Rick Astley is trending on Twitter after a remastered 4K version of his classic hit Never Gonna Give You Up emerged on Youtube.
For anyone who’s somehow managed to avoid the more-than-a-decade-old meme, the 1987 hit became an internet phenomenon known as ‘rickrolling’.
Rickrolling is a bait-and-switch style prank that began in 2007 that involves tricking someone with a link that unexpectedly takes them to the cheesy 1980s classic. Hence, they have been rickrolled.
Now people can rickroll their friends in glorious high definition.
Despite the fact we can now watch the iconic 80s music video in crystal clear resolution, many fans on Twitter have been weirded out by the new version.
Although the remastered version of Rick Astley’s iconic hit certainly looks crisp, many found it jarring to watch.
Twitter reacts to Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up remastered
The remastered version has taken taken Twitter by storm, although reactions were mixed.
One fan claimed they were “deeply, deeply upset” by the music video’s new reincarnation.
While some found the new HD visuals highly unsettling.
Others were quick to defend the “amazing” new take on an old classic.
Many were just straight-up confused.
How did rickrolling start?
Rickrolling all started as an evolution of the internet prank known as ‘duckrolling’.
Duckrolling gained traction on infamous internet messaging board, 4chan, after its founder placed a word filter on the site. Every time someone typed in “egg”, the word would be changed to “duck”.
This meant if someone typed “eggroll”, it would be changed to “duckroll”.
It didn’t take long for the community to catch on, and soon users began posting links to an image of a duck with wooden wheels, while falsely advertising the link as something else. When this happened, you had been duckrolled.
This brings us to rickrolling. The successor to the duckroll meme began in May 2007 when an anonymous 4chan user posted a link promising a trailer for the game Grand Theft Auto 4 to unsuspecting fans.
Of course, the link only took people to Rick Astley’s music video for Never Gonna Give You Up. It didn’t take long for the prank go viral.
While the craze has certainly died down since its emergence, the rickroll is still going strong.
When Rick Astley got rickrolled
Turns out, Rick actually has a his own (very wholesome) Reddit account under the handle ReallyRickAstley.
Last year, the singer took to the the online messaging board to share a behind-the-scenes photo from his first ever tour in 1989.
Of course, it didn’t take long for one Reddit user to seize the opportunity to rickroll the man himself.
“I think I might cry!! It’s actually you. I met you backstage even when I was 12. Seriously a big fan. I’ve seen you in concert five times” wrote the fan, under the username theMalleableDuck.
A link had been added to the post, and it’s easy to guess where it led to. It didn’t take long for fans to lose their minds.
Not wanting to give away the joke to other unsuspecting Reddit users, Astley responded with the clapping emoji.
He later gave a shoutout to the mastermind behind the ultimate rickroll.
“Thanks for the love, comments, DMs etc! And finally, u/theMalleableDuck I salute you” he applauded.
Will Never Gonna Give You Up remastered spark a huge comeback for the humble rickroll? Watch this space.