This is really hard to openly talk about, but I am a victim of rickrolling. Not only has it happened to me, but many of my friends as well. This online disease (yes I am calling it that) is so widespread that Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ has now surpassed one billion views on YouTube.
The official video for the 1987 classic was uploaded to YouTube 12 years ago, which also shows how damn ancient the meme is.
If you’ve somehow managed to go through your entire life without being a victim to that internet meme, here’s a brief explanation of what ‘Rickrolling’ means.
It’s a classic “bait and switch prank” that takes unsuspecting internet users to a hyperlink of the popular Risk Astley song, instead of the link they thought they were clicking on.
Where did this meme emerge, you might ask? Well it allegedly started appearing in 2007 and was a popular prank among communities on 4chan. The name Rickroll actually comes from the name duckroll, which is another prank that links to an image of a duck with wooden wheels.
God, I just reread that sentence and visibly cringed. But that is literally where the meme came from (well, according to knowyourmeme.com that is).
However, YouTuber Erik Helwig claims that he was the genius behind the Rickroll, when he pranked a Michigan radio station in 2006. You can watch the video below:
To celebrate the massive milestone, Rick Astley posted a thank you message on Twitter.
“So I’ve just been told that ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ has been streamed a billion times on YouTube. That is mind-blowing. The world is a wonderful and beautiful place, and I am very lucky.”
1 BILLION views for Never Gonna Give You Up on @YouTube ! Amazing, crazy, wonderful!
Rick ♥️https://t.co/mzyLznTr4R #NGGYU #NGGYU1Billion pic.twitter.com/p5xnn0OZcZ— Rick Astley (@rickastley) July 28, 2021
It’s no easy feat either, with only a select few music videos hitting that one bill mark. Once upon a time, ‘Gangnam Style’ by PSY was the only music video to do so.
And what a beautiful time that truly was.
