Rickrolling: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Internet meme}}

{{Redirect-distinguish|Rick Roll|Richard Roll}}

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}

[[File:RickRoll.png|thumb|250px|A still frame from the music video of the song "[[Never Gonna Give You Up]]" by Rick Astley on [[YouTube]], taken in 2008.]]'''Rickrolling''' or a '''Rickroll''', is an [[internet meme]] involving the unexpected appearance of the [[music video]] for the 1987 song "[[Never Gonna Give You Up]]", performed by the English singer [[Rick Astley]]. The video has over 1 billion views on [[YouTube]]. The meme is a type of [[bait and switch]], usually using a disguised [[hyperlink]] that leads to the music video. When victims click on a seemingly unrelated link, the site with the music video loads instead of what was expected, and they have been "Rickrolled". The meme has also extended to using the song's lyrics, or singing it, in unexpected contexts. Rick Astley has also been Rickrolled on several occasions.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="time_NewI" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=New Internet Legend Manages to Rick Roll Rick Astley|url=https://time.com/5855001/rick-roll-rick-astley/|access-date=11 January 2021|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kooser|first=Amanda|title=Rick Astley had a relatable first reaction to Rickrolling|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/rick-astley-had-a-relatable-first-reaction-to-rickrolling/|access-date=5 March 2021|website=CNET|language=en}}</ref>

 

 

Rick Astley, who had only returned to performing after a 10-year hiatus, was initially hesitant about using his newfound popularity from the meme to further his career but accepted the fame by Rickrolling the 2008 [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]] with a surprise performance of the song. Since then, Rick Astley has seen his performance career revitalized by the meme's popularity.

 

==History==

Astley himself has been rickrolled a few times; in fact, the first time he was rickrolled actually pre-dated the viral phenomenon. In an interview with [[Larry King]], Astley stated that the first time he fell for the prank was through an email his friend sent him during the early 2000s.<ref name=":0">{{cite video | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0HVnaIRrFo| title = Has Rick Astley ever been "Rick-rolled"? | date = 25 January 2017 | work = [[Larry King Now]] | via = [[YouTube]] | access-date = 29 September 2020 }}</ref> On a [[Reddit]] post in June 2020, a user, u/theMalleableDuck, claimed to have met Astley backstage when they were 12 years old, but the user posted a link to the song instead of a picture verifying the encounter. Astley later confirmed he had been tricked into clicking the link.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/internet-legend-manages-rick-roll-143025415.html|title=New Internet Legend Manages to Rick Roll Rick Astley|access-date=18 June 2020|archive-date=21 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621105834/https://news.yahoo.com/internet-legend-manages-rick-roll-143025415.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="time_NewI">{{Cite magazine |title=New Internet Legend Manages to Rick Roll Rick Astley |author=Melissa Locker |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=18 June 2020 |quote=The trick was so seamlessly perfect that Astley had no choice but to applaud it by posting a clap emoji, and then called out the clever user in his sign off post, saying, "u/theMalleableDuck I salute you!" |access-date=19 June 2020 |url=https://time.com/5855001/rick-roll-rick-astley/ |archive-date=18 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618192603/https://time.com/5855001/rick-roll-rick-astley/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The submission became the most upvoted post of 2020 on Reddit.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marcin |first1=Tim |title=Rick Astley getting rickrolled was Reddit's most upvoted post in 2020 |url=https://mashable.com/article/reddit-rick-astley-rickrolled-top-post/ |access-date=14 February 2022 |publisher=Mashable |date=8 December 2020}}</ref>

 

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*[[List of Internet phenomena]]