Rickrolling facts for kids

Rickrolling is a fun internet meme where someone tricks you into listening to the 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. It's like a surprise musical prank!

This prank is a type of "bait and switch." That means the person playing the trick gives you a website link, making you think it's about one thing. But when you click the link, you suddenly see Rick Astley's music video instead! If this happens to you, you've been "rickrolled."

Rickrolling became very popular. Some videos of the prank have been watched over 13 million times. On October 27, 2008, Rick Astley himself even did a live rickroll at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He surprised everyone by singing "Never Gonna Give You Up" during another performance.

The most-watched Rickroll video on YouTube reached one billion views on July 29, 2021.

The History of Rickrolling

In March 2008, four women's basketball games at Eastern Washington University were "rickrolled." Here, Davin Perry, dressed as Rick Astley, performs before a game. The games were not actually stopped.

About the Song "Never Gonna Give You Up"

Rick Astley recorded "Never Gonna Give You Up" in 1987. It was his very first song released and became a huge hit! The song reached number one on many music charts around the world, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and the UK Top 40. The music video shows Rick Astley singing and dancing to the song.

How the Prank Started

Rickrolling is thought to have come from an older prank called "duckrolling." In duckrolling, a link was supposed to show a picture or news story. Instead, it would lead to a funny picture of a duck on wheels. If you clicked it, you were "duckrolled."

The first time rickrolling happened was in May 2007. It started on a video game discussion board called 4chan. Someone posted a link that they said was the first trailer for the game Grand Theft Auto IV. But when people clicked it, they saw Rick Astley's music video! For a short time, the joke stayed mostly on 4chan.

By May 2008, rickrolling had become a huge internet meme or "phenomenon." Soon, news channels and websites were talking about it. A survey in April 2008 estimated that about 18 million adults in America had been rickrolled.

April Fools' Day, 2008 Pranks

On April Fools' Day in 2008, and in the weeks that followed, rickrolling appeared everywhere online. Even YouTube joined in the fun! All the videos featured on YouTube's main page that day linked to the Rickroll video. This prank showed up on YouTube websites in other countries before it appeared on the main page.

See also

In Spanish: Rickroll para niños