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Bitch Lasagna

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"Bitch Lasagna"
Single by PewDiePie and Party In Backyard
Released5 October 2018
GenreHip hop
Length2:14
LabelSelf-released
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Party In Backyard
PewDiePie singles chronology
"Bitch Lasagna"
(2018) 		"Rewind Time"
(2018)
Party in Backyard singles chronology
"Meme Theme"
(2018) 		"Bitch Lasagna"
(2018) 		"Rewind Time"
(2018)
Audio sample

"Bitch Lasagna" (stylized in all lowercase), originally named "T-Series Diss Track", is a song by Swedish YouTuber and comedian PewDiePie in collaboration with Dutch music producer Party In Backyard. The song satirizes Indian company and music label T-Series, as a response to predictions that T-Series would surpass PewDiePie in terms of subscriber count. The song was one of the first events in the PewDiePie vs T-Series competition, in which the two channels competed for the title of the most-subscribed YouTube channel.[1][2][3][4]

The song was first released with an accompanying music video on 5 October 2018, and was renamed and re-released to music platforms on 6 November 2018. As of 2 November 2024, the song has accumulated over 323 million views on YouTube, making it the most-viewed video on PewDiePie's YouTube channel.[5][6]

Background and release

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Main article: PewDiePie vs T-Series

In 2018, the YouTube channel for Indian music label T-Series began rapidly gaining subscribers, approaching the subscriber count of Swedish YouTuber and web comedian PewDiePie, who at the time had the most-subscribed channel on YouTube.[7] In response to this, PewDiePie declared a competition between him and T-Series.[8][9] Fans, including celebrities and other YouTubers, showed their support for each channel by encouraging others to subscribe.[1] During the competition, both channels gained a significant number of subscribers at a short amount of time, with PewDiePie gaining millions of subscribers each month.[10] As one of his initial efforts to prevent T-Series from winning the competition, PewDiePie created a diss track against T-Series in collaboration with music producer Party in Backyard. The song, titled "Bitch Lasagna," was released on 5 October 2018 via YouTube.[11][12]

For the rest of the competition, the two channels surpassed each other in subscriber count several times, sometimes for only a few hours.[13] In May 2019, when T-Series overtook PewDiePie as the most-subscribed channel on the platform.[14][a] At the same time, PewDiePie declared T-Series the winner of the competition.[16]

Composition and lyrics

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"Bitch Lasagna" is a hip hop diss track that is two minutes and fourteen seconds long.[17] The title of the song references a viral Facebook Messenger screenshot, popularized on Reddit, in which an Indian man, in broken English, demands nude photos, and, when his messages go unanswered, he posts bitch lasagna (lasagna might have been an approximation to the parting phrase hasta lasagna, but without punctuation the post looked like he was calling her a bitch lasagna).[18][19] In the song, PewDiePie insults T-Series and their video content, makes references to contemporary Indian stereotypes and accuses the company of using subscriber bots to gain fake subscriptions. The Indian background of T-Series was also mocked, such as in the line "Your language sounds like it come [sic] from a mumble rap community", which have been described as racist by some media publications, as well as in a court ruling from the High Court of Delhi that sided with T-Series.[20][21]

Reception

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Controversy

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As PewDiePie vs T-Series coverage grew in the mainstream media, news organizations covered "Bitch Lasagna" for its role in the feud. Vox accused the lyrics of containing "overt and implied racism," which they said pervaded PewDiePie's fans' support for his channel against T-Series.[22] Rolling Stone reported that PewDiePie was accused of using anti-Indian slurs in the song. They continued, "many have argued ... that his use of "ironic" antisemitic or racist humor in his videos may serve as a gateway for subscribers to start seeking out more overtly extremist content," which was similar to comments made by Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, who they quoted as saying, "It’s possible he’s an early stepping stone to radicalization for a segment of his audience he's nowhere nearly as cited as a stepping stone to radicalization as an individual like [alt-right YouTuber and podcaster] Stefan Molyneux, for example."[23]

Ban in India

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On 10 April 2019, the song was banned in India as a result of PewDiePie releasing a second diss track against T-Series, "Congratulations". T-Series asserted the tracks were "defamatory, disparaging, insulting, and offensive" and that the songs contained "repeated comments... abusive, vulgar, and also racist in nature." The Delhi High Court granted the injunction against the two songs, noting that, in communication with T-Series after the release of "Bitch Lasagna", PewDiePie had apologized for posting the video and had "assured that he [was] not planning any more videos on the same line."[24][25][26][27]

In August 2019, it was reported that T-Series and PewDiePie had settled their legal disputes outside of court.[28]

Response

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On November 7, 2018, JusReign, a Canadian Indian YouTuber, released a video and song titled "In Defense of T-Series", in which he humorously criticized PewDiePie.[29] On January 1, 2019, CarryMinati, an Indian YouTuber, launched a diss track titled "Bye PewDiePie", in which he also criticized PewDiePie.[30]

Charts

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Chart (2018) Peak
position
UK Indie Breakers (OCC)[31] 18

Notes

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  1. ^ T-Series remained the most-subscribed channel on the platform until May 2024, when it was succeeded by MrBeast.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (3 December 2018). "PewDiePie Zooms Past 73 Million YouTube Subscribers as Fans Rally to Keep Him Ahead of T-Series". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  2. ^ Biswas, Soutik (20 December 2018). "PewDiePie v T-Series: The battle to be king of YouTube". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. ^ "PewDiePie releases a T-Series diss track "Bitch Lasagna"". Dexerto. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Самого популярного ютьюб-блогера в мире догоняет канал с болливудскими роликами. Это война!". Meduza (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. ^ PewDiePie (5 October 2018). "bitch lasagna". YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. ^ "PewDiePie videos – Sorted by Most popular". YouTube. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. ^ Rakin, Ethan. "PewDiePie Could Lose His King of YouTube Crown to a Channel Called T-Series". Business Insider Singapore. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  8. ^ Huddleston Jr., Tom (31 August 2018). "This Bollywood YouTube Channel Is on the Verge of Bumping 'PewDiePie' from His Top Spot". CNBC. NBC Universal. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  9. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (30 August 2018). "Pewdiepie's reign as the biggest YouTube channel may soon be over". The Verge. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  10. ^ Binder, Matt (9 January 2019). "PewDiePie's new milestone proves his T-Series rivalry is a total game-changer". Mashable. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  11. ^ "PewDiePie releases a T-Series diss track "Bitch Lasagna"". Dexerto. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  12. ^ Kjellberg, Felix (5 October 2018). bitch lasagna (Video).
  13. ^ Hamilton, Isobel Asher. "PewDiePie briefly lost his crown as the biggest YouTuber on the planet". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  14. ^ Leskin, Paige. "Bollywood music channel T-Series beat out PewDiePie after a months-long battle to become the first YouTube channel to reach 100 million subscribers". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  15. ^ "MrBeast: YouTuber topples T-Series for most subscribers". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  16. ^ Alexander, Julia (28 April 2019). "PewDiePie calls for an end to the 'Subscribe to PewDiePie' meme after New Zealand shooting". The Verge. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Bitch Lasagna - Single by PewDiePie & Party in Backyard on Apple Music", Apple Music, 6 November 2018, retrieved 24 July 2024
  18. ^ Roose, Kevin (14 May 2020). "Five: The Accidental Emperor". Rabbit Hole (Podcast). The New York Times. Event occurs at 28:19. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2020. And the track itself is called "Bitch Lasagna." Which is a reference to this viral Reddit meme where this Indian guy was trying to get a woman to send him nude photos. And when she didn't, he called her a bitch lasagna.
  19. ^ Hale, James (16 April 2019). "T-Series Court Order Sees "Abusive, Vulgar, Racist" PewDiePie Diss Tracks Blocked In India". Tubefilter. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  20. ^ Romano, Aja (14 December 2018). "How the "Subscribe to PewDiePie" meme could determine the future of YouTube". Vox. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  21. ^ Hale, James (15 April 2019). "T-Series Court Order Sees "Abusive, Vulgar, Racist" PewDiePie Diss Tracks Blocked In India". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  22. ^ Romano, Aja (14 December 2018). "How the "Subscribe to PewDiePie" meme could determine the future of YouTube". Vox. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  23. ^ Dickson, E. J. (15 March 2019). "Why Did the Christchurch Shooter Name-Drop YouTube Phenom PewDiePie?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  24. ^ Sekhose, Marcia (11 April 2019). "PewDiePie vs T-Series: YouTuber pulls diss videos after Delhi HC order". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  25. ^ Stenn, Lili (15 April 2019). "PewDiePie's T-Series Diss Tracks Banned in India". Rogue Rocket. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  26. ^ Sanchz, Daniel (11 April 2019). "India Clamps Down on PewDiePie Racism — High Court Orders YouTube to Remove Two Offensive Videos". Digital Music News. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  27. ^ Delhi High Court. "Super-Cassettes-vs-Pew-Die-Pi.pdf" (PDF). Iprmentlaw. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  28. ^ Ghosh, Shona (13 August 2019). "PewDiePie and T-Series quietly settled a court battle over 'racist' diss tracks following their epic YouTube battle". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  29. ^ In Defense of T-Series, 7 November 2018, archived from the original on 9 December 2023, retrieved 9 December 2023
  30. ^ "'You Should Be Yourself.' How a Viral YouTube Star Is Embracing His Indian Roots". Time. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Official Independent Singles Breakers Chart Top 20; 14 December 2018 - 20 December 2018". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
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