I'd say that the Holderness family is back, but then in order to be back they would have to have gone away in the first place, right? Just this past Thanksgiving they broke the internet with their trademark cutesy family video of "All About That Baste" (parodying "All About That Bass").
But it was last year's "Xmas Jammies"—the Christmas card to end all other attempts at Christmas cards—that turned the North Carolina foursome into overnight stars, with more than 15 million YouTube views. And this year they've pulled on their stripy PJs again for a reprise of R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World," or in their case, "It's the End of the Year."
And boy, do they feel fine.
After all, all it took was a video of the family horsing around for mom and dad, otherwise known as Kim and Penn, to turn their video production company, Greenroom Communications, golden.
As I pressed play, teeth gritted, a strange thing happened. I badly wanted to despise their grins bursting with wholesomeness. I wanted to view them as a shining example of white privilege and media whoring. But they are so damned cute! Even when they are rhyming off their respective yearly achievements (which is part and parcel of those cloying Christmas messages).
And even though I think their saturation point has been reached by now, the Jammies clan plans to continue usurping YouTube at every public holiday as long as the clicks come pouring in. They'd better tread carefully, though, because public adulation can turn to aggravation on a dime. Just ask Justin Bieber.
But as long as they are keeping it real and relatable (like Kim confessing that she peed a little while jumping rope at CrossFit), then the Holderness family will continue to hold a special place on our screens.
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