Harlem Shake (meme)

This article is about the meme. For the song used in the meme, see Harlem Shake (song). For the original dance, see Harlem shake (dance).

Screenshots from a Harlem Shake video, showing the characteristic static jump cut from one dancer to a wild dance party after the song's drop[1]

The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people dance to a short excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake". The meme became viral in early February 2013,[2] with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.[3]

The meme usually features participants performing flailing or convulsive movements usually dressed in outlandish costumes while wielding unexpected props.[4][5] The meme form was established in a video uploaded on January 30, 2013, by YouTube personality George Miller on his DizastaMusic channel. The video featured the character "Pink Guy" from The Filthy Frank Show entitled "Filthy Compilation #6 – Smell My Fingers",[6][7][8] which featured a section where several costumed people danced to the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer.[9] The video opens with the first use of the Harlem Shake meme,[3][6] and started a viral trend of people uploading their own "Harlem Shake" videos to YouTube.[10]

Despite its name, the meme does not actually involve participants performing the original Harlem Shake dance, a street and hip hop dance that originated in 1980s Harlem, New York City.

  1. ^ Rodriguez, Salvador (16 December 2017). "Eight things killing the Harlem Shake". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  2. ^ Goodman, Will (12 February 2013). ""The Harlem Shake" phenomenon keeps going strong (with grandmas and military)". CBS News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference cbcshake was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Palmer, Tamara. "The Harlem Shakedown". The Root. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b "Will the Harlem Shake viral meme ever stop?". CBC News. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013. A group of teenagers known as The Sunny Coast Skate from Queensland Australia, were the first to respond and the rest, as they say, is history.
  6. ^ Zeichner, Naomi (15 February 2013). "Fader Explains: Harlem Shake". The Fader, Inc. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ^ Muir, Kristy (15 February 2013). "Copycat shakers tap into worldwide video hit by Coast teens". Sunshine Coast Daily. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  8. ^ Holpuch, Amanda (19 February 2013). "Harlem Shake: Baauer cashes in on viral video's massive YouTube success". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ^ "'Harlem Shake' Shakes It Across YouTube, With Over 44 Million Views". ABC News. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2013.