- Joined
- Jul 6, 2021
Today the official video for Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' reached 1 billion views on YouTube. https://youtu.be/YbaTur4A1OU
While not every view on the video was a Rick Roll, a large number of them were. Combined with the countless other unofficial videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites that have millions of views, Rick Rolls using only an image, fan art, and the fact that many large scale Rick Rolls have been achieved with a single view count (the stadium Rick Roll comes to mind, along with Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, YouTube April fools, live streams, and other media), it's safe to assume that the 1 billion views on the official video is close to accurate.
Rick Rolling has been a persistent part of the internet since before YouTube was a household name. Rick Rolling probably began in either 2006 or 2007, as an evolution of Duck Rolling (which was the same bait and switch concept but with a picture of a duck on truck wheels), and hit real mainstream stride in 2008 and 2009. It's hard to believe that anyone using the internet in that time frame hadn't seen Rick Astley's handsome mug at least once. Since then, Rick Rolling has stood the test of time and it's still not uncommon for someone to click a link thinking they're getting breaking content or top tier memes, only to be greeted with that all too familiar drum beat followed by synthesizers and Rick Astley's deep tones.
Wednesday, the 28th of July, 2021, will go down in history as a major milestone where Rick Rolling officially entered the exclusive club of videos on YouTube that have reached 1 Billion views. 34 years after the song's original release, 14-15 years after the inception of the meme, and almost 12 years after its official upload to YouTube, Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' has earned a place in history.
Rick Astley really is never gonna say goodbye.
While not every view on the video was a Rick Roll, a large number of them were. Combined with the countless other unofficial videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites that have millions of views, Rick Rolls using only an image, fan art, and the fact that many large scale Rick Rolls have been achieved with a single view count (the stadium Rick Roll comes to mind, along with Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, YouTube April fools, live streams, and other media), it's safe to assume that the 1 billion views on the official video is close to accurate.
Rick Rolling has been a persistent part of the internet since before YouTube was a household name. Rick Rolling probably began in either 2006 or 2007, as an evolution of Duck Rolling (which was the same bait and switch concept but with a picture of a duck on truck wheels), and hit real mainstream stride in 2008 and 2009. It's hard to believe that anyone using the internet in that time frame hadn't seen Rick Astley's handsome mug at least once. Since then, Rick Rolling has stood the test of time and it's still not uncommon for someone to click a link thinking they're getting breaking content or top tier memes, only to be greeted with that all too familiar drum beat followed by synthesizers and Rick Astley's deep tones.
Wednesday, the 28th of July, 2021, will go down in history as a major milestone where Rick Rolling officially entered the exclusive club of videos on YouTube that have reached 1 Billion views. 34 years after the song's original release, 14-15 years after the inception of the meme, and almost 12 years after its official upload to YouTube, Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' has earned a place in history.
Rick Astley really is never gonna say goodbye.
