One Hit Wonders: How The Rickroll Revived Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"

What happens when a one hit wonder resurfaces 19 years after its release? The most iconic meme of all time.

Sometimes, the music industry is all about being in the right place at the right time. One Hit Wonders determines the factors that may have helped popularize a hit song before the artist in question ultimately disappeared from the spotlight.

Written by Olivia Abercrombie

Image courtesy of RCA Records

Picture this. It's 1988, and you are driving around in a bright red Chevy with the radio blasting. The DJ of the local pop station chimes in over the last few seconds of "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston. He says, "Here's the first single by a hot new artist, Rick Astley, 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'" Then a series of hard-hitting synthesized drum beats burst out of the stereo, followed by an unforgettable smooth symphony of keys. 

As the Buggles predicted in 1980, the next decade of music would be defined by MTV music videos and an artist’s reputation and image nearly as much as  their sound. Emphasis on flashy  music, fashion, and dramatic videos made "Never Gonna Give You Up" stand out against the rest. Rick Astley was an unassuming singer, and his repertoire was filled with sweet, classic love songs and simple music videos stocked with dad dance moves. 

With his debut single, Astley skyrocketed to fame and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 only eight months after its release. With all the star power the ‘80s had to offer, it is incredible that an unknown artist was able to blow up with his first single ever. Before his quick rise to fame, Astley had only ever released one song. “Modern Girl” was featured on the soundtrack for the 1986 British drama "Knights & Emeralds." However, his low, resonant register got the attention of Pete Waterman, who quickly took him under his wing and helped him create the instant classic, "Never Gonna Give You Up." 

The British singer-songwriter created the perfect combination of Britpop, a brighter form of alternative rock, and classic '80s pop, catchy, vivid, media-based music, to hit number one. Astley's soulful baritone was a stark difference from traditional pop songs of the era, even though it was still backed by a highly produced, dance-club beat. Even with the busy rhythm of the song, Astley's unique voice shines through with an incredibly catchy (albeit repetitive) chorus, each line beginning with the same phrase:

"Never gonna give you up

Never gonna let you down

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

Astley’s unique voice and the song’s dancey nature may have helped it stand out among the '80s pop boom, but his likable, everyman look really drew people to love this song. While pop ruled the airwaves with reverb and synthesizers, there was something about a skinny 22-year-old redhead with a voice so soulful it made the song a novelty. The lyrics and beat were undoubtedly nothing special, considering the track was just a cheesy love song, and the beat was a mash-up of every new digital production technique. However, despite being arguably terrible, dancers still enthusiastically belted, "We're no strangers to love" at the top of their lungs in a crowded, foggy club while being blinded by neon-colored clothing. 

Now picture this. 19 years later, in 2007, a friend sends you a link with the title "GTA IV Trailer." You click on it, and you hear a series of hard-hitting drum beats. A ginger man boogieing to an old pop song from the '80s suddenly assaults your eyes. 

First appearing on a 4chan page this so-called prank was confusing at best. The premise was simple: title  a link with something either shocking or important and then link "Never Gonna Give You Up" instead. Cyberspace could have chosen any song for this prank, but Astley's hit was picked for its undeniable catchiness, and its internet-deemed terribleness. Prankers aimed to ruin someone's day by putting this truly inescapable beat in their head. Thus the iconic “rickroll” was born, not so cleverly named after the singer himself. 

The new trend took the internet by storm, and those first few seconds of hard-hitting drum beats bounced around in people’s heads across the the country. Students rickrolled teachers. Employees rickrolled bosses. Kids rickrolled their parents — it was absolute madness. The joke reached true notoriety status once it took on a life of its own outside the internet. Notable hacker group Anonymous attempted to  to rickroll ISIS, the Foo Fighters rickrolled protestors at Westboro Baptist Church, and even legislators in Oregon slipped the lyrics into a hearing. The joke quickly became debatably the most iconic meme of all time. 

What makes this joke so successful is that anyone can pull the prank at any time. No one is safe. The internet has even gone to such lengths to create new links because people started recognizing the URL of the original video. The best part about the rickroll is its harmless nature. The internet tends to be a pretty dire place, and edgy, offensive “jokes” dominate most spaces, so something as simple as surprising someone with a cheesy song from the '80s is a fun way to have wholesome fun on the web. Since it has withstood the test of time, the next generation will likely find a fresh way to revive this old joke of such a classic song. With the boom of technology, it's sometimes fun to look back on the internet's humble beginnings, especially something that was inspired by a song from almost two decades before the birth of the joke. 

No one could have predicted the cultural impact an unknown artist's Britpop song from the '80s would have on the public. Even 33 years later, Rick continues to roll his way through pop culture — the music video surpassed one billion views in 2021. Solidifying itself as a classic April Fools' Day prank, the Rickroll will forever be a part of the internet's legacy.