In a cozy Toronto studio just steps away from Canada’s largest fair, Caitlin “Caitie” Claessens radiates enthusiasm as she discusses how Super Simple Songs went from YouTube phenomenon to sold-out live performances. 

With over 44 million subscribers and tens of billions of views across their channels, the educational children’s brand has quietly become a global franchise, now expanding to live performances while maintaining what Caitie describes as an “indie band feel.”

“Our mission is still very much rooted in our origins, which is the classroom and helping teachers and families by giving them the resources to help their students with their development and to enrich their lives,” Caitie explains. “It’s hard being a parent and a teacher. Especially today, teachers and parents have so many different balls in the air at any given time.”

Caitie joined Super Simple in early 2016, first as a narrator and singer for their animated series “Treetop Family.” Her role quickly expanded when the company sought someone for their new live-action series called “Sing Along with Tobee.”

Around the same time, YouTube was introducing live streaming capabilities, presenting a new opportunity that would define Caitie’s role with the brand. “I didn’t really know how you could do a kids’ show live streaming. It seemed like a bit of a foreign concept,” she says. “They asked me if I would develop a live show because at that point, they had been mostly animation and puppets, and you couldn’t really do an interactive live stream with puppets or animation.” 

Drawing on her background playing guitar and teaching music classes to children, Caitie developed “Caitie’s Classroom,” which became a cornerstone of Super Simple’s content strategy.

Developing a Digital Brand

When Caitie joined Super Simple, the channel had around 3 million subscribers – a figure that impressed her at the time.

“I was thrilled because it was a YouTube channel that had over 3 million subscribers. That was huge. And I was like, ‘I’ve made it,’” she laughs. “I thought, ‘I’m going to be reaching a lot more kids than just 15, and how exciting is that?”

What Caitie couldn’t anticipate was just how massive that reach would become. By 2018, Super Simple had grown to 10 million subscribers. Today, they’ve exceeded 44 million subscribers on their main channel alone, with over 68 million subscribers across their over 40 YouTube channels and tens of billions of views.

This expansion, as Caitie notes, has been careful and thoughtful. Rather than relying solely on YouTube ad revenue, Super Simple established key partnerships that both extended their reach and boosted their educational standing.

“We partnered with Khan Academy in the early days, a big educational app in the U.S., and they took our content and put it on their app,” Caitie notes. “Then we partnered with Oxford University Press. Those are organizations that believe in the educational power of music, and I think that helped give our YouTube channel a little bit of legitimacy in the world of education.”

From Screens to Stages

Despite their digital origins, Super Simple’s move into live performances came directly from audience demand.

“It’s always been a big picture dream, of course,” Caitie says. “But the focus really started once our audience started to ask for it. People started asking, ‘Are you doing concerts? Will you be touring? Are there live events?'”

As a performer with a theater background, Caitie was eager to step from behind the camera. “I really pushed for it. Once I found out that people were asking for it, I was like, ‘Guys, we got to try this.'”

Caitie’s first challenge was figuring out how to test the live show concept without major financial risk. She found the perfect solution right in Super Simple’s backyard.

“Two summers ago, there was a big fair called the “Canadian National Exhibition” (CNE), and they had a children’s stage,” she explains. “I thought, ‘If we could get a spot there, we don’t have to rent a theater. It’s close to the studio. We can just see what happens.”

The CNE performances served as a trial run, with Caitie and the team performing multiple 30-minute shows daily over two weeks. The success of these initial performances led to renting a theater for multiple shows the following year. Now, they’re embarking on their first multi-city tour.

Bringing Characters to Life

Turning Super Simple’s digital content into a live stage experience presented unique creative challenges.

“In this show, we have all these custom animations of the characters, so it feels like I’m talking to them, and then we can have the audience talk to them, too,” Caitie explains. “Every moment is cued separately to account for these audience interactions, which is a big change from how we normally work.”

Rather than seeing these obstacles as limitations, Caitie focused on the unique opportunities live performance offered. She adapted familiar songs to make them more interactive, citing “There’s a Monster in My Tummy” as an example.

“Instead of just singing the song the way that you would hear it on YouTube or on streaming services, we added in these little moments where we’re listening for Tobee’s monster in his tummy to hear if he’s still hungry,” she describes. “When we’ve done this before, you can hear a pin drop. We’re all just listening for the monster. And then you hear the rumble.”

Their song selection process demonstrates their audience-centered approach. “We hear a lot from our audience that they love ‘Peekaboo Cat,’” Caitie explains. “‘Here Comes the Fire Truck’ is one of the most popular songs on the ‘Super Simple Play with Caitie’ YouTube channel, so we had to include that.”

Learning from Audience Feedback

Last year’s sold-out performances provided valuable insights that shaped this year’s tour planning.

“What I was really surprised about last year was how many people drove up to Toronto from the United States and even flew in,” Caitie says. “At every single show that we did, I asked people at the beginning where they were from. And there was always somebody in the audience who had gotten on a plane.”

This insight influenced their venue selection for the current tour. “For this tour, we really wanted to make it more accessible for more people. So it was really important when we were booking theaters to book them close to the U.S. border.”

They selected venues in Niagara and Kingston, Ontario – both near the New York border – and Chatham, which is accessible to fans from Detroit, making it easier for American audiences to attend.

The team also carefully observed audience behavior patterns that informed product development. They noticed fans coming dressed as Caitie, complete with her signature apron. “They had the apron on, and they had drawings and stuff,” she says with evident delight. This fan behavior inspired them to create merchandise, including a “Caitie apron” available at shows.

Quality Control

Super Simple’s approach to live event production differs notably from many creator-led brands, which typically outsource production.

“We pretty much do everything in-house. That’s one of the magical things about Super Simple,” Caitie explains. “We very rarely outsource anything. And if we need help, we’ll hire somebody.”

This approach has meant taking on multiple responsibilities. “Up until now, I’ve been pretty much the one pushing the boulder up the hill. I’ve been calling theaters, writing the shows. I’m booking the truck that’s going to take us to the shows,” Caitie shares.

The reluctance to outsource stems from past experiences that have taught them to protect their brand values. “Our reputation and what we do is so important that you don’t want to dilute the message,” Caitie emphasizes. “We feel very strongly about what we want to provide for families.”

While Super Simple has largely self-produced their tour to date, Caitie acknowledges the challenges of continuing this approach as they pursue more ambitious touring plans. “For the future, as we do bigger tours, we’re going to be looking to partner with a production company or a management team,” she notes.

Meaningful Family Experiences

For Caitie, measuring the success of Super Simple’s live shows goes beyond typical metrics like ticket sales and revenue.

“I really want families to have a memorable experience together,” she says. “When it comes to TV, sometimes families are watching together, but sometimes maybe not. But at a live show, you have to come with your parents. You have to watch it together. You’re both experiencing it, and you’re making memories together.”

She’s particularly aware of the practical challenges parents face when bringing young children to events. “It’s very tough to get kids out of the house. I know some parents are really nervous, maybe about their kids not being able to sit still.”

This understanding shapes how Caitie designs the live experience. Rather than expecting children to remain quiet and still, the show intentionally incorporates constant audience participation. “I want to make sure it’s a very engaging show,” she explains. “We really try to build in those audience interactions so that it’s not like they’re at home watching a screen.” 

By encouraging singing, movement, and direct responses from the audience, the show creates an environment where kids’ natural energy becomes part of the experience rather than something parents need to suppress.

“I want to make sure that the parents feel comfortable, that they have all the information that they need to make it an easy, fun, and memorable experience,” Caitie emphasizes. “It’s always such a compliment when you hear that the parents are enjoying themselves too, whether they are listening to our songs, watching our videos, or coming to our live events.” 

Predictions for Creator-Led Brands

Caitie sees live events as increasingly important in a digital economy that’s becoming more crowded. “I would love to see it become a bigger part of our content creation,” she says. “When we’re planning our calendar, we’re planning it around our live shows.”

The possibilities for expansion are extensive. “We could have spin-off shows, we could just have ‘The Bumble Nums’ show. We could have these intimate sing-alongs with just me and my guitar, and we can have these pop-up experiences.”

Caitie believes these real-world experiences are especially valuable as children’s lives become more and more digital. “It’s a magical part of childhood to have real-life experiences, to see the people you admire in real life, and also just live music is very cool.”

“Screen time can only go so far,” Caitie notes. “Real interactive experiences are becoming more and more important and crucial as our lives become more and more online, especially for kids.”

Advice for Creators

When asked what advice she’d give to other creators looking to translate digital success to live experiences, Caitie emphasizes the value of starting small.

“A piece of advice that I have to tell myself often is that starting small is okay,” she admits. “You have all these big ideas, and you just want to go out there and do it. But starting small is okay and letting the audience sort of tell you what they want to see.”

Her main guidance for creators is refreshingly simple: “Just do what you love, do what your audience loves, but do it in real life, and that’s going to be magical.”

As Super Simple continues to grow their live offerings, Caitie remains focused on the genuine connection with its audience. “We’re so excited to connect with our audience in person,” she concludes. “That’s a very important part for me – that authentic connection.”

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