Kirt Connor is a resident of Horatio, Arkansas, and a former UA Cossatot student. Kirt is a small town kind of guy, but he is also a big YouTube sensation due to his viral video Dad Guy.
Dad Guy is a parody of Billie Eilish’s song Bad Guy. This past year, Kirt created this entertaining video and submitted it to YouTube. Within its first couple of days on YouTube, the video had racked up more than 600,000 views. As of January 2020, Dad Guy has been viewed more than 2.7 million times.
Kirt’s sense of humor and love for music and videos led him to make this parody. After its release, Kirt received national news recognition. His video was mentioned on CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and Today Extra in Australia. Time.com did a story on Kirt’s video, and it was also mentioned on the Dr. Demento Radio Show. He recently received radio airplay in Ireland and has been a guest on the Kelly Clarkson show in California.
When asked about how it feels to get so many views and attention from his video, he said, “Not bad! In all seriousness, it’s incredibly humbling to have received this much attention and feedback from my silly little project. It has inspired me greatly, and I plan on releasing a lot more stuff.”
Connor went on to add that he will be releasing a full album in the first quarter of 2020, and he is currently writing and collaborating with other content creators.
Kirt has a music background and can play several instruments. He has played with the Midnight Hurricanes, was a Colgate Country Showdown national finalist, a member of Ms. Mac and the Groovetones band, and a longtime studio engineer and session musician. In high school, Kirt was introduced to making videos.
“Making videos is extremely flexible and expressive media. Your only limit is your creativity and how much money you’re willing to dish out,” said Kirt Connor.
When asked what the inspiration for Dad Guy was, Kirt said, “My wife is to blame. She started the lyrics via text message, and within five minutes, between the two of us, we had written the whole thing.”
Kirt also added that he wouldn’t have been able to make this video without his family. Kirt Connor is happily married to his wife, Kayla, and has four children; Duncan, Dovie, Korbin, and Kohen. He also works as an IT Field Tech at Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville.
In the early 2000’s Kirt attended UA Cossatot. Kirt said, “The reason I chose to go to school at UA Cossatot was because of location, location, location! I also think it is a great college that offers a wonderful option for trades as well as transferring into and within the University of Arkansas system.”
Kirt encourages everyone to look into UA Cossatot as an educational opportunity and loves living in Southwest Arkansas