When you think of Kevin Bacon, do you immediately think of goats? Maybe not yet, but you will from now on. Whether you remember him best for his dancing in Footloose or picture him as a cowboy hat-wearing pole vaulter in Tremors, I guarantee that now you will think of him first and foremost as a barnyard singer. Bacon joined TikTok near the beginning of the pandemic and has added videos of him serenading farm animals ever since. The latest in the Kevin Bacon singing to farm animals series is a cover of Beyoncé’s “Heated.” Like the original version, it is fire.
The video begins with Bacon saying, “Hot day. Hot song,” while holding an acoustic guitar and surrounded by goats. His version of “Heated” subs in the word goat for girl and a few other lyric updates. And while we’ve heard a fair amount of screaming goats this summer thanks to Thor: Love and Thunder, Bacon’s backup doesn’t sing along. Though one goat does help with the strumming. There’s lots of other great covers to be found using the Goat Songs hashtag. He sometimes plays ukulele instead, or adds a harmonica. His wife Kyra Sedgwick and daughter Sosie Bacon, both also actors, sometimes join the sing-alongs.
We learned about Bacon’s social media trend thanks to BuzzFeed. Bacon’s song library is vast and diverse, representing boy bands like New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, classics like The Beatles, and even current hits from Harry Styles and others. The audience members aren’t always just goats. While enjoying the many videos, I spied alpacas, ponies, and pigs as well. Many of them oblivious of the music, others more interested in chewing on the instruments or Bacon’s clothing.
Kevin Bacon singing to farm animals. What a delightful rabbit hole to fall down. Enjoy!
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.