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Corn kid crowned with massive honour after viral song turns into global hit

Charisa Bossinakis

Published 0:05, 12 September 2022 BST
| Last updated 0:12, 12 September 2022 BST

Corn kid crowned with massive honour after viral song turns into global hit

The beloved corn kid who became a viral sensation last month has officially become the ‘corn-bassador’ of South Dakota.

NBC News reported that Governor Kristi L. Noem broke the news that seven-year-old Tariq, whose last name hasn’t been disclosed for privacy concerns, was crowned ‘corn-bassador’ of the southern state.

The Corn Kid came to South Dakota’s very own @Corn_Palace!!!

Welcome to South Dakota Tariq, our official Corn-bassador! Eat lots of corn pic.twitter.com/AlCs11NHJi
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) September 3, 2022

September 3 was also declared as ‘Official Corn-bassador Tariq Day’, celebrating the child’s love of the starchy vegetable.

Tariq was also treated to a visit of the state’s renowned Corn Palace, a multi-purpose facility that features crop art, murals and designs covering the building, which are made from corn and other grains, as per The Washington Post.

Much to his delight, he even met the Corn Palace mascot.

If you somehow have missed how corn kid first captured the hearts of the internet, it all unfolded when Julian Shapiro-Barnum interviewed the boy for a segment called ‘Recess Therapy’ via YouTube.

In the video, which has been viewed over 3.9 million times, the seven-year-old was asked what he liked specifically about corn at his local fair.

He says: "Ever since I was told that corn was real, it tasted good."

He adds: "But when I tried it with butter, everything changed!"

Julian proceeds to ask Tariq what his hobbies are, to which the child responds: "I play a variety of games, hide and seek, tag, never Lava Monster. Yeah, mostly corn; I mean look at this, I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing."

The boy’s interview resulted in a barrage of memes and even a two-minute song created by a member of the musical quartet The Gregory Brothers, which has been viewed over nine million times.

The song has also moved onto Spotify as its very own single.

Most recently, Tariq attended the premiere of Disney’s live-action version of Pinocchio.

When was asked by an Entertainment Tonight red carpet correspondent if he was excited to meet the film’s star, Tom Hanks, who plays Giuseppe in the movie, the boy admittedly didn’t know who that was.