Ash Ruder’s ‘Blue Genes’ song goes viral amid Sydney Sweeney ad controversy

A song called “Blue Genes” by former American Idol contestant Ash Ruder is going viral, thanks to the buzz—and confusion—surrounding American Eagle’s latest ad starring Sydney Sweeney.

Ash Ruder told KREX News 5 in an interview published Tuesday that her song, “Blue Genes,” was written in 2022.

Though unrelated, Ruder’s emotional ballad about generational trauma and family hardship has struck a chord online amid the buzz around American Eagle’s pun-heavy campaign with Sweeney—leading to confusion over whether the two are connected.

She said that she did not expect her song to blow up as it has following American Eagle’s ad with actress Sydney Sweeney, depicting the “Euphoria” star wearing blue jeans for the clothing company’s fall clothing campaign. 

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The ad, titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” shows Sweeney who, in one version of the ad, says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”

Ruder, who appeared on “American Idol” in 2021 and performed a story she wrote about her father, told KREX News 5 she never could have imagined her song would gain the relevance that it has.

“Well, it was really just a little idea that turned into something that I never would have expected to happen and blow up as it did. “But I think, so far, we are nearing almost 5 million views, maybe more at this point,” Ruder said. 

“I wrote this song, ‘Blue Genes,’ on December 8, in 2022,” she added. “It really started out as just a song about my family… and the hardships my family has gone through and about breaking generational curses, and that’s been a really cool thing in my life that I am really proud of.”

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“It has been really cool to see, and it really has nothing to do with the Sydney Sweeney ad, other than it’s the same play on words,” Ruder said.  

A portion of Ruder’s song goes, “I got blue genes, passed down from mama and her mama, too. Can’t just get new genes, can’t just change out of the pair I was born into. The rips in the seams, show we go through the pain, and the holes in the knees mean we know how to pray. Used to want to grow out of them, but now I’m just proud of these blue genes.”

Criticism of American Eagle’s ad, highlighted by Salon, say it promotes “whiteness, thinness and attractiveness.”

But American Eagle has stood by the ad, saying in a recent statement, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her Jeans. Her Story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Ruder and American Eagle for comment.