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Featured era: 2008
Hamster on a Piano
“There's a hamster on a piano, and he's eating popcorn.”
- Featured era
- 2008
- Peak era
- 2008
- Company
- Parry Gripp
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
Parry Gripp's "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)"
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- ParryGripp
- Added:
- December 23, 2011
- Length:
- 1:08
What Was It?
"Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)" is a short, cheerful song by Nerf Herder singer Parry Gripp, set to footage of a tiny white hamster lying on his back on a keyboard and nibbling popcorn. As the song points out, there is a hamster on a piano, and he is eating popcorn, on a piano.
TIME ranked it fourth in its top 10 viral videos of 2008, calling it "the mundane made madcap". Gripp later called it his "Bridge over Troubled Water", and said it showed him he could sell as many records through YouTube as a major label could with an expensive music video.
It found a new audience when Ricky Gervais, playing Derek in the series of the same name, named it his favourite animal video on YouTube and watched it on screen.
Things You Probably Forgot
- A tiny white hamster lying on his back on the keys
- TIME's number four viral video of 2008
- Derek naming it his favourite animal video
- Waiting for Parry Gripp's next song of the week
The Story
- 2008 TIME named "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)" one of its top 10 viral videos of the year.
- 2011 Gripp called the song his "Bridge over Troubled Water" in an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent.
- 2013 Gripp told PBS SoCal that seeing Derek love the video was "very satisfying".
Its Legacy
The version on Gripp's channel today was uploaded in 2011 and still plays. It is remembered as one of the early hits that made Gripp YouTube's go-to songwriter for animal clips.
Memories
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