# Steve's Lava Chicken
**Steve's Lava Chicken** is a 34-second comic jingle performed by [Jack Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-black) in *A Minecraft Movie* (2025), sung by his character [Steve](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-minecraft) as an advertisement for the in-film restaurant of the same name[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) • [2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/). Released by WaterTower Music on April 3, 2025 as track 7 on the film's soundtrack, it became the shortest song ever to reach the Billboard Hot 100 and the shortest-ever UK Top 40 hit[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) • [2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/) • [3](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Performer and role | Jack Black, as the character Steve; within the film it is the jingle of Steve's restaurant[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) |
| Release | April 3, 2025, WaterTower Music; track 7 on *A Minecraft Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)*[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) |
| Length | 34 seconds as reported in chart coverage[2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/); the soundtrack track is listed at 0:43[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) |
| Credits | Songwriters Jack Black and Jared Hess; producer John Spiker; genre listed as jingle and disco[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) |
| Origin | An ad-lib by Black and director Jared Hess, recorded in a single improvised take; the first take is the one used in the film[3](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record) • [4](https://rhettmiller.substack.com/p/rhetts-hot-lava-chicken-shack) |
| Chart records | Shortest song ever on the Billboard Hot 100 (debuted at No. 78) and Jack Black's shortest-ever UK Top 40 hit (peaked at No. 21)[2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/) • [3](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record) • [5](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/04/22/jack-blacks-minecraft-movie-song-is-no-joke-its-a-smash/) |
| In the game | A "Lava Chicken" music disc, a remix by the EDM duo Hyper Potions, was added to Minecraft in July 2025 and is obtained by killing a chicken jockey[6](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-minecraft-movies-memetic-lava-chicken-song-is-finally-in-the-game/1100-6533197/) |
## The song in the film
In *A Minecraft Movie*, Steve is a human who has lived in the Minecraft Overworld for years. The jingle appears when the heroes pass through a village and Steve, hungry, sings about the lava-cooked chicken he is about to eat[7](https://as.com/meristation/cine/la-cancion-lava-chicken-de-una-pelicula-de-minecraft-hace-historia-al-meterse-en-el-billboard-hot-100-n/). The lyric is four lines long: "La-la-la-lava, ch-ch-ch-chicken, Steve's Lava Chicken, yeah, it's tasty as hell," followed by "Crispy and juicy, now you're havin' a snack. Ooh, super spicy, it's a lava attack!"[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29) • [8](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/jack-black-steves-lava-chicken/).
The film frames the song as an advertisement rather than a musical number. [Jason Momoa](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-momoa)'s character Garrett dismisses it with the verdict that the jingle "suck(s) butt"[4](https://rhettmiller.substack.com/p/rhetts-hot-lava-chicken-shack), and later in the film the villain Malgosha orders General Chungus to raid the restaurant, at which point Chungus quotes the jingle back[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29). *A Minecraft Movie* is not classified as a musical; it contains a few short original songs, including "Ode to Dennis," a 50-second song Steve sings near the end of the film to say goodbye to his dog[9](https://www.destructoid.com/is-the-minecraft-movie-a-musical/?ajax_id=single-posts-all&template_args=eyJwYWdpbmF0aW9uIjp0cnVlLCJwYWdlZCI6MSwiYWpheF9pZCI6InNpbmdsZS1wb3N0cy1hbGwiLCJwYWdpbmF0aW9uX2Jhc2UiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3LmRlc3RydWN0b2lkLmNvbVwvaXMtdGhlLW1pbmVjcmFmdC1tb3ZpZS1hLW11c2ljYWxcL3BhZ2VcLyUjJVwvIn0%3D).
**Viral spread.** The film's writer Chris Galletta said the spontaneous songs Steve sings, including "Steve's Lava Chicken," "I Feel Alive," and "Ode to Dennis," were a character trait added because of Black, and that all of them became viral videos and memes[10](https://outlook.monmouth.edu/2025/04/inside-a-minecraft-movie-a-sit-down-with-chris-galletta/). The related "chicken jockey" line from the same film turned screenings into near-chaotic events, with audiences shouting at the screen, theater staff in some instances calling the police, and one fan bringing a live chicken to a showing[6](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-minecraft-movies-memetic-lava-chicken-song-is-finally-in-the-game/1100-6533197/).
## Writing and recording
The jingle was apparently an ad-lib worked out by Jack Black and director Jared Hess[4](https://rhettmiller.substack.com/p/rhetts-hot-lava-chicken-shack). According to an Apple Music behind-the-scenes video reported by MusicRadar, it was created in a single improvised take, and, in the words quoted in that report, "That's the take that we use in the film. That was first time."[3](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record) The soundtrack credits list Jack Black and Jared Hess as songwriters and John Spiker as producer, on the WaterTower Music label[1](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29).
An extended version of the song was also released; one reviewer described luxuriating in "all 83 seconds of this groove"[8](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/jack-black-steves-lava-chicken/).
## Chart records
The song's commercial run was brief but record-setting. In the tracking week of April 18 to April 24, 2025, the 34-second track debuted at No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 7 million streams in the United States that week, and it also reached No. 10 on the Hot Rock Songs chart[2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/). Its 34 seconds displaced [Kid Cudi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kid-cudi)'s 37-second "Beautiful Trip" as the shortest song ever to reach the Hot 100[2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/). In the United Kingdom it became Jack Black's shortest-ever [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) hit, taking that record by a margin of two seconds, and climbed to No. 21 on the Official Singles Chart[3](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record) • [5](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/04/22/jack-blacks-minecraft-movie-song-is-no-joke-its-a-smash/).
The song rode a larger box-office phenomenon. *A Minecraft Movie* earned $800 million worldwide in less than a month from its April 4, 2025 premiere[2](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/), and had passed $950 million in worldwide ticket sales by the time the film reached streaming[11](https://apnews.com/article/e3ca0ef5fd45ec4051cfae7dfb73e4d3).
## In the game
In July 2025 Mojang added the song to [Minecraft](https://www.edgepedia.org/minecraft) itself as a music disc called "Lava Chicken," remixed by the EDM duo Hyper Potions[6](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-minecraft-movies-memetic-lava-chicken-song-is-finally-in-the-game/1100-6533197/) • [12](https://kotaku.com/minecraft-movie-lava-chicken-jockey-easter-egg-game-1851786345). The disc is obtained by finding and defeating a chicken jockey, the baby-zombie-riding-chicken mob that became the film's other memetic moment. A spawned zombie has a 0.25% chance of being a chicken jockey when no chickens are around, rising to 0.4875% when chickens are present, so some Survival-mode players have never encountered one[6](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-minecraft-movies-memetic-lava-chicken-song-is-finally-in-the-game/1100-6533197/).
The in-game version is instrumental and does not include Jack Black's vocals; in the Creative inventory the item is listed as "Hyper Potions - Lava Chicken," and like all music discs it plays on a jukebox[13](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/minecraft/minecraft-lets-you-get-the-lava-chicken-song-in-game-now-but-good-luck-seeing-it-in-survival-mode) • [14](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Music_Disc_Lava_Chicken).
## Reception
The Associated Press review of the film called it a "bizarre 'Steve's Lava Chicken'" among Black's few songs in the movie[15](https://apnews.com/article/876031841a9fb0cf4f147861f5ca7f81). The Singles Jukebox, a pop-criticism site that scored it 3.69 out of 10 on average, covered it as the shortest song it had ever reviewed. Reviewer Iain Mew reported that to his seven-year-old and the child's friends it was one of the best things in pop, and argued that its success owed as much to sounding like a song shrunk down to component parts, down to the miniature solo, as to jingle appeal[8](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/jack-black-steves-lava-chicken/). Claire Davidson credited Black's singing voice with lending conviction that makes the four-line ode to spicy chicken less annoying than expected, while Joshua Lu concluded that even the film treats it as a commercial jingle, a decent one delivered with conviction over a bouncy beat[8](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/jack-black-steves-lava-chicken/).
## References
1. [Movie:Steve's Lava Chicken (song), Minecraft Wiki](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Movie%3ASteve%27s_Lava_Chicken_%28song%29)
2. [Jack Black's 'Minecraft' Anthem Breaks a Billboard Hot 100 Record, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-blacks-minecraft-anthem-breaks-a-billboard-hot-100-record/)
3. ["That's the take that we use in the film. That was first time. Dude, it was amazing": Steve's Lava Chicken took just 34 seconds to record, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/thats-the-take-that-we-use-in-the-film-that-was-first-time-dude-it-was-amazing-steves-lava-chicken-jack-blacks-shortest-ever-uk-top-40-hit-from-the-minecraft-movie-took-just-34-seconds-to-record)
4. [Rhett's Hot Lava Chicken Shack, by Rhett Miller, Substack](https://rhettmiller.substack.com/p/rhetts-hot-lava-chicken-shack)
5. [Jack Black's 'Minecraft Movie' Song Is No Joke, It's A Smash, Forbes](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/04/22/jack-blacks-minecraft-movie-song-is-no-joke-its-a-smash/)
6. [A Minecraft Movie's Memetic Lava Chicken Song Is Finally In The Game, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-minecraft-movies-memetic-lava-chicken-song-is-finally-in-the-game/1100-6533197/)
7. [La canción "Lava Chicken" de 'Una película de Minecraft' hace historia al meterse en el Billboard Hot 100, AS MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/cine/la-cancion-lava-chicken-de-una-pelicula-de-minecraft-hace-historia-al-meterse-en-el-billboard-hot-100-n/)
8. [Jack Black – Steve's Lava Chicken, The Singles Jukebox](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/jack-black-steves-lava-chicken/)
9. [Is the Minecraft Movie a musical?, Destructoid](https://www.destructoid.com/is-the-minecraft-movie-a-musical/?ajax_id=single-posts-all&template_args=eyJwYWdpbmF0aW9uIjp0cnVlLCJwYWdlZCI6MSwiYWpheF9pZCI6InNpbmdsZS1wb3N0cy1hbGwiLCJwYWdpbmF0aW9uX2Jhc2UiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3LmRlc3RydWN0b2lkLmNvbVwvaXMtdGhlLW1pbmVjcmFmdC1tb3ZpZS1hLW11c2ljYWxcL3BhZ2VcLyUjJVwvIn0%3D)
10. [Inside "A Minecraft Movie": A sit down with Chris Galletta, The Outlook](https://outlook.monmouth.edu/2025/04/inside-a-minecraft-movie-a-sit-down-with-chris-galletta/)
11. [What to Stream: 'The Bear,' Lorde, 'Smoke,' 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Nosferatu' and Nelly and Ashanti, The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/e3ca0ef5fd45ec4051cfae7dfb73e4d3)
12. [Minecraft Adds Jack Black's Lava Chicken Song, But You Gotta Do Something Special To Get It, Kotaku](https://kotaku.com/minecraft-movie-lava-chicken-jockey-easter-egg-game-1851786345)
13. [Minecraft lets you get the Lava Chicken song in-game – but it's absurdly rare, Windows Central](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/minecraft/minecraft-lets-you-get-the-lava-chicken-song-in-game-now-but-good-luck-seeing-it-in-survival-mode)
14. [Music Disc Lava Chicken, Minecraft Wiki](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Music_Disc_Lava_Chicken)
15. [Movie Review: Jason Momoa shines in 'A Minecraft Movie', The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/876031841a9fb0cf4f147861f5ca7f81)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Musical-theater, film, television, and game songs › Film songs and themes › Animated and family film songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license