The KidVid Tournament 2012 is (almost) here! That's right, folks, the web's most popular fan-based tournament for the arbitrary qualitative ranking of kids music videos is back! For the sixth straight year, the best kids music videos of the previous twelve months will compete against each other in a frenzied two-to-three week period as if the determination of quality is based on fan interest on the Internet.
I think it's kinda awesome.
LeftKidVid Tournament 2011 featured an exciting final showdown between Keller Williams and Sugar Free Allstars. Who'll make it to the final round this year? Well, that is up to you.
So last week I announced my favorite kids music videos of 2011. In the past I've had to whittle down my list of favorite kids music videos down to just 16 to fit them into the tournament.
But not this year.
That's right, we're expanding to 32 videos! That's one more round and 16 more videos to jump into the action. This, friends, is the true March Madness (which is probably a trademarked phrase, so it's not the true March Madness at all).
And, if you're going to add 16 more games, you're gonna need more help hosting these matchups. So I'm happy to announce that there will be eight great kids music writers and radio folks helping out to host this tournament:
Ages 3 and Up!
Dadnabbit
Gooney Bird Kids
Hilltown Families
Out With the Kids
Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl
Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Zooglobble (of course I'm hosting, too!)
As for the matchups themselves, the first-round matchups and all the brackets are listed after the jump...
Woody Guthrie Region
#1 Elizabeth Mitchell - "Ong Tal Sam" vs. #8 Joe's Backyard Band - "Crow"
... the winner will meet...
#4 Princess Katie & Racer Steve - "Sand in My Sandwich" vs. #5 Mike Park - "Animal Park"
#2 Dog on Fleas - "Do You Wanna Know My New Dance Step?" vs. #7 The Baby Grands - "Dinosaur"
... the winner will meet...
#3 Billy Kelly - That Old American Flag vs. #6 Imagination Movers - "Everybody Sing"
The winner of the Woody Guthrie Region will take on the winner of the Ella Jenkins Region in the Final Four.
Ella Jenkins Region
#1 Caspar Babypants - "Mister Rabbit" vs.#8 Egg - "Green Eyes"
... the winner will meet...
#4 The Mighty Buzzniks - "To the Moon" vs. #5 Gustafer Yellowgold - "Pancake Smackdown"
#2 Renee & Jeremy - "Share" vs. #7 The Laurie Berkner Band - "Party Day"
... the winner will meet...
#3 Steve Weeks - "Bartleby Finkleton Will Not Take a Bath" vs. #6 Todd McHatton - "I Think I'm a Bunny"
Leadbelly Region
#1 Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - "Blue Bear" vs. #8 Groove Kid Nation - "Humpty Dumpty"
... the winner will meet...
#4 Doctor Noize - "Noun Town" vs. #5 Beethoven's Wig - "My Little Chicken"
#2 The Not-Its! - "First Kid in Outer Space" vs. #7 The Que Pastas - "Mr. Butterfly"
... the winner will meet...
#3 Rocknoceros - "Early Worm" vs. #6 Jim Gill - "Living Inside of a Jar"
The winner of the Leadbelly Region will take on the winner of the Pete Seeger Region in the Final Four.
Pete Seeger Region
#1 The Bazillions - "Career Day" vs. #8 Suzi Shelton - "Tomboy in a Princess Dress"
... the winner will meet...
#4 Brady Rymer - "Love Me For Who I Am" vs. #5 The Okee Dokee Brothers / Readeez - "Antidisestablishmentarianism"
#2 The Pop Ups - "Balloon" vs. #7 Frances England - "That's What Friends Are For" (fan video)
... the winner will meet...
#3 Rabbit! - "Magic" vs. #6 Recess Monkey - "Flying"
Now, when will these fine matchups take place? Well, the tournament starts Monday, March 12, and will continue all the way through Monday, April 2, the day of the championship matchup. What happens in the meantime? Well, the eight sites above will be hosting matchups between now and then, and no, I'm not going to tell you specifically when and where. If you want to make sure you don't miss a single matchup (which starts and ends on the same day), make sure you have those eight sites in your bookmarks bar, your RSS reader, or Facebook or Twitter feeds.
