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-"[Never Gonna Give You Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up)" appeared on Astley's 1987 debut album [*Whenever You Need Somebody*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whenever_You_Need_Somebody).[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-5) The song, his solo debut single, was a number one hit on several international charts, including the [*Billboard* Hot 100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100), [Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Adult_Contemporary_Tracks), and the [UK Singles Chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart). The accompanying [music video](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video), [Astley's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Astley) first, features him performing the song while [dancing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing).[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-6) It was uploaded on 25 October 2009 on the video streaming website [YouTube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube), its [URL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL) notably ending with the identifier "dQw4w9WgXcQ".[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-7): 369 Computer scientists Benoit Baudry and Martin Monperrus called this "the canonical rickroll URL" based on it being the URL for the most watched result for the YouTube search string "Rick Astley never gonna give you up".[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 190
-The most popular upload of the music video on YouTube used for rickrolling was "RickRoll'D",[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-cotter548-30) posted in 2007. In February 2010, it was removed for terms-of-use violations, but the takedown was revoked within a day.[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-31)[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-32) It was taken down again on 18 July 2014[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-33) and later unblocked. It was once again taken down for terms-of-use violations in July 2021, when it had more than 89 million views, but as of May 2022 was once again viewable.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-cotter548-30) The official Rick Astley channel uploaded another version on 24 October 2009, that surpassed one-billion views in July 2021.[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-34)[\[35\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-35)
-In 2022, [KTH Royal Institute of Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTH_Royal_Institute_of_Technology) faculty Benoit Baudry and Martin Monperrus searched for cases of Rickrolling in academic literature by searching [Google Scholar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Scholar) for "dQw4w9WgXcQ", a string of characters appearing in the "canonical rickroll url".[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 189–190 They documented 23 instances in which an author appeared to have intentionally attempted to Rickroll readers of the academic work using the "dQw4w9WgXcQ" URL, such as by placing it in footnotes.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 189–195
+"[Never Gonna Give You Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up)" appeared on Astley's 1987 debut album [*Whenever You Need Somebody*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whenever_You_Need_Somebody).[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-5) The song, his solo debut single, was a number one hit on several international charts, including the [*Billboard* Hot 100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100), [Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Adult_Contemporary_Tracks), and the [UK Singles Chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart). The accompanying [music video](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video), [Astley's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Astley) first, features him performing the song while [dancing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing).[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-6) It was uploaded on 25 October 2009 on the video streaming website [YouTube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube), its [URL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL) notably ending with the identifier "dQw4w9WgXcQ".[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-7): 369 Computer scientists Benoit Baudry and Martin Monperrus called this "the canonical rickroll URL" based on it being the URL for the most watched result for the YouTube search string "Rick Astley never gonna give you up".[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 190
+The most popular upload of the music video on YouTube used for rickrolling was "RickRoll'D",[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-cotter548-30) posted in 2007. In February 2010, it was removed for terms-of-use violations, but the takedown was revoked within a day.[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-31)[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-32) It was taken down again on 18 July 2014[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-33) and later unblocked. It was once again taken down for terms-of-use violations in July 2021, when it had more than 89 million views, but as of May 2022 was once again viewable.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-cotter548-30) The official Rick Astley channel uploaded another version on 24 October 2009, that surpassed one billion views in July 2021.[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-34)[\[35\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-35)
+In 2022, [KTH Royal Institute of Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTH_Royal_Institute_of_Technology) faculty Benoit Baudry and Martin Monperrus searched for cases of Rickrolling in academic literature by searching [Google Scholar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Scholar) for "dQw4w9WgXcQ", a string of characters appearing in the "canonical rickroll url".[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 189–190 They documented 23 instances in which an author appeared to have intentionally attempted to Rickroll readers of the academic work using the "dQw4w9WgXcQ" URL, such as by placing it in footnotes.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Baudry-8): 189–195
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Migrated from pages table
-A Rickroll is an [Internet meme](/wiki/Internet_meme) where an unsuspecting person clicks a disguised hyperlink, leading them to the music video for Rick Astley's 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up." This playful [prank](/wiki/Prank), a sudden, musical reveal, became a cultural touchstone of online surprise and humor.
-## See also
-- [Viral content](/wiki/Viral_content)
-- [Rick Astley](/wiki/Rick_Astley)
-- [Easter egg](/wiki/Easter_egg)
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+The **Rickroll** is an [Internet meme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme) involving the unexpected appearance of the [music video](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video) to the 1987 hit song "[Never Gonna Give You Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up)", performed by English singer [Rick Astley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Astley). The aforementioned video has over 1.6 billion views on [YouTube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube). The meme is a type of [bait and switch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_and_switch), usually using a disguised [hyperlink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink) that leads to the music video. When someone clicks on a seemingly unrelated link, the site with the music video loads instead of what was expected, and they have been "Rickrolled". The meme has also extended to using the song's lyrics, or singing it, in unexpected contexts. Astley himself has also been Rickrolled on several occasions.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-King-1)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-Locker-2)[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-3)
+The meme grew out of a similar [bait-and-switch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch) trick called "duck rolling" that was popular on the [4chan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan) [website](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website) in 2006. The video bait-and-switch trick grew popular on 4chan by 2007 during [April Fools' Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day) and spread to other Internet sites later that year. The meme gained mainstream attention in 2008 through several publicized events, particularly when YouTube used it on its 2008 April Fools' Day event.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling#cite_note-4)
+Astley, who at the time had only recently returned to performing after a 10-year hiatus, was initially hesitant about using his newfound celebrity from the meme to further his career but accepted the publicity by Rickrolling the 2008 [Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy%27s_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade) with a surprise performance of the song. Since then, Astley has seen his performance career revitalized by the meme's popularity.
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+A Rickroll is an [Internet meme](/wiki/Internet_meme) where an unsuspecting person clicks a disguised hyperlink, leading them to the music video for Rick Astley's 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up." This playful [prank](/wiki/Prank), a sudden, musical reveal, became a cultural touchstone of online surprise and humor.
+## See also
+- [Viral content](/wiki/Viral_content)
+- [Rick Astley](/wiki/Rick_Astley)
+- [Easter egg](/wiki/Easter_egg)