'2-3 squids' viral track causes online stir

The phrase "2-3 squids" is part of the song "Anh Yeu Em Cuc" (I Love You Much), which started making waves online around late September for its catchy melody. The song's lyrics, which depict a man's love for his girlfriend, are simple yet humorous and naive.

The song soon captured the attention of local music enthusiasts. Since its release on Sept. 30, the music video has received over 500,000 views on YouTube.

Not only sticking in people's minds, the song has become a way for many young couples to communicate their love.

The opening of the song, "2-3 con muc (2-3 squids) / Anh yeu em cuc (I really like you) / Ba chai tang luc (three energy drinks) / Yeu em cang cuc (I love you too much), quickly became an online phenomenon after appearing in more than 95,000 TikTok videos.

Most videos featuring this song include couples and spouses lip-syncing to this verse while performing romantic, innocent, and intimate acts together.

Besides, the song's catchy melody has inspired many individuals to create their own lyric adaptations.

All variations will begin with the phrase "2-3 squids," with individuals striving to come up with a four-word sentence that rhymes with "uc" to discuss a variety of themes like "Di lam chan cuc" (work is so boring), "Nang qua phat buc" (hot weather makes me cranky) and others.

Despite its popularity, the song has sparked intense online debate after it was accused of copyright violation.

Some viewers found that the beat from "Anh Yeu Em Cuc" is quite similar to the remix version of "This Is America, I guess" posted by Canadian producer Eugene Tsai in 2018.

In fact, both Linh Thon and Minh Vu admitted to "stealing" the idea from Tsai's post-credit remix.

Tsai later left a comment under the Vietnamese music video: "Hey man, just because you put ‘idea from’ doesn't mean you can completely rip off my beat from my remix. I've just submitted a copyright strike on your video, if you don't take this down I'm going to have your entire account banned."

Thon took to social media on Wednesday to thank fans for listening to his song and apologize for not contacting Eugene Tsai directly to get permission to utilize his beat.

The copyright issue has since been cleared up after discussions with Tsai.

According to Thon, the rapper's crew met Eugene Tsai's conditions, including providing the link to the "This is America, I guess" music video and the Canadian producer's information under the "Anh Yeu Em Cuc" music video.