Recently, the trend of viral videos has experienced a profusion of dance-craze phenomena such as the unbelievably popular “Gangnam Style.” More recently; however, a new craze has surfaced and seemingly surpassed the dance’s popularity: the “Harlem Shake.”
This is not the actual “Harlem Shake” dance popularized in 1981 and later 2001 by Al B and G. Dep, respectively, but rather a series of random, sporadic movements and unpredictable actions that follow a calm period in the song used in the recording of “Harlem Shake” videos, “Harlem Shake” by American producer and DJ, Baauer. It is widely considered to be a meme of sorts, typically due to the comedic value the videos conventionally hold.
A video by the YouTube channel “The Sunny Coast Skate” launched the trend upon being uploaded; as the first of the numerous “Harlem Shake” videos, it currently holds approximately twenty-four million views. The video, uploaded on February 2nd, features five teenagers from Australia and has quickly become the archetype for all “Harlem Shake” videos. As such, the length of the videos is typically around thirty seconds.
The video caused the massive influx of uploads to YouTube, with the amount reaching over four thousand per day on February 10th. The videos have amassed hundreds of millions of views in just over a month.
Unlike trends such as the infamous “Gangnam Style”, the “Harlem Shake” is viewed as more of an internet meme. Due to this, it is projected to have less of a lifespan, though it has been extremely successful since its inception.
The song used was unsuccessful upon its original release in June 2012, though it debuted at number one this year on the US Billboard Hot 100, and has become a music phenomenon in other places such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, placing within the top forty songs in each country’s charts. With such massive popularity, it becomes hard to consider the trend as “dying out” as it seems to be on a rapid rise, rather than a rapid decline.
The “Harlem Shake” is an undeniably popular trend, having millions of people participating in and viewing videos of it since its emergence only a month ago. It has since become more popular than even the trend of “Gangnam Style” that swept across multiple nations.
With literally global popularity, almost everyone has heard of, if not seen or been in, a “Harlem Shake” video. Though it is projected to encounter stagnation in the near future, it is currently a phenomenon seemingly currently unmatched by any other in popularity.
