Explained: What does the mi pan su su sum TikTok song actually mean?

I can’t escape it HELP

4 years ago

There’s a strange new category of content bursting through the existing mainstream of “rich girl does repetitive dance” on TikTok currently. A place where one would usually have to endure the sea of scantily clad young people throwing it back to chart music (I acknowledge that makes me sound old – I’m 23) and the endless clips of people getting mangled by way-too-junior drop-ins on skateboard ramps comes a new genre that looks set to redefine popular entertainment on the app – the mi pan su su sum llama.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit dramatic, but there is certainly a lot of inexplicably weird video content fighting its way onto our FYPs, and this cutesy little animated llama with accompanying cutesy song has managed to break right through. But where did the llama come from? What is the mi pan su su sum song? Why does EVERYONE have it coming up on their phone as soon as they open up TikTok?

@awa_de_horchata_uwuMi😳pan🧟‍♀️su😎su🥳sum😡su👺su☠️su🤒mi😈pan💩yakakus🤖ñam👄ñam🙇🏼ñam♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

Where did the mi pan su su sum song come from?

The song (obviously) originates from a 2010 Kellogs advert in Russian, which advertises a cereal product called “Miel Pops”. As you can see below, it features a number of creepy animated bees dancing around with what looks like the Russian equivalent of Golden Nuggets.

According to The Guardian, the “zhu zhu zhu” is supposed to represent the buzzing of the bees in the commercial:

From this, another TikToker known as @chernaya.princessa made an acapella version using just her hands and her voice. This received just under 150,00o likes, but it was the remix that really set things on a fast track.

The cover was sped up by another user and turned into the current format that we all know. Here’s Chernaya explaining the story for our viewing convenience:

@chernaya.princessaYes, It is my accelerated voice. Miel Pops )) I just did a cover on russian commercial about cereal♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

Why are people so obsessed with the mi pan su su sum song?

Millions of people have used the audio since but, of course, the one with the most views is the llama, which has racked up over 12 million likes and nearly 100 million views which, even by TikTok standards, is absolutely nuts.

The popularity of this song can be attributed to the changing of attitudes on the app and the emergence of new cultures within mainstream entertainment. These “weird” or “alt” videos on TikTok are largely seen as a regression from the mainstream Charlie D’amelio and Addison Rae videos in favour of content that seems to have no purpose other than to be peculiar. After all, who wants to see a girl dancing to a pop song when we can see a CGI llama do it to a bizarre Russian song?

Here’s some of the best (and weirdest) videos using the mi pan su su sum song:

@dezzywhoJuu ju ju ju ju juuu~ ##thesims4 ##sims4twerk ##thesims4mods ##twerk ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

@shittycow16I’m in a relationship with FOOD. Sorry. 🤩🥵 ##fyp ##cow ##lovefood ##foryoupage ♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

@her.earthMe when I discovered alt TikTok moments ago 🤯##alpacas ♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

@ratchetpeachessiwaif u see this welcome to eggdog tiktok ##eggdog ##tiktok ♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops

@puffitopiaMi😳pan🧟‍♀️su😎su🥳sum😡su👺su☠️su🤒mi😈pan💩yakakus🤖ñam👄ñam🙇🏼ñam💁‍♀️ ##alt ##alternative ##frog ##mipansususu ##fyp ##foryou ##parati ##gaytiktok ♬ THIS SONG ISNTT ABOUT BREAD Stop mipansusus – itzmilpops