Kidz Bop tweaks pop for young audience

The way Kidz Bop tells it, “Thrift Shop” is really awesome.

The five-member group of 10- to 12-year-olds – which performs “kid-friendly” versions of pop hits, including the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit that otherwise contains expletives – will perform Sunday in Spokane.

“They take out any innuendos, any of the swear words, and they’re rewritten,” said Janis Van Tine, a publicist for the group.

Kidz Bop’s repertoire includes songs by Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Along with “Thrift Shop,” the most requested songs on the Kidz Bop radio station on Sirius XM recently included One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” and Lorde’s “Royals.”

The “music brand” seems to be on to something.

Kidz Bop, which records four albums a year, sold more than 1 million albums in 2013 and consistently tops the Billboard list for music for children. The Spokane stop, part of its “Dream Big, Sing Loud!” tour, will be among more than 20 this year.

Launched in 2001, Kidz Bop cycles through a new group of child performers every three years, most of them chosen from applicants nationwide who audition via video.

The current group started working together in January.

The performers train with vocal coaches and choreographers in Dallas, Van Tine said. They do schoolwork with an on-site teacher, and most are homeschooled when they’re not training.

“They’re super-über talented,” Van Tine said. “They sing, they dance, they play instruments. They’re little superstars.”

Adrian Rogers

When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: The Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave.

Tickets: $20. Go to www.ticketweb.com.