"Danny Don't You Know" is a song by American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

duo

Ninja Sex Party Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy rock duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also part of ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

along with a music video on June 25, 2018, and was later featured on their sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Cool Patrol'', released on August 17, 2018. Written by band members

Dan Avidan Leigh Daniel Avidan (born March 14, 1979), also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, internet personality, comedian, and actor. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with Brian Wecht, as well as th ...

and

Brian Wecht Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet celebrity, Internet personality, podcaster, and Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy rock, come ...

as well as producer Jim Roach, the song is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

based on Avidan's life, and tells the story of a young, troubled Danny Sexbang being visited by his older self, who convinces him of his worth and tells him of all the good things awaiting him in the future. The music video, which became the #1 trending video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

when released, features

Finn Wolfhard Finn Michael Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor, musician, and film director. He is known for playing Mike Wheeler on the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). He also played Richie Tozier in the horror film ...

as the young Danny. * * The band called "Danny Don't You Know" their "favorite-ever song", both musically and as a video.

Music video

The music video was released on

on June 25, 2018.

, a friend of Avidan since he had appeared on Avidan's web show ''

Game Grumps ''GameGrumps'' is an American Let's Play web series hosted by Arin Hanson (2012–present) and Dan Avidan (2013–present). Created in 2012 by co-hosts Hanson and Jon Jafari, the series centers around its hosts playing video games. After Jafa ...

'' in January 2017 and a fan of the band, was featured as a younger Danny Sexbang, with small appearances by

Arin Hanson Arin Joseph Hanson (born January 6, 1987), also known as Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Play seri ...

Nathan Sharp

Markiplier Mark Edward Fischbach ( ; born June 28, 1989), known online as Markiplier, is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, and actor. One of the most popular YouTubers on the platform, he is known for his "Let's Play" videos of indie horror games. He wa ...

Pamela Horton The following women have appeared in the American or international edition of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month. Those who were also named Playmate of the Year are highlighted in green. A common misconception is that Marilyn Monroe wa ...

Tupper Ware Remix Party TWRP ( disemvoweling of ''twerp''), formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change in members and musical direction. The ...

, Lasercorn,

Mica Burton Michaela Jean Burton is an American actress, cosplayer and host. She is known for her contributions in the gaming space, having hosted for Achievement Hunter, The Know, the Overwatch League and voicing a character in '' 100ft Robot Golf''. Bur ...

and former ''Game Grumps'' editor Kevin Abernathy. The video was produced by Shawn Wallace, with Bret Rea serving as on-set producer, Gordon Yould as

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, Traci Hays as

production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...

, and Nicole Case as

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Reception

After its release, the music video became the #1 trending video on

, and peaked at #24 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Rock Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

. ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' praised the song and video, calling it a "power ballad life lesson triumph" and stating "Ninja Sex Party instruct all the nerds of the world to rock on... and it's the message we all need in 2018". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' stated about the song "Is it gimmicky? Certainly—as much as Ninja Sex Party’s knowingly jokey music, whose glammed-up-but-smoothed-out bombast comes off like The Darkness if it were aping

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

instead of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. But it’s a self-aware sort of gimmickry, one that takes digs at the band members’ own distant and current lack of cool ('No one cares that you’re 35!' Sexbang sings at one point), and maybe that shamelessness is enough to ameliorate its naked desperation." ''Pop Buzz'' stated about the video "The visual of Finn being encouraged by the older version of himself is actually pretty sweet once you get past all the spandex. Finn's character goes from being bullied in a classroom to rocking out on stage with his older self and it's all very inspiring, if we're being honest." On September 17, 2018, "Danny Don't You Know" was performed live on '' Conan'', with longtime touring band

(TWRP) marking it as both bands' first live television debut.

Personnel

Ninja Sex Party *

– lead and backing vocals *

– keyboards, piano, synthesizer ; Production * Jim Roach –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Eric Palmquist – additional engineering * Thom Flowers – mixing * Randy Merrill – mastering Additional musicians *

–

backup band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

** Lord Phobos – guitar ** Commander Meouch – bass guitar ** Doctor Sung –

keytar A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...

, synthesizer, keyboards ** Havve Hogan – drums * Jim Roach – guitars

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles 2010s ballads Comedy songs Science fiction music Ninja Sex Party songs