Bee-Bee the Bee, an eight year old character with a volouptuous black-and-yellow body and a set of “busy bee” wings, has made her entrance into the business world with an electric, rechargeable singing toothbrush.
And it might just well be the first time in the history of South Africa that a singing bee teaches and prompts children not to be afraid of their toothbrushes.
The toothbrush sings for two whole minutes (that is more or less the time a human must spend brushing their teeth) … “Brush your teeth every day, gentle, gentle all the way, brush up and brush down. Every tooth should get a turn.“
And children, who shy away from the toothbrush, are now brushing without mum having to beg and plead.
Jeanette Pretorius, the golden voice behind the Afrikaans goup Heuning created this unique character last year and before one could say, well honey, Bee-Bee the Bee became as popular as sweeties (and not vegetables) for lunch…
Bee-Bee the Bee did not sit around on her yellow buttox; in fact she released ten children’s songs within a year. These songs, originally released in Afrikaans, were so popular that Jeanette decided to translate them into English.
Bee-Bee the Bee recently released The Toothbrush Song which sings as the tootbrush goes up-and-down and round and round. The purpose was: to teach children how to brush their teeth while listening to Bee-Bee the Bee. “The toothbrush sings the Toothbrush Song for two minutes. Then it stops. It has four different brushing functions and it only needs recharging every twenty days,” says Jeannette
Also a mother of two, Jeanette says, that her children were terribly affraid of a tootbrush, but since she introduced the singing toothbrush to them, the fear disappeared and they are no longer afraid “as the dental germs will go away…”
According to Jeanette she dreamed about a singing toothbrush long before she wrote the actual song. “I wrote the song with the idea of the toothbrush in mind but (or rather Bee Bee the Bee) decided to first release the song. I did research for months because I wanted to introduce a quality toothbrush to South Africans.”
The video of the English song received around 10 000 unique hits on YouTube. The fact that children from the Stephanus Roos primary school in Pretoria with Bee-Bee the Bee make this video extremely popular. “The children can relate to Bee-Bee, they form a bond and if a bee can brush her teeth, they can also brush.”
Bee-Bee the Bee songs are simple, and the lyrics repeat themselves. That is the winning recipe, Jeanette believes. “The words are easy to learn, and children can relate to the lyrics.”
“Bee-Bee the Bee friends are between two and nine years old and I have to think on their level when writing the songs.”
Jeanette created this character during the level 5 lockdown period. She said earlier that she had to help her daughter with her homework, and she realised that there is a need in the market for educational music. And before one could say Bee, this character was born from Jeanette’s creative imagination.
At that stage, she already wrote a few songs for Bee-Bee the Bee but she tested the market with a single release, Bee-Bee the Bee. She passes the test with a distinction.
Bee-Bee the Bee has performed at primary and pre-primary schools for the last two years. “There was a big demand for an English version of Bee-Bee and that is why I decided to translate the songs. It is nice to be involved at the schools and to identify the needs of the teachers,” Jeanette says.
Bee-Bee the Bee did not age in the past two years. “I think she will stay eight years old forever,” laughs Jeanette.
You can order the toothbrush online at: https://www.bee-beedieby.co.za/
You will find the music video of the song here:
Download the full-length album here: https://beebeedieby.lnk.to/BeeBeeDieByMB
