He’s famous for liking corn, but right now, all Tariq can think about is cotton candy.
The spun sugary confection was awaiting him in the kitchen, an award he said was promised to him by his mother Jessica for sitting through an interview with USA TODAY.
But the fluffy treat would have to wait. Right now, South Dakota’s official Corn-bassador, who recently turned 8, had more pressing matters in need of his response: mainly, what is he doing to celebrate National Corn on the Cob Day, which is Sunday?
Naturally, Tariq has plans. The youngster, whose endearing love of corn turned him into an internet sensation last summer, earning him the nickname “corn kid,” has designs to make (what else?) a new dish he calls “cob soup.”
The recipe calls for a mix of vegetables, but the main ingredient is…well, need it be said?
Of course, that’s not all Tariq the corn kid has on his schedule for the big holiday.
Tariq will be appearing in a pre-recorded video Sunday during the Tony Awards to introduce a performance from the 2022 musical Shucked about residents of a midwestern town dealing with blighted corn crop. Tariq attended the April Broadway premier of the production, which has nine Tony nominations, including for best musical.
“It’s one of my favorite musicals,” Tariq told USA TODAY. “It’s a comedy about corn and I really like it.”
In a pre-recorded video introducing the musical, Tariq went even further, boldly declaring: “It would be a huge missed opportunity if Shucked were not crowned best musical on (National) Corn on the Cob Day.”
It’s just the latest public appearance for Tariq, who has kept busy ever since a video interview of him explaining his passion for corn went viral toward the end of summer, launching him to fame.
Julian Shapiro-Barnum, host and creator of the popular web series “Recess Therapy,” caught up in August with a gap-toothed Tariq holding a partially-eaten corn cob. In the video, which was taken at Smorgasburg, a weekly food festival in Prospect Park, New York, Tariq famously says of corn: “I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing!”
The video took off, and has since garnered 2.2 million likes on Instagram.
But it wasn’t until the musical comedy group the Gregory Brothers released their subsequent remix later that same month that Tariq became a true viral sensation. Video of the song, with its catchy refrain “It has the juice! It has the juuuuice,” itself has 10.7 million likes on TikTok.
Since then, Tariq — who has amassed a TikTok following of more than 939,200 followers — has joined Cameo, attended the LA premiere of Robert Zemeckis’s Pinocchio, starred in a Chipotle ad and taste-tested corn-themed foods on The Drew Barrymore Show. More recently, he attended the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards in March, where he received the Kid’s Choice Award for Best Viral Video.
But Tariq also seeks to use his newfound fame to give back. Last month, he partnered with City Harvest, a food rescue center in New York City, to raise more than $8,000 for the organization’s Share Lunch Fight Hunger campaign.
“I like playing video games, but helping people is more important,” Tariq said.
He said he enjoys his celebrity status except, he said, “when there’s a huge crowd that recognizes me, I get tired of doing the pictures.”
And he still loves corn.
But right now? There’s a stash of cotton candy calling his name. And he can’t imagine a more beautiful thing.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta.
