Santa Barbara native and original Nerf Herder Parry Gripp has won the 2017 Daytime Creative Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song. His winning composition, “I’m Not Very Nice,” from the animated Disney series The 7D, was written for the character Hildy Gloom, who is voiced by actress and former reality star Kelly Osbourne. It’s a pop-punk anthem about a woman who won’t fit in and includes the lyrics: “Some girls don’t like making faces / Their brothers know they never fight / But I’m not one of those girls / I’m not very nice.”
Hildy and her husband, Grim, cause constant trouble in Jollywood, the hometown of the 7D, as Snow White’s buddies are known in this prequel to the original 1937 Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Created by Tom Ruegger, The 7D lasted two seasons before its final episode aired in November 2016. Gripp has been involved with The 7D from the beginning and received two Emmy Award nominations in song categories in 2015 when the show premiered.
Many of you will remember the work he did with Nerf Herder on the live-action series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, Gripp has conquered more worlds as both a successful composer for animation (StoryBots, Ben 10, Marvel Super Hero Squad) and a massively popular artist on YouTube, where such Gripp-authored memes as “Yum Yum Breakfast Burrito,” “Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn),” and the unforgettable favorite “Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom” have earned his channel an astonishing 28-million-plus views.
“I’m Not Very Nice,” which takes the form of a music video for Hildy, has appeared in multiple episodes including “Hildyrella,” “A Royal Pain in the Castle,” and the series finale, “A Sneeze in Time.” Osbourne, who sings “I’m Not Very Nice,” compares Hildy to Beyoncé’s alter ego, Sasha Fierce, saying that Hildy is “bad with the best intentions.” For Gripp, Osbourne was the ideal collaborator; he said, “She’s great on the show and she’s great in the song.” Congratulations to Gripp on continuing to make punk rock that appeals to both Emmy voters and kids under 12.