everything, Bård Ylvisåker. In it, the artist attends his own staged funeral by lying in an open coffin.

YouTube user @0JackOfSpades revealed under the Singing “What does the fox say” in “funeral” video by Morten Ramm that the Ylvis member was interviewed following the event. The netizen added:

“In this episode it was hit turn to attend his funeral and the other artists in the program made a cover of his song to sing on the funeral. That’s why most people are focused on the actual performance more so than the actual guy in the coffin. After the performance he stepped out of the coffin and was interviewed.”

The netizen also claimed that one can see the singer breathing in the clip. They also said that he was seen crying at the end of the funeral.

One of the funeral performers, Snorre Monsson also took to Instagram to share a clip of the fake funeral. He confirmed that the event was not real and said in the caption of his post:

“Small clip from the not-real humor funeral for @bylvisaker "Thank you for everything" out now on VGTV now! 👊”

Although the show’s concept seems revolting, the What Does the Fox Say singer did not find it problematic. In an interview with Nettavisen, he said:

“I don’t think it’s problematic at all. I think it’s great fun… people die every single day, both tragically and naturally, so you can’t help but mess with death. It is an important part of life.”

The episode premiered on VGTV on November 9.