Pop Goes the World (song)

The song very generally tells a story of "Johnny" and "Jenny," the two members of a musical group called "The Human Race" (the members' instruments of choice vary throughout the song, though Johnny is primarily a guitarist and Jenny is a bassist) on their quest for fame in the industry, though at one point the lyrics note that they come to the realization that they could make "more money on a movie screen."

The music video for the song features lead singer Ivan Doroschuk who tells the story of "Johnny," played by guitarist Stefan Doroschuk (impersonating Elvis Presley), and "Jenny," portrayed by an unknown actress[lower-alpha 1] playing a left-handed Höfner 500/1 bass. The two are seen dancing around a bubble-filled stage along with numerous other characters including a keyboard-playing baby and Bonhomme (the mascot of Quebec City's annual Winter Carnival). The word "Pop!", in writing reminiscent of a comic book, appears periodically on screen in time with popping noises that punctuate the song. The video was released in 1988 in the CD Video format.

• Ivan Doroschuk - vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming
• Stefan Doroschuk - backing vocals, bass

The song was re-recorded during the Love in the Age of War sessions, with Ivan Doroschuk on vocals, James Love on guitar and bass, and Louise Dawson on keyboards and drum programming. The recording was released as a digital single in 2012.[10]

The song was featured in the 1987 film Date with an Angel, which starred Phoebe Cates, Emmanuelle Béart and Michael E. Knight. The song was also featured very briefly in the 1991 film Scanners II: The New Order.

The main tune of the song has caught on among sports fans cheering for their teams in several countries across the world. In 2019 Chilean protests against chilean government due its systematic repression and humans right infringement, among other causes, protesters created in the streets the song "Chile Despertó" ("Chile Woke Up"), using the main tune of "Pop goes around the world". In Argentina, for instance, it is arguably the most popular tune sung by football (soccer) fans, no matter what team or division they belong to. Since December 2015, it's also been very popular in Argentina as an anthem of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's followers; they sing "Oooh, vamos a volver, a volver a volver, vamos a volver" ("Oooh, we will return, we'll return, we'll return, we will return"). It is also used by football fans in Japan (national team, Yokohama F. Marinos and other teams) and by fans of Sport Club Internacional football team in Brazil.[11][12] In Hungary, fans of Diósgyőr, use the song with the neyt lyrics: "Amíg élek én, nem érdekel más, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr!" ("As long as I live, I don't care about anything but Diósgyőr, only Diósgyőr, only Diósgyőr!"). In Israel, fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv sing the song with the lyrics: "הפועל עולה" (Hapoel goes up).

• In 1997, Canadian band The Nils covered the song on their album Green Fields In Daylight.
• In 1999, punk rock band Apocalypse Hoboken covered the song on their album Inverse, Reverse, Perverse.
• In 1999, Barcelona covered the song and it appeared as the fifth track on the single for the song "Robot Trouble."
• In 2004, DJ Ötzi performed "You Never Walk Alone" which uses the chorus melody of "Pop Goes The World"
• In 2004, LMP covered the song in their box-set A Century of Song.
• In 2007, the song was covered by Hyperbubble on the compilation NineteenEightySeven and by Canal Pop on the compilation Southern Waves: Argentinian Tribute To Classic Electropop.
• In 2011, The Burning Hell covered the song. The cover was released on the Zunior sampler Have Not Been the Same, Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die. On the same band's 2016 album Public Library, bandleader Mathias Kom wrote the original song "Men Without Hats" as a tribute to the band's role in his childhood; the song's first verse describes the experience of going to a record store to buy the album Pop Goes the World, and quotes both the "Johnny played guitar and Jenny played bass" lyric and a piece of the instrumental line from this song.
• In 2012, Savoir Adore covered the song. The cover was subsequently featured in commercials for Tide Pods.
• In 2019 Chilean protests against chilean government due its systematic repression and humans right infringement, among other causes, protesters created in the streets the song "Chile Despertó" ("Chile Woke Up"), using the main tune of "Pop goes around the world"