The History of Viral Songs 

Wow, i'm officially old enough to see someone explain the rick roll in a history lesson on the internet itself. Edit: and the Harlem Shake jesus christ

In 2013 my boyfriend broke up with me. The week before breaking up with me he showed me What Does the Fox Say and got it stuck in my head. So not only did I have to go through a breakup, I also had to deal with that song in my head while going through a breakup.

Couldn’t Louie Louie be considered pre-internet viral song? It got mostly popular because people were debating whether or nor it contains obscene lyrics or not, it has catchy part like modern tik tok songs and everyone started to make their own version.

I bet you anything that Tay Zonday is gonna pop up in the comments. He seems like a really cool dude, and he shows up pretty regularly in various youtube comment sections.

I always wondered where the “roll” part of rickroll came from Wasn’t expecting to find out today but I am grateful

When you’re as old as me this was one blast from the past after another. Simpler times!

1:55 - Hearing a Canadian try to pronounce "Macarena" is both horrifying and amusing. 😂

What I think is amazing is that Never Gonna Give You Up was pretty popular when it came out, but it blew up with rick roll. People my age, older millenials probably were introduced to the song through rick rolling without knowing it was popular before.

Ark Music wasn't making cringe to go viral. It was a company that catered to rich kids who wanted to experience making a music video.

I'm so glad that this video is delivered with the sincerity of other Polyphonic essays. Most people, even those who are deep in the trenches of the internet, always seem dismissive of RU-vid and the internet at large. But both of those things have had an indelible effect on the way music and culture have evolved in the same way radio, film, and television did before them. The fact that Defunctland ever felt any amount of self-conscious about calling their videos "documentaries" is painful, because that is what they are. Web video can be a serious artform, even if the topics being discussed are "dumb" things like internet memes, strange online urban legends, or Webkinz (shout out to IzzzYzzz).

I miss the late 90s/early 2000's Internet. It was fun without being all-consuming.

Oh it feels good to hear someone discuss the Harlem Shake with this sort of unironic appreciation. Makes my burnt out zoomer heart feel warm for a change

There’s plenty of great art out here that doesn’t go viral

idk if anyone's said this to you yet, but your intro theme is easily my favourite on youtube. The way it builds up during the intro then drops is extremely satisfying.

Albino black sheep, new grounds, ebaum's I remember using all of those sites in college when they were new. Haven't thought of those sites in years and it's crazy to think how much time I spent on them in my dorm room. Growing up with the web was fun.

I know it still technically exists but I miss Newgrounds.

Moving forward, it's all about authenticity. Do your thing, put it out there, see what happens. Manufactured virality can F right off.

Man, I remember seeing Gangam Style 9 whole ass months prior because they embedded it in /b/ and you couldn't scroll without hearing it

I'm absolutely fascinated to watch artists I've followed for years try to keep up with these changes. slightly more obscure singers I follow reuploading their older songs as snippets via TikToks or RU-vid shorts to try to draw more attention to them on these platforms - bands with previously considerable success struggling somewhat clumsily to make interesting short-form content to release there too to keep themselves relevant in the ever-evolving scene, despite not having much to display outside of just... music. sometimes even just asking directly for positive interaction to help their audience grow. (I can appreciate their efforts and honesty at least.) even (sometimes even official) uploads of a variety of songs here on RU-vid that went viral on TikTok, having their titles edited to include the most memorable lyrics in parenthesis so people know what they're looking at, because they wouldn't recognize it as anything other than 'that one TikTok song.' but I think what gets me most is the increasing frequency of the one-hit-wonder phenomenon. maybe it's just because I ended up stanning Gotye so hard after I checked out his other songs besides Somebody That I Used to Know (AND KIMBRA! the lady who sings the duet with him! she's AMAZING!!!), but I'm always very endeared to artists who make a song that takes off on TikTok, then get significantly lessened traction with future releases, despite the quality, novelty and integrity of their music doing nothing but improving... if you hear a song you like and you found it through TikTok, that's fine. there really shouldn't be any stigma around that. just make sure to check out the artists' other work and follow them somewhere to keep up to date with what they're doing! they're fighting for their lives out there!!! 🎶

I have never installed tik tok, but RU-vid has dominated my life so same difference

This is less mainstream but there was a viral trend in the 70s-80s punk scene of covering Louie Louie by the kingsmen and I’m not your stepping stone by Paul revere and the raiders

Wow this video is a roller coaster of internet nostalgia! Even with "YTMND" being pronounced 7 different ways lol.

I miss Albinoblacksheep. Great video, weird to think I lived through some legit history

reminds me of how meme marketing exploit genuine internet on movies

I know this was a brief history, but I wish you had included the parody song era of RU-vid. When I heard the "it's corn" song earlier this year I immediately knew who created it because of all those late 2000s, early 2010s parodies the same guys had done.

Gale's story reminds me of when a record executive pretended to be a weezer fan on their website. And suggested to the band to name their album maladroit. Which, if you look up the defintiion, sounds like he was making fun of them.

*ANOTHER* full-on genius musicology report from Polyphonic, kudos! Incisive, fair af, deftly picking up the recent (in music history terms) tangled threads of our lives and these trends then seamlessly weaving a gently unfolding, easy to understand no-stone-unturned narrative exposè of internet/music/video popularity aka "virality". I cannot praise Polyphonic highly enough for their continuously excellent work. Like "Gay History of Disco", this one should be receiving Serious Awards. For what it's worth, here's mine🏆 and yes, I will become a patron. (Still smh, *epic* guys.)

It's crazy and scary to think of the level of influence 4chan has in the world and internet history

i’ve seen a bunch of vids of gen z looking at gen alpha humor developing online and they’re so scared but i’m excited!! what fun new silly things will we get to enjoy in the future 🎉

Viral videos are no different than one hit wonders of the past.. Goes from catchy to cringe almost immediately

Always love to note that Rebecca Black is still putting out music and it's FIRE

Excellent work. I feel like this is a part of our culture that hardly ever gets satisfactory coverage/analysis. Solid stuff. Great watch 👍

I don't really think it's all that complicated. It's still the same game as it was with MTV and pop radio: businesses looking at trends and then trying to reverse-engineer it to guarantee success. It's still about following the money and grabbing people's attention before anyone else does. And like with any trend, it dies out once there are more rats than there are cheese, so to speak. The specific fashions may change a lot faster on the internet, but I don't thing that practice ever does.

Looking back, it's hard to believe that I got mesmerized by the hamster dance.

Amazing video and message. Great art

This episode was such a nostaliga trip. I remember seeing the blokes who started the Harlem Shake on the news, as they lived not too far from my hometown. That and Gangam Style were such massive trends it seemed like people were replicating them forever. I think the problem nowadays isn't with artists going viral in the first place, that's great for fan engagement and publicitiy for records/gigs. The problem lies in the fact that with tiktok generating thousands of short form videos everyday, artists aren't in the spotlight for long compared to their counterparts 10 years ago. We don't have one viral trend that dominates the culture anymore, cause there's already 100 different things on our for you page every single day.

“Global dialogue” this phrase is actually what i have been looking for years… we, as humans, yearn for global diaglue😅

The term meme was introduced by Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene,” in 1976, which pretty definitely pre dates the hamster dance. But cool video thanks for it.

I grew up along with the internet so I remember a lot of these movements. I love the more 'grassroots' kind of virality, or when something just unexpectedly hits at exactly the right moment and becomes a shared cultural experience. I think, (in my definition) even a more traditional/professional work can become 'viral' if there's also then an element of fan ownership - making their own remixes, mashups, reactions, videos, etc. Otherwise it's just...marketing. One thing I think was left out here was some of the mid/late 2000s r&b/hip hop artists who basically got their start by digital mix tapes and ringtones and stuff like that, and who had their own local/underground followings until they end up picked up by a label. Probably one of the most notable examples being Crank That (Soulja Boy). He essentially just posted his stuff all over MySpace and LimeWire, exploiting all the algorithms and basically started this whole fad with his dance, until some record producer saw what his kids/friends were up to. I have to respect the hustle!

I just wish RU-vid was still like this.

Great video!!

i so much love your videos / information - as much as i would like to subscribe to Nebula or any other site that you are on, in this day & age, it's difficult to subscribe to anything that costs an extra amount of $$ - barely scrapping by the way it is for the last 3 years 4 months, working every day - with only days off for doctor/vehicle/dentist appointment - it's been difficult, but i am still here, fighting for my son, my wife & myself - please keep up the great work & i look forward to every video that you release ...

Such a good video dude, thank you :)

This is an exellent internet history lesson for someone like me who grew up without youtube. I didn't know most of these.

How long will it take for Tay Zonday to comment on this video?

... I guess I'm "I remember the days of the Hampster Dance craze, it feels like yesterday" years old 😭

The precursor to viral media was those stacks of random xeroxed dirty jokes my dad and his work buddies passed around at work.

Iconic ytmnd song Tarzan Boy still pops into my head regularly

A good chunk of my songs on my spotify are ones I found originally on tiktok. I discovered entire bands I very much enjoy through tiktok.

Once companies and brands learn of and exploit the latest viral song/trend, said viral song/trend will lose its popularity soooo fast.

I think this video highlights something that is missing from a lot of music that's coming out now. Honesty. I know this will seem like an "Old man yells at cloud" moment, but it really does feel that way to me. I'm a musician who's been playing for 30 years, have studied music at university, and teach and play it for a living. Yes, there were songs that came out 30 years ago that were viral garbage (the macarena is mentioned in this video essay), but those were the exception. I have to learn hundreds of songs for my job, and of course, every now and then I come across new music that feels genuine to me, but most of the new music I learn now is just plastic, emotionless, paint-by-numbers box checking. ABCDEFU was mentioned in the video, and while it's an interesting vocal phrase; Primus already did it (and better) in 1997. But also, that song has heart. It's a bunch of guys just playing their instruments and making noise. It's not an over produced synthetic Big Mac of music convenience.

Polyphonic youre a genius

I suppose we can all hope that some well crafted, expertly written song full of passion and emotion goes viral for the new form of virality. But I'm guessing it'll be some funny catchy dancy thing.

You deserve to be viral bro 10/10

This was like watching the soundtrack of my life. Your videos are just so excellent tho. It makes other good videos look bad and the ones lacking such depth and analysis just intolerable.

Great Video

Albino Black Sheep. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time…

Nice video :P 2:43 it took way much more time before we can consider 'anyone' had internet access. Adoptation rate, architecture building, at international level, all this took years. 😆

The tiktoks in 18:41 are in portguguese, Polyphonic é brasileiro confirmado?

Not sure what you meant at 7:06

god this was so nostalgic

I hate the fact that I've become an old person (29) and think the best thing a teen could do for the world is delete tiktok

"La la la la la la la la la, ooh HOO HOO" was a banger.

With my dying breath I will say, the Harlem shake will go down as the peak of society

I was thinking of the baby dancing to Ooga chaka Ooga chaka ..

Halsey saying she's sold 165 million albums is HILARIOUS. Nowhere near that amount lmaoooo.

Something that I wish was discussed is the era of the Autorap app! Hide Yo Kids Hide Yo Wife, Aint Nobody Got Time For That. Those viral videos were very popular when I was in middle school and I think were influential in shaping viral songs

Vine walked so TikTok could run.

8:42 I remember a gintama episode where they did the parody of this line and it was hilarious

ohhhhh so THATS why I liked Vine! It was the new YTMND 🤯

You didn't cover Trogdor. You also covered all these temporarily famous songs and totally skipped the dude that made it on RU-vid and keeps blowing up bigger every time he puts out a special: Bo Burnham!

This video straight up forgot about the chumba wumba baby???? THAT, that was the first one.

Thank you.

This all feels like yesterday… I feel old

I’m just here to give Tay Zonday his flowers 🌹🌸🌺💐🌷🍫☔️

The smallest flower is a thought, a life answering to some feature of the Great Whole, of whom they have a persistent intuition.

18:42 is it stock footage of the globe or is it just taken from the oasis- don't stop... demo

One thing ive noticed is virality rarely comes from attempts to go viral. Its usually genuine moments of people doing what they enjoy

Hi Polyphonic can you make a video on George Michael & his artistry & legacy. Nice video BTW (By The Way) 👍

Newgroundz bring back so many memories the dealer game street life and that car game

Now i need to go watch videos of the best harlem shakes. I hope you're proud of yourself! 😅

Anyone remember the ketchup song? It was everywhere in the 90s

Man, do you remember songs and videos going viral over phones? You had to transfer them using infrared. That's how I first saw harry potter puppet pals

Does that makes "The house of the rising sun" a viral song before Internet existed?, cause as you mentioned in one of your videos, that the song is covered by dozens of artists before The Animals covered it and brought it to a new hights of success.

What about the Limewire era of viral songs like "Warp to World 6-9" by Benefit AKA the super mario bros rap.

You know what they say: "Once it goes viral, it ain't going bacterial!"

I think something about virality that’s interesting to discuss is how getting a viral hit is often very similar to being a one hit wonder. Most of these people don’t get second hit videos. Being a one hit wonder was always this sort of mark of shame, but now artists are chasing our modern equivalent of it

Nice history lesson, gezz i remember when some of those sites were new. At the same time hmm no wonder in the odd times i look at "viral" stuff it feels so fake, cause it is.

13:34 Spreeeaaad

Bo Burnham was telling the truth. Welcome to the internet indeed

The term "meme" was "coined" by Richard Dawkins in 1970 and referred to pretty much the same thing it does today but without the internet as well as some more complex socio-biological stuff.

The most important viral song is the Chop Chop Dance!

"Mack-er-ree-na" :D

Yea, I remember the hamster dance.. 😄

what is the difference between a hit song and a viral song?

This is most articulate rick roll i've ever seen

Might be misremembering but I’m pretty sure the video came after Old Town Road went viral and when the hype was dying down. It got big on tik tok, then there was all the discourse, then Billy Ray Cyrus jumped on the remix. For the longest time, the only video was footage from RDR2

This video triggered my nostalgia. I miss when people were having fun being silly.

badger badger ☑ rickroll ☑ harlem shake ☑ good times aaa

Hey guys nice video, but the sound is pretty low and at certain point i have to crack up my volume to barely listen to this :C