One billion people have now been Rickrolled: Iconic video passes landmark number of views

Rick Astley’s infamous Never Gonna Give You Up is set to become one of the most-watched videos on the internet – after the music video surpassed a billion views on YouTube.

The catchy 80s music video was uploaded to the site in 2009, and thanks to the viral ‘Rickroll’ prank, it has driven an incredible amount of views on the video. There are around 200 YouTube videos that have passed the billion views milestone – and Astley’s 1987’s hit is one of them.

Surfaced in 2007, the ‘Rickroll’ prank disguised the music video in a hyperlink.

When unexpected ‘victims’ clicked on the link, they would be greeted with Astley’s undeniably successful single – and the person had become ‘Rickrolled’.

The indestructible prank still exists in 2021; according to YouTube, it topped 2.3 million views on April Fool’s Day alone. It has since developed into using Never Gonna Give You Up lyrics in random places.

While the prank didn’t initially amuse the singer, his daughter schooled him on social, telling him it would keep him relevant beyond the 80s.

Astley’s chart-topper reached number one in the UK charts for five weeks upon release and hit number one in a further 24 countries. VH1 named it as one of their 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs… Ever.

Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child o’ Mine and A-ha’s Take on Me, join Astley in YouTube’s billion views club – after being the only four music videos from the 80s.