About

Beethoven Virus is a song from the rhythm arcade game series Pump It Up. The song has been used in several fan covers and remixes, as well as ported over for use in other rhythm games such as Beat Saber, Pop'n Music, and Friday Night Funkin'.

Origin

The song first appeared in Pump It Up: The Perfect Collection,^[1] which first released in Korea on December 7th, 2000.^[2] The song is a remix of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Pathétique" 3rd Movement.

At World Pump Festival 2005, an electric violin version of the song was performed by Bulgarian violinist Diana Boncheva Kirilova at the opening ceremony (shown below).

In June of 2006, an album of the electric violin version was released with Diana Boncheva Kirilova performing the violin portion of the song (shown below).^[3]

Spread

On May 16th, 2011, footage of Korean Pump It Up player Dongmin Shin playing the song on a Pump It Up arcade machine at a Pump It Up: Fiesta EX event which took place in a mall in Bangkok, Thailand, was posted to YouTube by PumpBKIcecy. The video (shown below, left) received over 21.9 million views in over eleven years. On July 10th, 2012, YouTube user Gaspar Muntwyler posted a metal guitar cover of the song. The video (shown below, right) received over 677,000 views in over ten years.

On August 19th, 2017, a YTPMV of the song was posted to YouTube by Tridashie which used characters from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode Luna Eclipsed. The YTPMV (shown below, left) received over 1.9 million views in over five years. On July 3rd, 2020, a YouTube video was posted by MusicalBasics TV in which he plays the song on a store display piano at a Costco while several other shoppers watch. The video (shown below, right) received over 6 million views in over two years.

On April 26th, 2024, YouTube user MDZAchannel posted an edit of a scene from the 2014 film Mr. Peabody & Sherman in which Beethoven is dancing at a Dance Dance Revolution machine on the sidewalk, but with the music edited to play Beethoven Virus. The video (shown below, left) received over 4.2 million views in over five months. This clip would later be used as an animation meme. For example, on August 23rd, 2024, YouTube user Terrible Joe posted an animation that recreates the scene with Hololive vTuber Cecilia Immergreen at the DDR machine with other Hololive vTubers watching. The video (shown below, right) received over 667,000 views in over one month.

Usage In Other Music Rhythm Games

The song has also been ported to several other rhythm games. On March 2nd, 2018, YouTube user posted a video showing the song being used in the Roblox rhythm game RoBeats. The video (shown below, left) received over 1.6 million views in over four years. On April 18th, 2021, YouTube user sluutry posted a video of the song modded into Friday Night Funkin. The video (shown below, right) received over 1.5 million views in over one year.

On April On July 9th, 2021, YouTube user SilverStar555 posted a compilation video of the song being used in thirty different rhythm games. The video (shown below) received over 1.5 million views in over one year.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References