With global hits like \u201cHere Comes The Fire Truck\u201d at 97 million views and \u201cBoom Chicka Boom\u201d at 35 million, Caitie from Caitie\u2019s Classroom has racked up more than 60 billion views across her videos.<\/p>\n
But her biggest live audience yet awaits in Calgary, where the Jack Singer Concert Hall seats 1,800 people. Caitie\u2019s Super Simple Songs Surprise Party\u00a0plays at the Werklund Centre on Monday, March 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the biggest theater that we\u2019ve ever played in,\u201d she says, \u201cIt\u2019s also probably the most beautiful like, the acoustics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The live show, which has already completed a tour in Ontario to rave reviews, is billed as the perfect \u2018first\u2019 live show for young children. It starts at 3:30 pm, well before the witching hour and bedtime for preschoolers.<\/p>\n
But who is Caitie?<\/p>\n
Before her internet fame, Caitie says she built her career in live performance for young audiences. She started out doing a puppet show at a farm, working summer camps, touring schools, and teaching her own music classes. She also went to film school. When she partnered with the children\u2019s educational brand Super Simple, she found a way to scale her craft and lean into YouTube Live. It combined her love of performing without retakes.<\/p>\n
Anyone familiar with Theatre for Young Audiences will tell you the audience energy can be a beast. Kids do not hold back, offering their stream of consciousness out loud whether you want it or not. Caitie says bringing the show back in front of a room full of children is a thrill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a rock show with an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The benefit of leaning on YouTube as a platform means her audience is global, but the platform comes with concerns. Screen time for young kids can be controversial. <\/p>\n
Caitie says that is a huge consideration as Super Simple seeks to diversify their offerings. Beyond just Youtube, the brand now also has it\u2019s own app, podcast, and of course \u2014 streams Catie\u2019s biggest hits on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully it\u2019s not, you know, mind numbing to watch and it\u2019s entertaining. We like to put in little jokes in there to see if the parents are going to get it. You know, like I have a \u201cJack and Rose\u201d spin,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause we know co-viewing is so important, especially on YouTube, to have the extra set of eyes to make sure that what you\u2019re watching is safe and it\u2019s something that you want to show your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though her work centers on children and parenting support, Caitie says having kids herself is not a priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not have kids. Just because I know I have been around kids for so long and been around parents for so long that I know how hard it is.\u201d She says her goal at this point is to just help parents and enjoy other people\u2019s kids, \u201cnow I have kids all over the world, which is very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Caitie has vast experience in live performance and in audio and video production, she is not afraid to share a behind the scenes secret about her famous videos, including \u201cHere Comes The Fire Truck.\u201d <\/p>\n
Some eagle eyed parents have noticed the slightest disconnect between sound and speech, sparking household debates of \u2018Did she, or didn\u2019t she?\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cI am lip syncing,\u201d she admits with a laugh, adding that the audiophiles in her studio insisted on it. \u201cThey\u2019re very particular about the sound. So when it\u2019s a music video, I\u2019m lip syncing. But when you\u2019re watching Caitie\u2019s Classroom, and I\u2019m performing with the guitar, that\u2019s live singing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caitie\u2019s Super Simple Songs Surprise Party\u00a0plays the Werklund Centre on Monday, March 23.<\/p>\n