The catchiest viral Internet songs of all time are not only the pesky songs that get stuck in our heads but also some of the best creations ever to come about in the early Internet times. From the original gangster meme of the hamster dance to the Trolololo to the classic Rick Roll, these songs are the best of the best available on YouTube.
Almost anything can rise from being just another Internet video to full blown viral video providing it has something that makes it hilarious, bizarre or so awful that it's awesome. There's no exact science to becoming an Internet meme, but, as these catchy Internet songs prove, once you reach virtual stardom, there is no going back. Ah, the power of the Internet. I'm sure even the musically oblivious 8th grader would approve.
Perhaps known best for it's use in the bait-and-switch gimmick known as the Rick Roll, the 1987 classic "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley is easily one of the best things ever invented. We've all been there. Your friend sends a link to what he claims is either completely awesome or so scandalous that you have to click. Next thing you know you're watching Astley sing and dance, knowing you've been Rick Rolled. Sneaky, but brilliant!
This is along the lines of those viral videos that are popular purely for how random they are. The confidence and drive with which this song decides it actually makes sense, though, is what makes it so great.
If this song were a person, it would probably think it was perfectly normal. This is why this song rules.
popularized by The Gregory Brothers on ""Auto-Tune the News,"" the ""Bed Intruder Song"" takes bits and pieces from a viral news clip, Auto Tunes it and plays it back for all to enjoy. Featuring Antoine Dodson, the clip warns residents to ""hide yo kids"" and ""hide yo wife"" against a home-intruding rapist on the loose. For anyone that says crime does not pay, The Gregory Brothers sold over 100,000 copies of the track. Do the math.
Filmed at the popular F***parade in Berlin, Germany, in 2000, the ""Techno Viking"" is part scary, part bizarre and part hilarious all in one. A large buff man, complete with Thor's hammer around his neck and an impressive beard, stars in the clip where he can be seen first protecting a woman from a seemingly drunk guy, then leading the crowd in dance while walking down the street. This here is one techno dancer you'd surely not want to meet in a dark alley.
Also called ""Pop-Tart Cat,"" Nyan Cat is an eight-bit abomination of a cat, which features the body of a cherry toaster pastry, that can fly though outer space leaving a rainbow colored trail. Nyan Can graced our computer screens in April 2011 and quickly became the most popular meme in the galaxy and spawned numerous remixes and spinoffs. The original, of course, is the best.
Using footage originally shot in 1984, "Keyboard Cat" not only wears clothes, but he also plays an electronic keyboard, much to the envy of other cats around the world. When Keyboard Cat is not playing people off stage after a poor performance, he's appearing in commercials, television shows and video games. Okay, really this cat is not that special, rather a cat named Fatso being maneuvered by his owner, Charlie Schmidt. Whatever, it works.
Likely making him feel embarrassed and famous at the same time, the Numa Numa meme comes to us care of Gary Brolsma and the Moldovan pop group O-Zone. Brolsma, now known as the Numa Numa Guy, recorded himself lip syncing to the song "Dragostea Din Tei" and uploaded it to YouTube. Over 40 million views followed, each laughing (and many probably singing along too) to Brolsma's facial expressions and dancing hands.
Celebrating broken English at its best, the "All Your Base" meme rose to prominence in 2002 after the text of "all you base are belong to us" circulated in an animated GIF. The phrase, taken from a poor translation from Japanese for the Sega video game "Zero Wing," later attracted the eye of DJ Jeffrey Ray Roberts who made it into a techno song for all to enjoy. For the record, a better translation of "With the help of Federation Forces, all of your bases have been taken over by CATS" doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.
Either loved or hated by anyone who hears it, Rebecca Black's ""Friday"" became wildly popular in March 2011 mainly due to what many described as annoying lyrics, poor use of Auto-Tune and the overwhelming negative feedback as it was shared via social media. Though it made Black a household name, the catchy track also attracted over three million ""dislikes"" on its YouTube page.
Making OK Go a household name, "Here It Goes Again" is not only an Internet sensation but also a billboard hit having entered the top 40 after its 2006 debut. What exactly made this random video from a random band a hit? The elaborate video featuring the band dancing on treadmills, filmed in a single take that needed 17 tries to perfect, that's what. OK Go went on to perform the dance at the 2006 VMAs and take home a Grammy Award for the video. Not bad for some unknown indie group from Chicago!
If there was grandfather of catchy Internet meme songs, the "Hamster Dance" would be it. This ditty, posted back in 1997 on a little site named Geocities, features dozens of animated hamsters dancing to the song "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller. Years later, the hokey song is still stuck in our heads.
Resurrected from a clip from the 1960s in the Soviet Union, "Trololololo" is an amazing musical clip performed by Russian singer Edward Anatolevich Hill. Actually titled "I am very glad, because I’m finally back home," "Trololololo" is also known as the "Russian Rickroll" and led to dozens of covers and remixes, including one notable version from acclaimed actor Christoph Waltz.
When does a banana dance? During Peanut Butter Jelly Time, duh. Peanut Butter Jelly Time first started in 2002 after the release of the song from The Buckwheat Boyz, as an animated GIF featuring a banana with arms, legs and a face, dancing to the catchy track. It quickly became more popular than sliced bread and even appeared on an episode of the animated series ""Family Guy.""
Poking fun at the cheesy informercials for the kitchen gadget, the "Slap Chop Rap" remixes the audio and video from the advertisements featuring creepy pitchman Vince Offer. Just like the Slap Chop turns boring foods into something amazing, DJ Steve Porter transforms the mundane informercial into a rap that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.
What's better than one rainbow? Two rainbows, now forever known as the magical "Double Rainbow." First shown in a YouTube video by Hungrybear9562, who cries in awe of the beautiful sight, the "Double Rainbow" was transformed into a catchy Auto-Tune song by the masterminds behind the "Bed Intruder Song," The Gregory Brothers. It's so bright, so vivid, ahhh!
Made after Bill O'Reilly's famous freakout ending with ""We'll do it live!"" and ""F*ckin thing SUCKS!"" went viral, this song hit the internet. One of the first huge remixes of a popular viral video, this particular one, kind of like the Christian Bale mix on this list, is so catchy because it takes the best parts of the original viral video and puts it to song. Just as anybody's worst moments should be.
Posted on YouTube just in time for Valentine's Day in 2007, "What What (in the Butt)" is a darling love song performed by Samwell that discusses his love of anal sex. The track was written and produced by Andrew Swant and Bobby Ciraldo and quickly picked up by the likes of "South Park" and "Tosh.0." Oh it gets better, according to the creators, a "What What (in the Butt)" is in the works. You're welcome.
As "Ken Lee" teaches us, if anyone should not teach other English, it's Mariah Carey. Apparently no one told that to Valentina Hasan who performed her unique version of Carey's "Without You" during an audition for the Bulgarian version of "American Idol" titled "Music Idol." Instead of speaking proper English, Hasan is complete oblivious to the fact that she's singing made up words, including "Ken Lee" which is really "can't live." The captions alone are hilarious.
Appearing as his alter ego Kelly (as well as his father and himself), comedian and actor Liam Kyle Sullivan shares his feminine side with viewers in the 2008 video "Shoes." Kelly hits the streets to sing about shoes after failing to receive footwear for her birthday. What follows is part rant about shoes that suck and random cursing about shoes. Yeah, it's weird, but catchy.
What happens when a bunch of employees at Connected Ventures (now known as CollegeHumor Media) get bored? They film a libdub of their favorite song, "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger, that's what. Though the audio leaves a bit to be desired, the video was filmed in a single take and features several members of the office. Don't worry bosses, this was filmed after work, not on company time.
Part Internet fun and part traumatic to children, Disney Remixes come care of former Disney Pixar music producer Nick Bertke, or Pogo as he is also known. Pogo takes clips from classic Disney films like "Alice in Wonderland," "Mary Poppins" and others, remixes them and turns them into techno songs. Don't tell Disney, but some of these are actually better than the originals!
Not just any hamster, "Hamster on a Piano" is eating popcorn, laying on his or her back while owner Parry Gripp films and presses the piano keys. Easily one of the cutest hamster videos ever, "Hamster on a Piano" was even honored by "TIME" magazine as one of the top viral videos of 2008.
Using the animated video service JibJab, "This Land!" poked fun at the 2004 presidential election in the United States by pitting the two candidates against one another in the comical video. Even played on the International Space Station, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry trade jabs at one another in the catchy video, sang to the tune of the Woody Guthrie folk song "This Land Is Your Land." Yes, Bush calls Kerry a "wiener."
"Chocolate Rain" started as a joke when it was performed and recorded in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, apartment of singer Tay Zonday, but quickly became an Internet sensation and ranked the hottest viral video of the summer of 2007 by CTV.ca. Characterized by Zonday's deep voice and tendency to "move away from the mic to breathe in," "Chocolate Rain" also won in the music category at the 2007 YouTube Awards.
Making the competition reality show "American Idol" relevant again, at least for a moment, "Pants on the Ground" first came to us as performed by General Larry Platt during "Idol" auditions in 2010. Reflecting on the poor fashion habits of youth these days deemed successful for Pratt and the song, which he later recorded with American king Music and performed outside the Grammy Awards.
Rarely does a viral video have such an impact on our lives that after watching it we're never the same. That's exactly the case with the "2 Girls, 1 Cup" video, which inspired the acoustic "2 Girls 1 Cup Song." Canadian comedian Jon Lajoie created and performed the song in 2008 and over 10 million YouTube views followed. Much like the original video can never be unseen, this song can never be unheard.
One of many songs from The Lonely Island, ""Just 2 Guyz"" follows two normal guys who went from strangers to the only two attendees at a party. Oh yeah, they sing about it too. If this reminds you of the digital shorts on ""Saturday Night Live,"" there's a reason for that. The Lonely Island includes the two guyz, Akiva S******r and Jorma Taccone, and ""SNL"" cast member Andy Samberg.
Jon Lajoie spells out exactly what he wants from women in his love song titled ""Show Me Your Genitals."" Brought to us by the same Canadian comedian who wrote the ""2 Girls 1 Cup Song,"" this classy number includes lyrics such as ""It's not sexist 'cause I'm saying it in a song, That's right bitch, now take off your thong..."" It gets better. There's a second song in the series titled ""Show Me Your Genitals 2: E=MC Vagina.""
Bale Out - RevoLucian's Christian Bale RemixAdded by: Brian Gilmore
After Christian Bale famously freaked out on a lighting guy while filming Terminator: Salvation for f*tzing around with the lighting while he was trying to perform a scene, the internet/media blew up with parodies and coverage of the "event".
Possibly the best, funniest creation to come out of the whole debacle was this amazing, catchy-as-hell techno remix of Christian Bale freaking out.
It's great that he was such a sing-songy dick about the whole thing, that his tone actually goes really well with the music.
While having a crush on a political leader may be normal, writing, performing and recording a song and video about that crush is something that will take someone from unknown actress to Internet celebrity. Meet Obama Girl, otherwise known as Amber Lee Ettinger. We first met Obama girl in 2007 after she recorded the viral video "I Got a Crush... on Obama," back when Barack was simply a senator. Like Obama, she rose to fame from her work before the election and went on to create other romantic videos such as "Hillary! Stop the attacks! Love, Obama Girl." So sweet!
Bangs is a rapper from The Sudan currently living in Australia, and he'd like to ask you out to go see a movie with him, girl. There are a few things I really, genuinely, non-ironically love about this video:
(1) The crazy greenscreen images that only tangentially match up to the actual song
(2) The explicit details and insights Bangs provides into the planned movie-going experience
(3) The beat, which while very silly and somewhat irritating, really does get into your head after you watch the thing like 50+ times. Which I have.
Reh Dogg's seminal Internet hip-hop classic "Why Must I Cry" is a story-song, an increasing rarity in the pop culture canon. In telling the story of a man who tries to help a transient youth, only to later suffer some extreme consequences, Reh Dogg makes some strange decisions, both musically and in terms of the video's direction. Decisions like singing the chorus in a plaintive whine, or performing much of the video while soaping up in the shower. Reh Dogg released numerous songs as follow-ups to "Why Must I Cry," but never again managed to capture the original's absurdity nor its power to confuse.
Reminding us of the awesomeness that are boy bands, the Back Dorm Boys share their love of the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and others in a hilarious series of videos. How did they do that? Lip syncing to the songs from their dorm room and recording it on a crappy webcam of course! Even better, they took requests in 2005 and even did a cover of the Black Eyed Peas song "Don't Lie." I'm not kidding.
Though it's "just a demo," the "Average Homeboy" is the definition of white boy rapping in the 1980s, all captured on tape. Denny Blaze, aka Blazin Hazen, is behind the song, which comes complete with a shirtless caucasian with a mullet attempting (poorly) to rap. Why this style of music never caught on we may never know.
Ethan Chandler is proud to work at Bank of America and he expressed that the best way possible, by changing the lyrics to a U2 song and performing the bank-love remix at a big merger meeting. Oh yes, Chandler, along with help from guitarist Jim Debois, remade the classic track "One" to include lyrics like "Integration has never had us feeling so good/and we’ll make lots of money." The jury was out on if U2 approved of the remix, but attorneys for Universal Music Publishing Group were not amused, even sending takedown notices to websites who posted the train wreck of a remake. Isn't the embarrassment of the video enough? Geesh.
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