Rickrolling: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
←Replaced content with 'You've been rickrolled.'
m Undid revision 211922583 by 204.185.24.253 (talk) rvv
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:RickRoll.png|thumb|Screenshot of a Rick Roll video window on [[YouTube]].|200px]]
You've been rickrolled.
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rick Roll}}
'''Rickrolling''' is a [[prank]] and [[Internet meme]] involving the [[music video]] for the 1987 [[Rick Astley]] song "[[Never Gonna Give You Up]]" written and produced by [[Mike Stock]], [[Matt Aitken]], and [[Pete Waterman]] known as [[Stock Aitken Waterman]]. The meme is a classic [[bait and switch]]: a person provides a link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video. The URL can be masked or obfuscated in some manner so that the user cannot determine the true source of the link without clicking (and thus satisfying their curiosity). By extension, it can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.<ref name="nussenbaum"/> A person who falls for the prank is said to have been '''"Rickrolled"'''.

The practice began as a variant of an earlier prank originating from the [[imageboard]] [[4chan]] called ''duckrolling'',<ref name="hoaxonwheels">{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352010,00.html |title=The Biggest Little Internet Hoax on Wheels Hits Mainstream |accessdate=2008-04-22 |format= |work= }}</ref> in which a link to a popular celebrity or news item would instead lead to a [[photo manipulation#Photoshopping|photoshopped]] picture of a duck with wheels. The first instance occurred on the site, where a link to the Rick Astley video was claimed to be a mirror of the first trailer for ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' (which was unavailable due to heavy traffic). <ref name="latimes"/><ref name="nussenbaum"/>

By May 2007,<ref name="Date">{{cite web |url=http://www.google.com/trends?q=rick+astley%2C+rickroll%2C+rick+roll%2C+never+gonna+give+you+up&ctab=0&geo=all&date=ytd&sort=0|title=Rick Roll related Google Trends|publisher=[[Google]]|work=[[Google Trends]]|accessdate=2008-04-03|language=English}}</ref> the practice had become widespread, and it eventually began to garner some coverage in the mainstream media.<ref name="You've been tRicked">{{cite news | last =Williams | first =Andy | title =You've been tRicked | work =Wigan Today | publisher =Johnston Press Digital Publishing | date =2007-06-16 | url =http://www.wigantoday.net/the-goss/You39ve-been-tRicked.2959023.jp | accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref><ref name="takingtherick" /><ref name="nussenbaum" /> An April 2008 poll by [[SurveyUSA]] estimated that at least 18 million American adults have been rickrolled.<ref name="SurveyUSA">{{cite news | work=SurveyUSA | date=2008-04-09 | title=You Wouldn’t Get This From Any Other Pollster | url=http://www.surveyusa.com/index.php/2008/04/09/you-wouldnt-get-this-from-any-other-pollster/ | accessdate = 2008-04-10 }}</ref> Partly fueled by the Rickroll phenomenon, Astley's former record company [[RCA Records]] is now planning to release a Greatest Hits album.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/03/rick-astley-kin.html|title=Web Scout exclusive! Rick Astley, king of the 'Rickroll,' talks about his song's second coming|work=Web Scout|publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]]|last = Sarno | first = David| date = 2008-03-25}}</ref>

== Rickrolling in popular culture==
=== Scientology protests ===
[[Image:Anonymousexposed rickroll.JPG|thumb|"[[Never Gonna Give You Up]]" has been used as a theme in the protests against [[Scientology]]. <ref name="takingtherick" />|{{ifdc|1=Image:Anonymousexposed rickroll.JPG|log=2008 May 8}}]]
In connection with the online meme, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played and performed at some of the [[Project Chanology]] February 2008 protests against the [[Church of Scientology]].<ref>{{cite news | last =Saunders | first =Terri | title =A real song and dance at church: Entertaining protest fails to amuse Ottawa Scientologists | work =[[Ottawa Sun]] | publisher =[[Sun Media]] | date =2008-02-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Kendrick | first =Mike | title = Cultura Obscura: Rickrolling | work =The Gateway | publisher =[[University of Alberta]] | date =2008-03-13 | url =http://www.thegatewayonline.ca/cultura-obscura-rickrolling-20080313-2317.html | accessdate = 2008-03-20}}</ref> At [[February 10]], [[2008]] protests in [[New York City]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[London]], and [[Seattle]], protesters played the song through boomboxes and shouted the phrase ''"Never gonna let you down!"'', in what ''[[The Guardian]]'' called "a live rick-rolling of the Church of Scientology".<ref name="takingtherick">{{cite news | last =Michaels | first =Sean | title =Taking the Rick: Twenty years after "Never Gonna Give You Up", Rick Astley became an internet phenomenon - and an unlikely weapon against Scientology | work =[[The Guardian]] | publisher =Guardian News and Media Limited | date =2008-03-19 | url =http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2266526,00.html | accessdate = 2008-03-20}}</ref> LA resident Daniel Lichtblau is widely held to be the instigator behind the Rickrolling phenomenon and is likely to have introduced Project Chanology to its latent potential. Lichtblau, by varying online accounts, treated his inner circle to surprise Rickrollings as early as September 2006, close to the inception of Youtube.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115689298168048904-5wWyrSwyn6RfVfz9NwLk774VUWc_20070829.html</ref> Project Chanology certainly made the most of their newfound vehicle. In response to a website created by Scientologists showing an anti-[[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] video, Project Chanology participants created a website with a similar domain name with a video displaying the music video to "Never Gonna Give You Up", <ref name="takingtherick" />
[[Image:Bball rickroll collage.JPG|left|thumb|According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', four women's basketball games at [[Eastern Washington University]] were rickrolled in March 2008, <ref name="nussenbaum" /><ref>{{cite news | last =Rose | first =Adam | title =College Basketball Game Rick Roll'd | work =LAist | publisher =[[Gothamist]] LLC | date =2008-03-19 | url =http://laist.com/2008/03/19/college_basketb.php | accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref> in the first photo, Davin Perry, dressed as the singer Rick Astley, performed before a basketball game.
]]

=== EWU basketball games ===
According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', four women's basketball games at [[Eastern Washington University]] (EWU) were rickrolled during March 2008. Before the start of the games, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played while a Rick Astley impersonator danced and [[lip sync|lip-synched]] to the music. A video containing footage of the pre-game rickrollings, misleadingly combined with previously-recorded game footage, was later released on YouTube.<ref name="nussenbaum">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/business/media/24rick.html|title=The ’80s Video That Pops Up, Online and Off|first=Evelyn|last=Nussenbaum|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|date=2008-03-24}}</ref><ref name="EWUstudentprankstheNewYorkTimes">{{cite news | last =Staff| title =EWU student pranks the New York Times| work =KHQ Right Now| publisher =WorldNow and KHQ| date =2008-03-27| url =http://www.khq.com/global/Story.asp?s=8063968| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref> It even apparently showed a fan with a "$cientology Kill$" sign and the EWU mascot, Swoop, holding a "Xenu.net" sign, both references to the aforementioned Anonymous protests.

On [[March 27]], [[2008]] ''The New York Times'' issued a correction stating that the EWU women's basketball games had not actually been interrupted, and that the newspaper was hoaxed by Pawl Fisher, a student; Davin Perry, who shoots game videos for the university; and Dave Cook, the university's sports information director.<ref name="nussenbaum" /><ref name="EWUstudentprankstheNewYorkTimes" /><ref>{{cite news|title=New York Times owns up to EWU student prank|publisher=KHQ Right Now|date=2008-04-01|url=http://www.khq.com/global/story.asp?s=8079367|accessdate=2008-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=New York Times Gets Rick Roll'd|publisher=[[G4TV]]|date=2008-04-01|url=http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/684031/New_York_Times_Gets_Rick_Rolld.html|accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=College Basketball Game Gets Rick Roll'd|publisher=PAWL TV|date=2008-04-01|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeuEMeg8eQE|accessdate=2008-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=New York Times Gets Pwnd by Fake 'Rickroll' Video|publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=2008-04-01|url=http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/new-york-times.html|accessdate=2008-04-01}}</ref>

=== New York Mets ===
On [[April 4]], [[2008]] many web communities, originating with [[Fark.com]],<ref>{{cite web | last = Cerrone | first = Matthew | title = Note: Mets about to be Rickrolled | url=http://www.metsblog.com/2008/04/04/note-mets-about-to-be-rickrolled/ |date=2008-04-04| accessdate = 2008-04-15}}</ref> urged their readers to vote "Never Gonna Give You Up" for the 8th inning sing-along at [[Shea Stadium]] for the [[New York Mets]] season. The Mets posted a web poll to select a song, and left a blank field for write-ins.

On [[April 7]], [[2008]] the Mets organization announced "Never Gonna Give You Up" as the winner with more than 5 million votes.<ref>{{cite web | last = Cerrone | first = Matthew | title = News: Rick Astely Wins, For One Day | url=http://www.metsblog.com/2008/04/07/news-rick-astely-wins-for-one-day/ |date=2008-04-07 | accessdate = 2008-04-15}}</ref> The Mets subsequently announced a run off between six songs will be played at Shea Stadium for the next six games starting with "Never Gonna Give You Up" on [[April 8]] [[2008]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Rubin | first = Adam | title = Runoff to determine Mets' new 8th inning song | publisher=[[NY Daily News]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2008/04/runoff-to-determine-mets-new-8.html |date=2008-04-08 | accessdate = 2008-04-15}}</ref>

On [[April 11]], [[2008]], [[MLB.com]] reported on the game claiming "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played as a "result of fans rigging the vote in favor of Astley, all part of a universal Internet phenomenon known as Rick Rolling." The song was played during the home opener and greeted with "a shower of boos."<ref>{{cite web | last = DiComo | first = Anthony | title =Controversy surrounds song choice: Initial online voting was rigged by fans to pick Rick Astley tune | publisher=[[MLB.com]] | url=http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080411&content_id=2515703&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym |date=2008-04-11 | accessdate = 2008-04-15}}</ref>

===Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins===
The Saturday, [[April 12]] [[Cincinnati Reds]] at [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] [[Major League Baseball]] game at [[PNC Park]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] was Rickrolled when four fans performed a cover of "[[Never Gonna Give You Up]]" in a team-sponsored ''[[American Idol]]'' competition which was shown on the Jumbotron between innings to an estimated 12,000 fans.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}

Additionally, a radio Rickroll occurred on [[April 9]] [[2008]], when during the post-game radio show of the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] Radio Network, a caller played the sound clip to thousands of listeners across the [[Pittsburgh]] area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eddyspaghetti.com/?p=123|title = Penguins Hotline Rick Rolled|publisher=Eddie Spaghetti Blog|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref><br style="clear:both">

=== April Fools' Day, 2008 ===
<!-- Yes, this is an internet meme, but this is not the location to list every single instance of rickrolling that occurred on the internet on April Fools Day 2008. Examples should be sourced to reliable third party sources.-->
On [[April 1, 2008]] ([[April Fools' Day]]) and the following weeks, numerous seemingly uncoordinated instances of rickrolling appeared on the internet, and [[news media]]. The featured videos on [[YouTube]]'s front page [[hyperlink]]ed to the Rickroll. The prank began with international YouTube portals before appearing on the main site.<ref>{{cite news | last =Arrington| first =Michael| authorlink=Michael Arrington|title =YouTube RickRolls Users| publisher =[[TechCrunch]]| date =2008-03-31| url =http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/31/youtube-rickrolls-users/| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref>

Social blog website [[LiveJournal]] announced on the same day that they would be adding a new member to their Advisory Board, linking members to the journal "rickastley", which contains a Rickroll.<ref>{{cite news | last =Feldblum | first =Eli | title =Risk Astley and More April Fools Day Goodness | work =Search Engine Watch | publisher =Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC | date =2008-04-01 | url =http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080401-053602 | accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref>

The website [[Fark]] featured a link to a video claiming to be a blooper reel for the [[Muppets]] but instead linked to a video of [[Beaker (Muppet)|Beaker]] performing Rick Astley's song (to a video of him originally performing "[[Feelings (song)|Feelings]]" on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3507883|title=Hilarious Muppets Blooper reel|publisher=[[Fark]]|date=2008-04-01|accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> Other social bookmarking sites such as [[Digg]]<ref>[http://digg.com/comedy/Lost_Muppets_Bloopers Lost Muppets Bloopers - Digg]</ref> and [[Reddit]]<ref>[http://reddit.com/info/6e88u/comments/ Were you a Muppets fan? - Reddit]</ref> subsequently joined in linking the video.

The online web store [[Think Geek]] advertised on their front page a [[Betamax]] to [[HD DVD]] converter device. In the product page a demonstration video was linked which was, in actuality, a rickroll.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/betamaxhd.html|title=Think Geek Betamax to HD-DVD Converter|publisher=[[Think Geek]]|date=2008-04-06|accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref>

=== Radio and television ===
During the season 5 finale episode of [[Family Guy]] entitled [[Meet the Quagmires]], which aired on [[May 20]], [[2007]], a segment aired parodying the dance scene from [[Back to the Future]]. [[Brian Griffin|Brian]] first performs [[Johnny B. Goode]], an homage to Marty McFly's character doing the same, and proceeds to rickroll the party-goers (and the audience) after an encore request. The scene even features a phone call to "Rick" from his cousin "Marvin Astley", telling him to listen to the new sound Brian was 'creating'.

The first actual television occurrence{{Fact|date=May 2008}} of Rickroll occurred on [[June 21]], [[2007]] on the late-night talk show ''[[Last Call with Carson Daly]]''. Carson claimed that he was going to show "a video of [[Paris Hilton]] and [[Busta Rhymes]] making out" that he found on the Internet. Instead, a clip from of the music video was played, and declared the audience to have been Rickrolled.<ref>''[[Last Call with Carson Daly]]''. NBC. [[2007-06-21]].</ref>

Some radio stations, including Washington, DC's [[WIHT]]{{Fact|date=April 2008}} and Cincinnati's [[WKFS]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kiss107.com/pages/rickroll.html|title= Rick Roll'd|publisher=[[WKFS|Kiss 107]]|accessdate=2008-04-17}}</ref> got in on the rickroll phenomenon by inserting the song or clips on radio stations that ordinarily would not play the song. This is not limited to the United States however; the song has been the target of night-time request shows in [[Edmonton, Alberta|Edmonton]], [[Alberta]] on the "Joe" radio station.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} As a parody of the phenomenon, on [[April 13]] [[2008]], [[Jon Holmes]] from [[BBC]] [[6 music]] ''rickrolled the news'', by playing the clip instead of the hourly news.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}

During the [[April 4]], [[2008]] episode of [[E!]]'s ''[[The Soup]]'', an introduction to a clip from the season finale of ''[[LA Ink]]'' led instead into a rickroll.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Soup |episodelink=The Soup |credits=[[Joel McHale]] (Host) |network=[[E! Entertainment Television]] |airdate=2008-04-04 |minutes= }}</ref>

=== xkcd ===
[[Image:Trolling.png|thumb|''Trolling'' on [[xkcd]].]]
The [[webcomic]] ''[[xkcd]]'' has featured at least three references to the practice. In comic 351, "Trolling", two men are seen outside Astley's house, tapping into his cable line to be the first to successfully rickroll the artist himself.<ref name="comic351">{{cite web|title=Trolling (#87)|work=[[xkcd]]|last=Munroe|first=Randall|authorlink=Randall Munroe|url=http://xkcd.com/351/|accessdate=2008-04-02}}</ref> Additionally, on [[February 27]], [[2008]], in comic 389, "Keeping Time", a musical score is seen at the top of the panel, to evoke music being played in a store. The music, if played, turns out to be the opening bars of "Never Gonna Give You Up".<ref name="comic389">{{cite web|title=Keeping Time |work=[[xkcd]]|last=Munroe|first=Randall|authorlink=Randall Munroe|url=http://xkcd.com/389/|date=2008-02-27|accessdate=2008-04-02}}</ref><ref name="blag389">{{cite web|title=Keeping Time blag post|work=[[xkcd]]|last=Munroe|first=Randall|authorlink=Randall Munroe|url= http://blag.xkcd.com/2008/02/27/keeping-time/|date=2008-02-27|accessdate=2008-04-03}}</ref> Comic 396 references uploading ''[[The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring]]'''s [[The Cursed Videotape|fatal videotape]] to YouTube as an outlandish revenge for being rickrolled.<ref name="comic396">{{cite web|title=The Ring |work=[[xkcd]]|last=Munroe|first=Randall|authorlink=Randall Munroe|url=http://xkcd.com/396/|accessdate=2008-04-02}}</ref>

=== In websites ===
Some websites show the page and don't give permission to the user to close the window. After all the lyrics are displayed, the user can close the browser window. <ref>[http://blog.spywareguide.com/2007/09/how_to_rickroll_a_browser.html How to Rickroll a Browser] in SpyWare Guide</ref>

=== Other ===
A rickroll [[flash mob]] took place on [[11 April]] [[2008]] in London's Liverpool Street train station with an estimated 300-400 people in attendance.<ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title = Astley fans' rush hour 'flashmob' | work = | publisher =[[BBC News]] | date =2008-04-11 | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7343833.stm | accessdate = 2008-04-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Sanchez | first = Julian | title = The Dance, Dance Revolution will be televised after all | work = [[Ars Technica]] | publisher = Ars Technica, LLC | date =2008-04-14 | url =http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080414-the-dance-dance-revolution-will-be-televised.html | accessdate = 2008-04-15 }}</ref>

One website offers a rickroll-by-phone service, allowing visitors to enter a phone number to be called and have the song played to the answering party.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://media.www.crcconnection.com/media/storage/paper572/news/2008/04/17/Features/Clickworthy.Web.Sites-3329609.shtml | title=Clickworthy Web sites | work=The Connection | publisher=Cosumnes River College | date=[[2008-04-17]] | accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref> As of April 22, 2008, the service has been "[[dugg]]" over 4,000 times.<ref>http://digg.com/comedy/RickRoll_the_phones_this_April_Fool_s</ref>
<!-- Temporarily commented out, unit further details can be added. -->
<!--
On [[April 19]], [[2008]], the [[LSJUMB|Stanford Marching Band]] rickrolled [[UC Davis]]'s [[Picnic Day (UC Davis)|Picnic Day]].{{cn}}
-->

==Rick Astley's reaction==
In a March 2008 interview, Astley said that he found the rickrolling of Scientology to be "hilarious"; he also said that he will not try to capitalize on the rickroll phenomenon with a new recording or [[remix]] of his own, but that he'd be happy to have other artists remix it. Overall, Astley is fine with the phenomenon, although he finds it a little "bizarre" and only hopes that his daughter receives no embarrassment over it.<ref name="latimes"/> However, when a spokesperson for Astley's record label was asked for comment they stated "I'm sorry, but he's done talking about rickrolling."
<ref>{{cite news
| last =
| first =
| title =The Biggest Little Internet Hoax on Wheels Hits Mainstream
| work =Fox News
| publisher =[[FOX News Network]], LLC.
| date =2008-04-22
| url =http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352010,00.html
| accessdate =2008-05-01 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Internet phenomena]]
*[[Meme]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite news
| last =Hasty
| first =Katie
| title ='80s singer Rick Astley latest Web phenomenon
| work =[[Reuters]]
| date =2008-04-05
| url =http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0421297720080405
| accessdate = 2008-04-05 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Horowitz
| first =Etan
| title =Friday Picks: Wired on the gadget blog wars, Rick Astley on the 'Rickroll," church sign about Google
| work =OrlandoSentinel.com
| publisher =[[Orlando Sentinel]]
| date =2008-03-28
| url =http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/etan_on_tech/2008/03/friday-picks-wi.html
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last = Savage
| first = Marg
| title = Rickrolling and the league of web fame
| work = BBC News
| publisher =[[BBC News]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7325280.stm
| accessdate = 2008-04-22 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Ingram
| first =Matthew
| title =Rick Astley, born again via YouTube
| work =[[The Globe and Mail]]
| publisher =CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.
| date =2008-03-31
| url =http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080331.WBmingram20080331120049/WBStory/WBmingram
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Johnson
| first =Steve
| title =On the first day of April: Another Google prank and Rick, rolling along
| work =Hypertext - The wide world of the web
| publisher =[[Chicago Tribune]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/technology_internetcritic/2008/04/on-the-first--1.html
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Leahy
| first =Brian
| title =New York Times Gets Rick Roll'd
| work =The Feed: The Only News You Need To Know
| publisher =[[G4 TV]]
| date =2008-03-28
| url =http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/684031/New_York_Times_Gets_Rick_Rolld.html
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =McCarthy
| first =Caroline
| title ='Rickrolled basketball game' video is '80s pop fiction
| work =[[CNET News]]
| publisher =CNET Networks, Inc.
| date =2008-03-26
| url =http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9903727-36.html
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Newborn
| first =Andrew
| title = Dumb Internet memes are teh suck
| work =The Gateway
| publisher =[[University of Alberta]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://www.thegatewayonline.ca/dumb-internet-memes-are-teh-suck-20080401-2464.html
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last = Oliver
| first = Chantelle
| title = The Academic Rickroll
| work = Walrus Magazine
| date = 2008-03-31
| url = http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/03/31/the-academic-rickroll/
| accessdate = 2008-04-01}}
*{{cite news
| last =Pegoraro
| first =Rob
| title =April Foolin'
| work =Faster Forward
| publisher =[[The Washington Post]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2008/04/april_foolin.html
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Reynolds
| first =Simon
| title = Astley calls 'Rickrolling' craze 'brilliant'
| work =Digital Spy
| publisher =Digital Spy Limited
| date =2008-03-28
| url =http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a92482/astley-calls-rickrolling-craze-brilliant.html
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Savage
| first =Mark
| title = Rickrolling and the league of web fame: An estimated 13 million internet users have been tricked into watching the video for Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up in the last couple of weeks.
| work =[[BBC News]]
| publisher =[[BBC]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7325280.stm
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Sleiman
| first =Jad
| coauthors =Ben Penn
| title =Prank gives song new life
| work =Diamondback Online
| publisher =[[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]
| date =2008-04-01
| url =http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/04/01/News/Prank.Gives.Song.New.Life-3294657.shtml
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Staff
| title =Astley prank storms web: A new internet craze known as 'rickrolling' has thrust Newton-le-Willows' 1980s pop star Rick Astley back into the spotlight
| work =[[BBC News]]
| publisher =[[BBC]]
| date =
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7323500/7323544.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm&news=1&ms3=6&ms_javascript=false&bbcws=2
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Staff
| title =Rick Astley 'Rick Roll' video prank becomes web phenomenon
| work =MSN Money UK
| publisher =[[MSN]]
| date =2008-03-28
| url =http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/music/news/nme/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7914346
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Sternberg
| first =Andy
| title =Rick Astley Calls Rickroll 'Hilarious,' 'Bizarre'; Plans Arena Tour, But Can He Still Dance?
| work =LAist
| publisher =[[Gothamist]] LLC
| date =2008-03-25
| url =http://laist.com/2008/03/25/rick_astley_cal.php
| accessdate =2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Van Buskirk
| first =Eliot
| title =Rick Astley Addresses the Rickroll Phenomenon
| work =[[Wired News]]
| publisher =[[CondéNet, Inc.]]
| date =2008-03-26
| url =http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/03/rick-astley-add.html
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Wells
| first =Steven
| title =Opening Riff
| work =Philadelphia Weekly
| publisher =
| date =2008-04-09
| url =http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/16809/music--opening-riff
| accessdate = 2008-04-10 }}
*{{cite news
| last =Tossell
| first =Ivor
| title =They're never gonna give you up, Rick
| work =The Globe and Mail
| publisher =
| date =2008-04-17
| url =http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080417.wgtwebeven0417/BNStory/Technology/home
| accessdate = 2008-04-18 }}
*{{cite news
| last =
| first =
| title =The Biggest Little Internet Hoax on Wheels Hits Mainstream
| work =[[Fox News]]
| publisher =
| date =2008-04-22
| url =http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352010,00.html
| accessdate = 2008-04-22 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/user/YTRickRollsYou YTRickRollsYou], channel of a 2008 [[April Fools' Day]] prank by [[YouTube]]
*[http://rickrolldb.com/ Rickroll Database]
*[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/03/rick-astley-kin.html Official comment of Rick on the Rickroll]

{{Rick Astley}}

[[Category:Internet memes]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[Category:Practical jokes]]
[[Category:Internet trolling]]
[[Category:Rick Astley]]

[[cs:Rickroll]]
[[de:Rick Astley#Internetph.C3.A4nomen_.E2.80.9ERickrolling.E2.80.9C]]
[[fr:Rickroll]]
[[nl:Rickroll]]
[[no:Rickroll]]

Revision as of 18:29, 12 May 2008

Screenshot of a Rick Roll video window on YouTube.

Rickrolling is a prank and Internet meme involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up" written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman. The meme is a classic bait and switch: a person provides a link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video. The URL can be masked or obfuscated in some manner so that the user cannot determine the true source of the link without clicking (and thus satisfying their curiosity). By extension, it can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.[1] A person who falls for the prank is said to have been "Rickrolled".

The practice began as a variant of an earlier prank originating from the imageboard 4chan called duckrolling,[2] in which a link to a popular celebrity or news item would instead lead to a photoshopped picture of a duck with wheels. The first instance occurred on the site, where a link to the Rick Astley video was claimed to be a mirror of the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV (which was unavailable due to heavy traffic). [3][1]

By May 2007,[4] the practice had become widespread, and it eventually began to garner some coverage in the mainstream media.[5][6][1] An April 2008 poll by SurveyUSA estimated that at least 18 million American adults have been rickrolled.[7] Partly fueled by the Rickroll phenomenon, Astley's former record company RCA Records is now planning to release a Greatest Hits album.[3]

Rickrolling in popular culture

Scientology protests

File:Anonymousexposed rickroll.JPG

The above file's purpose is being discussed and/or is being considered for deletion. See files for discussion to help reach a consensus on what to do.

In connection with the online meme, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played and performed at some of the Project Chanology February 2008 protests against the Church of Scientology.[8][9] At February 10, 2008 protests in New York City, Washington, D.C., London, and Seattle, protesters played the song through boomboxes and shouted the phrase "Never gonna let you down!", in what The Guardian called "a live rick-rolling of the Church of Scientology".[6] LA resident Daniel Lichtblau is widely held to be the instigator behind the Rickrolling phenomenon and is likely to have introduced Project Chanology to its latent potential. Lichtblau, by varying online accounts, treated his inner circle to surprise Rickrollings as early as September 2006, close to the inception of Youtube.[10] Project Chanology certainly made the most of their newfound vehicle. In response to a website created by Scientologists showing an anti-Anonymous video, Project Chanology participants created a website with a similar domain name with a video displaying the music video to "Never Gonna Give You Up", [6]

According to The New York Times, four women's basketball games at Eastern Washington University were rickrolled in March 2008, [1][11] in the first photo, Davin Perry, dressed as the singer Rick Astley, performed before a basketball game.

EWU basketball games

According to The New York Times, four women's basketball games at Eastern Washington University (EWU) were rickrolled during March 2008. Before the start of the games, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played while a Rick Astley impersonator danced and lip-synched to the music. A video containing footage of the pre-game rickrollings, misleadingly combined with previously-recorded game footage, was later released on YouTube.[1][12] It even apparently showed a fan with a "$cientology Kill$" sign and the EWU mascot, Swoop, holding a "Xenu.net" sign, both references to the aforementioned Anonymous protests.

On March 27, 2008 The New York Times issued a correction stating that the EWU women's basketball games had not actually been interrupted, and that the newspaper was hoaxed by Pawl Fisher, a student; Davin Perry, who shoots game videos for the university; and Dave Cook, the university's sports information director.[1][12][13][14][15][16]

New York Mets

On April 4, 2008 many web communities, originating with Fark.com,[17] urged their readers to vote "Never Gonna Give You Up" for the 8th inning sing-along at Shea Stadium for the New York Mets season. The Mets posted a web poll to select a song, and left a blank field for write-ins.

On April 7, 2008 the Mets organization announced "Never Gonna Give You Up" as the winner with more than 5 million votes.[18] The Mets subsequently announced a run off between six songs will be played at Shea Stadium for the next six games starting with "Never Gonna Give You Up" on April 8 2008.[19]

On April 11, 2008, MLB.com reported on the game claiming "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played as a "result of fans rigging the vote in favor of Astley, all part of a universal Internet phenomenon known as Rick Rolling." The song was played during the home opener and greeted with "a shower of boos."[20]

Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins

The Saturday, April 12 Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was Rickrolled when four fans performed a cover of "Never Gonna Give You Up" in a team-sponsored American Idol competition which was shown on the Jumbotron between innings to an estimated 12,000 fans.[citation needed]

Additionally, a radio Rickroll occurred on April 9 2008, when during the post-game radio show of the Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network, a caller played the sound clip to thousands of listeners across the Pittsburgh area.[21]

April Fools' Day, 2008

On April 1, 2008 (April Fools' Day) and the following weeks, numerous seemingly uncoordinated instances of rickrolling appeared on the internet, and news media. The featured videos on YouTube's front page hyperlinked to the Rickroll. The prank began with international YouTube portals before appearing on the main site.[22]

Social blog website LiveJournal announced on the same day that they would be adding a new member to their Advisory Board, linking members to the journal "rickastley", which contains a Rickroll.[23]

The website Fark featured a link to a video claiming to be a blooper reel for the Muppets but instead linked to a video of Beaker performing Rick Astley's song (to a video of him originally performing "Feelings" on The Muppet Show).[24] Other social bookmarking sites such as Digg[25] and Reddit[26] subsequently joined in linking the video.

The online web store Think Geek advertised on their front page a Betamax to HD DVD converter device. In the product page a demonstration video was linked which was, in actuality, a rickroll.[27]

Radio and television

During the season 5 finale episode of Family Guy entitled Meet the Quagmires, which aired on May 20, 2007, a segment aired parodying the dance scene from Back to the Future. Brian first performs Johnny B. Goode, an homage to Marty McFly's character doing the same, and proceeds to rickroll the party-goers (and the audience) after an encore request. The scene even features a phone call to "Rick" from his cousin "Marvin Astley", telling him to listen to the new sound Brian was 'creating'.

The first actual television occurrence[citation needed] of Rickroll occurred on June 21, 2007 on the late-night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly. Carson claimed that he was going to show "a video of Paris Hilton and Busta Rhymes making out" that he found on the Internet. Instead, a clip from of the music video was played, and declared the audience to have been Rickrolled.[28]

Some radio stations, including Washington, DC's WIHT[citation needed] and Cincinnati's WKFS[29] got in on the rickroll phenomenon by inserting the song or clips on radio stations that ordinarily would not play the song. This is not limited to the United States however; the song has been the target of night-time request shows in Edmonton, Alberta on the "Joe" radio station.[citation needed] As a parody of the phenomenon, on April 13 2008, Jon Holmes from BBC 6 music rickrolled the news, by playing the clip instead of the hourly news.[citation needed]

During the April 4, 2008 episode of E!'s The Soup, an introduction to a clip from the season finale of LA Ink led instead into a rickroll.[30]

xkcd

Trolling on xkcd.

The webcomic xkcd has featured at least three references to the practice. In comic 351, "Trolling", two men are seen outside Astley's house, tapping into his cable line to be the first to successfully rickroll the artist himself.[31] Additionally, on February 27, 2008, in comic 389, "Keeping Time", a musical score is seen at the top of the panel, to evoke music being played in a store. The music, if played, turns out to be the opening bars of "Never Gonna Give You Up".[32][33] Comic 396 references uploading The Ring's fatal videotape to YouTube as an outlandish revenge for being rickrolled.[34]

In websites

Some websites show the page and don't give permission to the user to close the window. After all the lyrics are displayed, the user can close the browser window. [35]

Other

A rickroll flash mob took place on 11 April 2008 in London's Liverpool Street train station with an estimated 300-400 people in attendance.[36][37]

One website offers a rickroll-by-phone service, allowing visitors to enter a phone number to be called and have the song played to the answering party.[38] As of April 22, 2008, the service has been "dugg" over 4,000 times.[39]

Rick Astley's reaction

In a March 2008 interview, Astley said that he found the rickrolling of Scientology to be "hilarious"; he also said that he will not try to capitalize on the rickroll phenomenon with a new recording or remix of his own, but that he'd be happy to have other artists remix it. Overall, Astley is fine with the phenomenon, although he finds it a little "bizarre" and only hopes that his daughter receives no embarrassment over it.[3] However, when a spokesperson for Astley's record label was asked for comment they stated "I'm sorry, but he's done talking about rickrolling." [40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Nussenbaum, Evelyn (2008-03-24). "The '80s Video That Pops Up, Online and Off". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  2. ^ "The Biggest Little Internet Hoax on Wheels Hits Mainstream". Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  3. ^ a b c Sarno, David (2008-03-25). "Web Scout exclusive! Rick Astley, king of the 'Rickroll,' talks about his song's second coming". Web Scout. Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Rick Roll related Google Trends". Google Trends. Google. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  5. ^ Williams, Andy (2007-06-16). "You've been tRicked". Wigan Today. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  6. ^ a b c d Michaels, Sean (2008-03-19). "Taking the Rick: Twenty years after "Never Gonna Give You Up", Rick Astley became an internet phenomenon - and an unlikely weapon against Scientology". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  7. ^ "You Wouldn't Get This From Any Other Pollster". SurveyUSA. 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  8. ^ Saunders, Terri (2008-02-11). "A real song and dance at church: Entertaining protest fails to amuse Ottawa Scientologists". Ottawa Sun. Sun Media.
  9. ^ Kendrick, Mike (2008-03-13). "Cultura Obscura: Rickrolling". The Gateway. University of Alberta. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  10. ^ http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115689298168048904-5wWyrSwyn6RfVfz9NwLk774VUWc_20070829.html
  11. ^ Rose, Adam (2008-03-19). "College Basketball Game Rick Roll'd". LAist. Gothamist LLC. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  12. ^ a b Staff (2008-03-27). "EWU student pranks the New York Times". KHQ Right Now. WorldNow and KHQ. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  13. ^ "New York Times owns up to EWU student prank". KHQ Right Now. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  14. ^ "New York Times Gets Rick Roll'd". G4TV. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  15. ^ "College Basketball Game Gets Rick Roll'd". PAWL TV. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  16. ^ "New York Times Gets Pwnd by Fake 'Rickroll' Video". Wired. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  17. ^ Cerrone, Matthew (2008-04-04). "Note: Mets about to be Rickrolled". Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  18. ^ Cerrone, Matthew (2008-04-07). "News: Rick Astely Wins, For One Day". Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  19. ^ Rubin, Adam (2008-04-08). "Runoff to determine Mets' new 8th inning song". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  20. ^ DiComo, Anthony (2008-04-11). "Controversy surrounds song choice: Initial online voting was rigged by fans to pick Rick Astley tune". MLB.com. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  21. ^ "Penguins Hotline Rick Rolled". Eddie Spaghetti Blog. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  22. ^ Arrington, Michael (2008-03-31). "YouTube RickRolls Users". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  23. ^ Feldblum, Eli (2008-04-01). "Risk Astley and More April Fools Day Goodness". Search Engine Watch. Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  24. ^ "Hilarious Muppets Blooper reel". Fark. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  25. ^ Lost Muppets Bloopers - Digg
  26. ^ Were you a Muppets fan? - Reddit
  27. ^ "Think Geek Betamax to HD-DVD Converter". Think Geek. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  28. ^ Last Call with Carson Daly. NBC. 2007-06-21.
  29. ^ "Rick Roll'd". Kiss 107. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  30. ^ Joel McHale (Host) (2008-04-04). "The Soup". E! Entertainment Television. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Munroe, Randall. "Trolling (#87)". xkcd. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  32. ^ Munroe, Randall (2008-02-27). "Keeping Time". xkcd. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  33. ^ Munroe, Randall (2008-02-27). "Keeping Time blag post". xkcd. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  34. ^ Munroe, Randall. "The Ring". xkcd. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  35. ^ How to Rickroll a Browser in SpyWare Guide
  36. ^ "Astley fans' rush hour 'flashmob'". BBC News. 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  37. ^ Sanchez, Julian (2008-04-14). "The Dance, Dance Revolution will be televised after all". Ars Technica. Ars Technica, LLC. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  38. ^ "Clickworthy Web sites". The Connection. Cosumnes River College. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-04-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ http://digg.com/comedy/RickRoll_the_phones_this_April_Fool_s
  40. ^ "The Biggest Little Internet Hoax on Wheels Hits Mainstream". Fox News. FOX News Network, LLC. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-05-01.

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rickrolling&oldid=211922767"