YouTube Rickrolls Users

2008

On April Fools' Day, YouTube tricks users with the popular bait-and-switch prank called Rickrolling by featuring video links that actually lead to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video. Several other websites have the same idea, creating an unintentional, internet-wide April Fools' joke.

"Never Gonna Give You Up" is the hit 1987 single that introduced the world to British singer Rick Astley's dreamy baritone and unwittingly set a plan in motion that would come to fruition 20 years later. Before there was Rickrolling, there was Duckrolling. It started on the internet forum 4chan when the owner made the word "egg" autocorrect to "duck," turning "eggroll" into "duckroll." An image of a duck with wheels emerged to give it representation, and users had some fun tricking others into clicking links that led to the duck. Astley came into the story in May 2007, when a user on 4chan's video game forum posted a link claiming to be the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV game trailer, but actually led to Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video. "Duckrolling" evolved into "Rickrolling," and a new internet phenomenon was born. By the time April Fools' Day rolls around in 2008, over 25 million people click on YouTube's copies of the video. Either a lot of people have been Rickrolled, or someone has an unhealthy obsession with '80s dance-pop. "Never Gonna Give You Up" was Astley's first single. Composed by the hitmaking production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, it soared to #1 in his native UK and also in America. His next US single, "Together Forever," also hit the top spot, and in the UK each of his first eight singles hit the Top 10. After his fourth album in 1993 he retreated from the spotlight, with just a few limited releases. The Rickrolling trend thrusts him back into the media glare, but instead of capitalizing on it with a remix or other money-grabbing release, he continues to lay low, showing up only for a few (high-paying) stunts like popping out of a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float where he lip-syncs the song. He's generally amused by the trend and takes it in stride. Rickrolling really gets out of hand a week after the April Fools' stunt when – with nearly 5 million online votes - the song nearly becomes the official eighth-inning singalong for the New York Mets. Most of the votes are submitted by pranksters looking for a laugh, so the team decides to poll the fans on Opening Day, where "Never Gonna Give You Up" elicits boos from the crowd. The White House even gets in on the action a few years later on Twitter. When a critic complains about a boring White House correspondence briefing, @whitehouse replies with a link to a fun "WHChat" ... one that will never give you up or let you down. Astley makes a triumphant return in 2016 with his album 50, which goes to #1 in the UK. When he performs, "Never Gonna Give You Up" remains in his repertoire and is always a fan favorite. He gets lots of support from Dave Grohl, who brings him on stage with the Foo Fighters to perform the song.