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Viralmusic videos are those that have gained rapid attention on the Internet. LikeInternet memes, viewership of such videos tend to expand rapidly and become more widespread because the instant communication facilitatesword of mouth.
This list documents music videos known to have become viral; other viral videos can be found atlist of viral videos with additional videos that have become Internet phenomena for other categories can be found atlist of Internet phenomena.
"Axel F" – a remix of theBeverly Hills Cop theme byCrazy Frog. The song peaked at number 1 in the UK Charts in 2005, as well in different countries in Europe. The song blew up internationally in recent years.[4]
"Baby Shark Dance" – a children's viral educational music video made by South Korean education brandPinkfong that went viral due to its poppy and repetitive lyrics, and is also the most viewed video on YouTube, with over 16 billion views.[5]
"Bad and Boujee" – a song by rap groupMigos. The song became a meme when people made edits on the line "Raindrop, droptop".[6]
"Chandelier" - a song by Australian singerSia. The music video went viral in 2014 and became the seventh most-watched video on YouTube in 2014.[7]
"Despacito" – the official video for "Despacito" on YouTube received its one billionth view on April 20, 2017, after 97 days, becoming the second-fastest video on the site to reach the milestone behindAdele's "Hello".[8] By August 2017, the song was themost viewed YouTube video with 2.9 billion views.[9] Despacito is also the first and fastest video to hit 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 billion views.[10][11][12] The song soared into the top 10 of theBillboard Hot 100 following aJustin Bieber remix.[13] The song also peaked at number 1 for 16 weeks,tyingMariah Carey andBoyz II Men's "One Sweet Day".
"Gangnam Style" – asong and music video by South Korean rapperPsy, showing him doing an "invisible horse dance" and saying thecatchphrase "Oppa Gangnam Style" across a number of quirky locations, leading to its viral spread as well as the single's reaching international music charts.[18][19] On YouTube, the video was the first to reach 1 and 2 billion views, and on November 24, 2012, became the most watched video, surpassingJustin Bieber's"Baby" until it was surpassed byWiz Khalifa's "See You Again" on July 10, 2017.[20]
"God's Plan" – a viral song made byCanadian rapperDrake. The lyrics, as well as some of the good deeds Drake did throughout the music video, allowed for it to go viral and become a meme.[21][22][23] The song peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100.[24]
"Golden" – a song by the fictional group Huntrix, from the movieKpop Demon Hunters, which was released on Netflix on June 20, 2025.[25] The song blew up worldwide and broke many charts records.[26]
"Gucci Gang" – a song and music video by American rapperLil Pump. The song's repetitive hook, which repeats the title of the song several times, led to the song becoming an Internet meme with other people making edits of the song.[27] The song also peaked at number 3 on theBillboard Hot 100.[28]
"Havana" – a song byCamila Cabello named after the Cuban city of where she was born. The song is the first song by a female artist since 1996 to top 3 multiple charts onBillboard.[29] The song also peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100.[30]
"Hello" –Adele's song released in October 2015 was a major digital commercial success, being the first song to sell 1 million units within a week of its release. Its video, which primarily features Adele's singing through a telephone conversation, led to several mashups with other songs, includingLionel Richie'ssong of the same name, which had a similar theme to its video.[31][32] The video holds the record for the fastest time to reach one billion views on YouTube, reaching this within 88 days of its release, and currently has over 3.2 billion views.[8]
"Hot Nigga" – a song by American rapperBobby Shmurda. It became popular amongVine users in 2014 and led to the Shmoney dancememe, which has been performed by bothBeyoncé[33] andNFL receiverBrandon Gibson.[34] The line "About a week ago!" was also heavily featured in the vines.
"Hotline Bling" – a song and video byDrake released in October 2015; the video primarily consists of Drake dancing with female performers against brightly lit backgrounds. Drake's dance style was considered "goofy"[35] and like that "of a total fool".[36]
"How You Like That" – a song by South Korean girl groupBlackpink released in June 2020. The song's music video broke the records for the biggest music video premiere on YouTube, with 1.66 million concurrent viewers, and the most-watched music video within 24 hours, with 86.3 million views in its first day.[37] It became the fastest video to reach 100 million views, in just 32 hours,[38] and 200 million views, in seven days.[39] The song's music video hit 1 billion views in February 2022.[40]
"Kill This Love" – a song by South Korean girl groupBlackpink released in April 2019. The song's music video broke the records for the biggest music video premiere on YouTube, with 979,000 million concurrent viewers,[41] and the most-watched music video within 24 hours, with 56.7 million views in its first day.[42] It became the fastest video to reach 100 million views, in two days and 14 hours.[43] In September 2024, the music video passed 2 billion views.[44]
"Laung Laachi" – aPunjabi title song of the movieLaung Laachi became the most viewed song video inIndia in December 2019, as well as the first music video to hit more than 1 billion views. It is also the most viewedT-Series video (uploaded on 'T-Series Apna Punjab').[47][48]
"Look What You Made Me Do" – a song and video byTaylor Swift released on August 27, 2017. The song's music video broke the record for most-watched music video within 24 hours by achieving 43.2 million views on YouTube in its first day, topping the 27.7 million views Adele's "Hello" attracted in that timeframe, making it the third most viewed online video in the first 24 hours.[50][51]
"Never Gonna Give You Up"– a song and video byRick Astley which is shared throughRickrolling where someone sends the link for the music video to another user disguised as a different link. The song amassed 1 billion views in July 2021.[52]
"Old Town Road" – a song byLil Nas X that gained popularity in early 2019. It has since become a challenge onTikTok, under the "Yeehaw Challenge".[53][54] The song has received support fromJustin Bieber, was played after Texas Tech's win in theNCAA tournament, and played at an Atlanta Hawks basketball game.[53][55] The song peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100, as well in many other countries. Its longevity on top of the Billboard Hot 100 has made it one of only 12 singles to peak at number one for 13+ weeks.[56][57] A remix with country singerBilly Ray Cyrus was later released, boosting the songs popularity even more. The remix audio has surpassed 550 million views on YouTube.[58] Both versions of the song have made Road the most streamed song in a week in the US with over 143 million streams, surpassing Drake's "In My Feelings" with 116.2 million streams.[59] A music video released later starts off in 1889 and transitions into 2019. The music video also features several cameos.[60]
"Roar" – a 2013 song by American singer Katy Perry. This song became globally famous and topped the charts in many countries.[61]
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – a song and video released byBeyoncé in October 2008. The music video, shot in black and white, features Beyoncé wearing a one-shoulder black leotard surrounded by two backup dancers performing the choreography that would lead to the video's popularity. The video is credited with starting the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet".[64] Many celebrities have parodied and paid homage to the song and the video, including former PresidentBarack Obama,Tom Hanks,Joe Jonas,Kourtney Kardashian,Khloé Kardashian, andKim Kardashian, andChris Colfer andHeather Morris included the dance routine as part ofGlee Live! In Concert!
"Tenda Biru" – a song by Indonesian actressDesy Ratnasari. It became viral in 2016, when she eventually popularized theMannequin Challenge in the past.[65]
"The Duck Song" – a 2009 children's song byBryant Oden accompanying an animated music video by forrestfire101 that went viral shortly after its release on YouTube.[71][72] Within three years the video received nearly 90 million views.[73][74] The series ended in October 2024 with Part 5.[75]
"The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" – a 2013 song and associated video by the Norwegian comedy duoYlvis prepared for their television show. The song's verses note the noises other animals make; the chorus asks what noise a fox makes, at which point the song offers nonsense phrases like "gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!" and "fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!", while the video takes a similarly funny turn. The video saw over 43 million hits within a few weeks of its release, topping music charts, and leading to Ylvis being signed for more music byWarner Bros. Records.[76]
"The Gummy Bear Song" – a bubblegum dance song byGummibär became a viral sensation and was the first song by a German independent artist to gain 1 billion views, and it currently has over 3.7 billion views.[77]
"This Is America" – a viral song byChildish Gambino. The video talks about the state of America. The way Glover walks in the beginning is representative ofJim Crow. His movements representminstrel shows, a form of entertainment that mocks African-American people. The video also references the 2015 Charleston Church massacre, the use of phones to record police officers shooting blacks, the book of Revelation, other things relating to cars, andGet Out.[78][79] The video surpassed 12.9 million views in under 24 hours, and 50 million in 3 days.[80]
"Tiba-Tiba" - a song by Indonesian musician Quinn Salman.[81]
"Turn Down for What" – a 2014 song and video by record producerDJ Snake and rapperLil Jon. It gained viral popularity due to its bass drop after Lil Jon yells "Turn Down For What!".[82]
"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" – a video bySilentó with unique moves imitated by other fans, making it go viral in 2015. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[83][84]
"Yummy" – a 2020 single by singerJustin Bieber from his album "Changes", which went famous for its catchy and reptetive lyrics, and because of conspiracy theories linking the song to "Pizzagate".[85]
"1-800-273-8255" – a song byLogic featuringAlessia Cara andKhalid mainly focusing on the topic ofsuicide and suicide prevention. Its title is a direct reference to the United States National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's phone number, although as of 2022 the Lifeline is known as the988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline as its number is now 988.[86][87] In 2021, the Lifeline reported that calls soared 50% after Logic performed the song at the2017 MTV Video Music Awards and that suicides among 10- to 19-year-olds dropped by 5.5 percent between June 1, 2017 (34 days after the song was released) and the2018 Grammy Awards, where the song was performed live once more.[88]
"Badgers" – a viral song and video byJonti Picking featuring badgers jumping up and down accompanied with catchy lyrics.[89] The dancing badgers helped Picking's websiteWeebl's Stuff win a People's Choice award from users ofYahoo! in theUK.[90]
"Bed Intruder Song" – a remix bythe Gregory Brothers of a televised news interview of Antoine Dodson, the brother of a victim of a home invasion and attempted assault. The music video became a mainstream success, reaching theBillboard Hot 100, and became the most watched YouTube video of 2010.[91][92] The video also coined the phrase "Hide yo kids, hide yo wife," which later became a meme.
"Chacarron Macarron" – a song by Panamanian artistsRodney Clark (El Chombo) and Andres de la Cruz (also known as Andy's Val Gourmet). It is a reworking of the original version from 2003 by Andy's Val Gourmet, who is credited as 'Andy's Val' on the release.[97] The song gained attention online when the chorus was used on aYTMND page by the name of "Ualuealuealeuale", which was created sometime in late 2005. "Chacarron Macarron" wentviral on the Internet owing to itsnonsensical lyrics and odd music video.[98][99]
"Chinese Food" – a song and music video byAlison Gold recorded with the controversialARK Music Factory, the same company behind Rebecca Black's viral song "Friday". The song was called "The New Friday" and also called racist.[100]
"Chocolate Rain" – a song and music video written and performed byTay Zonday (also known as Adam Nyerere Bahner). After being posted on YouTube on 22 April 2007, the song quickly became a popular viral video. By December 2009, the video had received over 40 million views.[101][102]
"Congratulations" – a song by Swedish YouTuberPewDiePie, Swedish singer/musicianRoomie and English musicianBoyinaband.[103][104][105] The single was self-released on 31 March 2019 with an accompanying music video on YouTube as a response toT-Series surpassing PewDiePie as the most subscribed channel on YouTube. The music video is banned on YouTube India.[106][107][108]
"Crab Rave" – a song and music video written and animated by Irish DJ and music producer Eoin O'Broin (known by his stage nameNoisestorm).[109] Although the song was initially released as an April Fool's Day joke for the Canadian record labelMonstercat, it soon gained popularity because of the music video featuring thousands of animated dancing crabs.[110] The song peaked at number 32 in the "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs" category in theBillboard charts, surpassed over 1 million (U.S)online streams in the week ending November 22, 2018, and gained over 50 million views on the "Monstercat: Instinct" YouTube channel.[111]
"Firework" (Katy Perry andJodi DiPiazzaduet) – a duet from the television specialNight of Too Many Stars, it received 4 million views in the first four days.[117]
"Friday" – a 2011 music video sung by 13-year-oldRebecca Black, partially funded by her mother, received over 200 million views on YouTube[118] and spread in popularity through social media services.[119]
"Gokuraku Jodo" – aJ-pop song by Japanese pop duoGarnidelia. The song was released on July 28, 2016, accompanied with a dance music video. It spread to the Chinese video websiteBilibili and quickly became viral in China, leading to various spoofs and mimicking dances.[120][121]
"Gwiyomi" – aK-pop single by the South Korean indie musician Hari. The song, released on 18 February 2013, is based on an Internet meme known as the Gwiyomi Player, which was invented in October 2012 by the K-pop idol Jung Il Hoon. It has inspired many similar versions by Asian netizens.[122][123]
"It's Everyday Bro" – a song by actor and YouTube personality Jake Paul that went viral due to a line by Nick Crompton, who stated thatEngland was a city.[124] The video has become theseventeenth most disliked YouTube video.
"Lolly Bomb" – an official music video by Russian rave bandLittle Big. It featured the fictional love story ofHoward X, an impersonator of Kim Jong-Un, where he fell in love with a missile.[125]
"Mesmerizer" – a 2024Vocaloid song written by 32ki and sung by virtual singersHatsune Miku andKasane Teto. The song's music video was created by Japanese animator "channel". Focusing on the topic ofescapism, the song has inspired multiplecovers and Internet memes.[129]
"Mine" – a viral song and meme byBazzi. The video created the meme "You so fuckin' precious when you smile" from a lyric in the song.[130][131][132] The song also peaked at number 11 on theBillboard Hot 100.[133]
"One Pound Fish" – a sales pitch song written and sung byMuhammad Shahid Nazir, a fish stall vendor inLondon, that became a viral hit and led to Nazir getting a recording contract.[139]
"Pants on the Ground" – first sung by "General" Larry Platt during theseason 9 auditions ofAmerican Idol inAtlanta, Georgia, on 13 January 2010. Within one week, the video had about 5 million views on YouTube, had over 1 million fans on Facebook, and was repeated on television byJimmy Fallon andBrett Favre.[140]
"Red Solo Cup" –Toby Keith's recording of a drinking song devoted to theSolo disposable cup became a viral hit, with the video gathering 4 million views on YouTube in November 2011.[141][142]
"Shia LaBeouf Live" – a song by singer-songwriterRob Cantor that depictsShia LaBeouf as a cannibal who kills people for sport. Due to the ridiculous manner of the song, it went viral.[143]
"United Breaks Guitars" – a video by the bandSons of Maxwell, recounting howUnited Airlines broke a guitar belonging to band memberDave Carroll. The video reached 11 million views, was named one of the top ten of 2009,[144] and created speculation that it had caused a $180 million drop in the airline's stock value.[145]
"What What (In the Butt)" – a viral music video set to a song aboutanal sex by gay recording artistSamwell. The video was posted onValentine's Day 2007, and two weeks later had been viewed 500,000 times.[146] It was subsequently parodied on theSouth Park episode "Canada on Strike", which poked fun at several other Internet memes and personalities.
"Hey Clip" – On August 24, 2005, 22-year-oldIsraeli femalefilm school students inRamle, Tasha (Lital) Mizel and Adi "Dishka" Frimmerman, uploaded a playful, entertaininglip-sync video of the song "Hey" by thePixies, released on the band'sDoolittle album in 1989. "There were no global ambitions when they shot the video in Mizel's bedroom during a sleepover ... they made the clip as a birthday present for Frimmerman's boyfriend," the Jerusalem Post said.[152]
"Howard The Alien" – A green screen video of an alien dancing toMoney Longer byLil Uzi Vert. The original was uploaded to YouTube by the "3D Animation Land" channel in December 2017. It began gaining attention when aniFunny post combined the animation with Money Longer with the caption "imagine having sleep paralysis and seeing this as the foot of bed just fuckin breakin it down and you cant do anything about it like you hear the music in the back and everything bruh."[153][154]
"I Dreamed a Dream" bySusan Boyle – In 2009, Boyle, an unknown singer, 47 at the time, auditioned forBritain's Got Talent with the song, surprising the jury, the public and the world with her interpretation. The programme received high ratings, and Boyle's performance was quickly added to sites such asYouTube, where millions viewed it in the first month alone.[155][156]
"Marhaban Tiba" — A viral interpretation of "Ramadan Tiba" sung by Indonesian singer Iis Dahlia.[157]
"The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody" – A 2009 music video featuringThe Muppets performing a modified version ofQueen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". The video received over seven million hits within its first week of release on YouTube, and by 2012, it earned over 25 million hits. The video won the "Viral Video" category in the 14th AnnualWebby Awards.[158]
MoeChakkaFire – A song byissey that was released in 2024 that is based around theZenless Zone Zero character Ellen Joe.[159] The music video on YouTube received over 1 million views within the first two weeks of its release and went viral to the point it wascovered by multiple artists and was used in a large number of TikTok videos, therefore receiving an internet meme status.[160][161] It ranked first on the Billboard Japan Heatseekers Songs from September 23 to 29, 2024 and ranked third on Spotify's "Daily Viral Songs (Japan).[162][163] The song was covered by Japanese voice actressShion Wakayama in 2025 and was featured on theHoYoFair program to coincide with Zenless Zone Zero's first anniversary.[164][165]
"Pop Culture" – A 2011 YouTube video of a live mash-up by the musician Hugo Pierre Leclercq aka "Madeon", age 17 at the time, using aNovation touchpad to mix samples from 39 different songs. The video went viral within a few days of being posted, and led to Leclercq's fame in the electronica music genre.[167][168]
"Space Oddity" by Canadian astronautChris Hadfield – Performed and recorded during a space mission onSoyuz TMA-07M. The cover of the famousDavid Bowie song is set in zero gravity against spectacular views of Earth with Hadfield singing and playing the guitar. The video generated a great deal of media exposure.[174]
"Xue hua piao piao bei feng xiao xiao" — A selfie video of a bald Chinese man singing the chorus verse ofFei Yu-ching's songYi jian mei in a snowy background, first uploaded toKuaishou in January 2020. Shared to Western social media, it quickly went viral onTikTok andSpotify by May 2020, leading to various covers and spoofs.[181]
Mandatory Fun album and the #8days8videos campaign – Aviral marketing campaign by comedy singer/songwriter"Weird Al" Yankovic to promote his 2014 albumMandatory Fun. He released eight videos for the new album over eight consecutive days across different streaming providers. The approach was considered very successful, leading to the album becoming Yankovic's first number one hit in his 32-year career. It also became the first comedy album to hit Number 1 on theBillboard charts in over 50 years.[184][185][186]
Beat Energy Gap – A 2017 advertisement originally produced byNestlé Philippines to promote the productMILO, with actorJames Reid as the endorser.[187][188] The success of the advertisement and the song's catchy lyrics and upbeat theme.[189]
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" – Debut single by American rapperSoulja Boy (2007) accompanied by the "Soulja Boy dance". The song is recognized by its looping steel drum riff. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[190]
"STOOPID (6ix9ine)" – Single by American rapper 6ix9ine, accompanied by the "STOOPID dance". The song was used in many memes, and also became a viral dance challenge on TikTok.
Ghetto Kids of Uganda dancing "Sitya Loss" – A viral song of Ugandan singerEddy Kenzo. It featured four Ugandan boys – Alex Ssempijja, Fred and Isaac Tumusiime, and Bashir Lubega – and a girl, Patricia Nabakooza, dancing improvised moves in a competitive manner. The video, made by Big Talent Entertainment and JahLive Films, was directed by Mugerwa Frank.[193]
Hampster Dance – A page filled with hamsters dancing, linking to other animated pages. It spawned a fictional band complete with its own CD album release.[194]
Harlem Shake – A video based onHarlem shake dance, originally created by YouTube personalityFilthy Frank and using an electronica version of the song byBaauer. In such videos, one person is dancing or acting strangely among a room full of others going about routine business, until after thedrop and a video cut, when everyone starts dancing or acting strangely. Attempts to recreate the dance led to a viral spread on YouTube.[195][196]
"In My Feelings"— A 2018 song byDrake. It went viral thanks to the "In My Feelings Challenge" (also known as the Do The Shiggy Challenge). The challenge was replicated by many celebrities, such as football playerOdell Beckham Jr., actorWill Smith, hosts Kelly & Ryan from the talk showLive with Kelly and Ryan, and many others.[200][201][202][203] The popularity of the dance challenge led to the song reaching the top of theBillboard Hot 100.[204]
Passinho do Romano – The dance was born in the east ofSão Paulo,Brazil, known initially as Passinho do Romano because it was created in Jardim Romano in the region of Itaim Paulista. The dance consists of light steps, with soft uses of heels, free arms with break, dubstep, robot steps and funk.[211]
"Rolex" – Viral song made by duoAyo & Teo. The song is accompanied with the #RolexChallenge, which features people trying to replicate the dance.[212][213] The song peaked at number 20 on theBillboard Hot 100.[214]
Scooby Doo Papa — A viral song and dance video made byNew York disc jockeyDJ Kass. Many people have tried to recreate the dance on social media.[215][216] The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot Latin chart.[217]
"Skibidi" – A song and viral music video by Russian rave bandLittle Big. The release sparked a dance craze in part due to the "Skibidi Challenge" issued by the band.[218] The video went viral days after release, gaining 28 million views in two weeks.[219]
Anime Music Videos/MADs – A staple ofanime conventions both in Japan and Western countries, these fan-made videos take footage from otheranime works and re-edit them in separate order, adding new soundtracks (including to full-length songs), and making other manipulations such as lip-syncing characters to lyrics. With the propagation of the Internet and popularity of anime in the United States in 2003, this type of user-created content was extended to include footage from other works, including video games and Western/American animation.[223][224]
80s remix – A series of videos in which contemporarypop music is reinterpreted as songs released during the 1980s.[225][226]
Sergey Stepanov, akaEpic Sax Guy – A Moldovan musician who quickly gained Internet attention after performing in theEurovision Song Contest 2010 as part of theSunStroke Project. The performance of Stepanov miming a saxophone solo ofMoldova's entry[227] has been remixed and looped for ten hours. The group embraced the Internet attention and mentioned 'Epic Sax Guy' in some of their singles, including a single called 'Epic Sax'. In the2017 contest, SunStroke Project returned with Stepanov, who later played the signature riff live during an interview.[228]
Lip dub – Although lip dubbing in music videos was not a new concept,Jake Lodwick, the co-founder ofVimeo, coined the term "lip dubbing" on December 14, 2006, in a video titledLip Dubbing: Endless Dream.[230][231] Lodwick subsequently directed the "Flagpole Sitta" "office lip dub" in April 2007, whichThe Washington Post covered.[232][233] Since then, dozens of lip dubs have been coordinated around the world by students. After L'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) produced a lip dub toThe Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" in 2009, the video phenomenon gained international acclaim.[234]
Literal music video – Covers of music videos in which the original lyrics have been replaced with lyrics that literally describe the events in the video, typically disconnected with the original lyrics of the song.[236][237]
Nightcore – A type of music that started as a subgenre of trance, nightcore is characterized by a sped-up melody (sometimes), fast rhythmic beat (usually), and always higher than normal pitch. Almost all nightcore works are original songs remixed by fans. Nightcore, introduced in 2002, began its spread to the internet in mid-2005.[238]
"Pink Season" – An album by artist and YouTube personalityFilthy Frank, under his "Pink Guy" persona. The album consists of various tracks that are often overly vulgar and comedic. The album went viral on its release and soared to the top of the iTunes charts.[239]
Rickrolling – A phenomenon involving posting aURL in anInternet forum that appears to be relevant to the topic at hand, but is actually a link to a video ofRick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". The practice originated on4chan as a "Duckroll", in which the link was to an image of a duck on wheels. The practice of Rickrolling became popular afterApril Fools' Day in 2008, when YouTube rigged every feature video on its home page to Astley's video.[240][241]
"Sandstorm" – A phenomenon involving answering a question about a song's name, in the comments to aYouTube video, withDarude's 1999 song "Sandstorm", no matter what the song in the video is.[242]
009 Sound System – An electronic music project by Alexander Perls that gained popularity on YouTube after its implementation of the AudioSwap system on the website, which replaced copyrighted music with aCreative Commons licensed track. Since the track names were in alphabetical sorting, 009 Sound System tracks were first on the list, which made them the most used. Popular tracks included "With a Spirit", "Dreamscape", "Holy Ghost", "Space and Time" and others. During the AudioSwap era of YouTube, users reacted negatively to these songs being very frequent on the site, but in YouTube's later days, "With a Spirit" became for many users the site's unofficial anthem.[243]
"All Star" – A song by rock bandSmash Mouth known for its appearance in the 2001 filmShrek and its opening line "Somebody once told me". The song became a meme often associated with Shrek. The song has also been a large part of mashup culture, often being mashed up with various songs.[244] The band has embraced the song's memes.[245]
"Baby I'm Yours" – A song byBreakbot typically coupled with "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Got Him", a quote originally uttered by American diplomatPaul Bremer during a 2003 press conference announcing the capture of Saddam Hussein. The song began to be widely used in various remixes on YouTube paired with clips of people being apprehended or caught off-guard in some fashion, often in the context of FBI operations or ligma jokes.
"Big Enough" – An EDM country song byKirin J. Callinan. The music video for the song portraysJimmy Barnes as a giant screaming cowboy in the sky. The video went viral when the sound of Barnes screaming was put over other screams in pop culture.[246]
"Chum Drum Bedrum" – A video of Russian singerVitas performing the7th Element. The video went viral due to Vitas singing gibberish such as "Blr ha ha ha", which led to Vitas being known as "The Weird Russian Singer".[247][248]
"Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1" – A song by rapperKanye West.Metro Boomin's signature producer tag, "If Young Metro don't trust you I'm gonna shoot ya" and entrance inspired various Vines and memes, usually involving somebody shooting a gun.[249][250]
"Fireflies" – A 2009 song byOwl City that in May 2017 was revived as ameme in which the song would play in random clips.[251] The song received further notability in June 2017 when Owl City was asked to interpret the lyric "I get a thousand hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs."[251][252]
"For The Damaged Coda" – A 2000 song from alternative rock bandBlonde Redhead, popularlized by animated television seriesRick And Morty, spawned memes after the song was placed over sad moments in popular culture.[253]
"Lazy Sunday" – A 2005Saturday Night Live sketch written and performed byAndy Samberg andChris Parnell in which the two engage in a hip-hop song about their plans for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The song was uploaded by fans toYouTube, at that time a relatively small, new site, and was watched by millions of users before it was taken down as a copyright violation by NBC. This created the idea of being able to provide reuse of television material on the Internet, giving shows a second life, and is said to have established YouTube as a potential revenue source for television networks, contributing towardGoogle's purchase of the site for $1.6 billion in 2006.[254][255][256]
"Little Dark Age" – A 2018 song by Americanrock bandMGMT. Starting late 2020, the song saw a surge in popularity due to remixes and samples being used in a series of video edits featuring themes of politics, social justice, war, and history.[257]
"Man's Not Hot" – A freestyle rap by British comedianMichael Dapaah. The freestyle features Dapaah saying unintelligible phrases and words that made the video into a meme, which was remixed with various songs.[258]
"Mooo!" – A 2018 novelty song by American rapperDoja Cat, who sings, "Bitch I'm a cow / I'm not a cat / I don't say meow". The music video was filmed with a green screen made out of a bed sheet.[259][260][261]
"Nyan Cat" – A video of an animated cat running through space, accompanied with a UTAU song whose lyrics are simply "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!". The video went viral after bloggers started reposting the song.[262]
"Pokemon Go Song" – A song by YouTube personality Mishovy Silenosti about the augmented reality mobile gamePokémon Go. The video surpassed 2.5 million views[263] and became one of the mostdisliked YouTube videos.
"Redbone" – A 2016 song by music artistChildish Gambino. In early 2017, the song became a popular meme consisting of various remixes of the song to fit a certain theme.[271]
"Rose's Turn" – a song from the 1959 musicalGypsy. The song later saw a resurgence in 2024 where a version of the song covered in the TV showGlee saw usage on the social media platformTikTok.[272][273]
"Shooting Stars" – A 2009 song byAustralian bandBag Raiders that went viral in 2017. The song is usually accompanied with people falling with surreal, spacey backgrounds.[274] The meme has since been acknowledged by the band.[275]
"Super Max!" – A 2016 song by DutchMax Verstappen fan group The Pitstop Boys. The song and music video gained popularity during Verstappen's 2021 title run inFormula One.[276]
Trololo – A 1976 televised performance ofRussian singerEduard Khil lip syncing the songI Am Glad to Finally Be Home (Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой). The video's first mainstream appearance was onThe Colbert Report, on 3 March 2010;[277] since then, its popularity has escalated, occasionally being used as part of abait-and-switch prank, similar toRickrolling.[278][279]
"Tunak Tunak Tun" – A 1998 song byIndian artistDaler Mehndi. The music video of the song features multiple images of Mehndigreen screened over computer-generated landscape images. This was done because critics complained that Mehndi's music was popular only because his music videos featured beautiful women dancing. Mehndi's response was to create a video that featured only himself.[281]
"What I've Done" – A 2007 song by Americanrock bandLinkin Park. It became an internet meme in 2022 when the song was used as a template for various films "but [if] it came out in 2007", inspired by its usage in the closing scene of the 2007 science fiction filmTransformers.[282]
"When Mama Isn't Home" – A video of a father playing trombone and a son playing an oven door to the song 'Freaks' byTimmy Trumpet and the rapperSavage.[283] The October 2014 video went viral on Vine and YouTube. The father and son appeared on morning TV talk shows and traveled to Europe to film a TV commercial for Hewlett Packard. The song reached the Billboard viral charts Top 10, 6× platinum status in Australia and number 1 in Savage's home country, New Zealand.[284][285]
The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet – ANew wave song that aired on a German radio station in 1984, thought to originate from a European band. Who created this song and the song's name in question is unknown. The mission to find the song gained popularity in 2019 after a BrazilianReddit user asked the website if they knew of the song's origins.
Cbat – A 2011 song that became popular after a Reddit user stated that he used the song during sex and his girlfriend was turned off by it.[288]
^Doyez, François-Luc (5 November 2011)."Madeon, l'électro kid".Libération Next (in French). Archived fromthe original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved13 April 2012.
