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{{Distinguish|Harlem shake (dance)}}
{{Distinguish|Harlem shake (dance)}}
The '''Harlem Shake''' is an [[Internet meme]] that went viral on [[YouTube]] in early February 2013. The meme is in the form of a video that began being replicated according to a similar concept by many people.<ref>{{web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-57568940-10391705/the-harlem-shake-phenomenon-keeps-going-strong-with-grandmas-and-military/|title="The Harlem Shake" phenomenon keeps going strong (with grandmas and military)|last=Goodman|first=Will|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=February 12, 2013|accessdate=February 12, 2013}}</ref>
The '''Harlem Shake''' is a forced [[Internet meme]] that went viral on [[YouTube]] in early February 2013. The meme is in the form of a video that began being replicated according to a similar concept by many people.<ref>{{web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-57568940-10391705/the-harlem-shake-phenomenon-keeps-going-strong-with-grandmas-and-military/|title="The Harlem Shake" phenomenon keeps going strong (with grandmas and military)|last=Goodman|first=Will|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=February 12, 2013|accessdate=February 12, 2013}}</ref>


The meme was established in a video uploaded on February 2 by five teenagers from [[Queensland, Australia|Queensland]], [[Australia]].<ref name="cbc"/><ref name="youtube trends"/><ref>
The meme was established in a video uploaded on February 2 by five teenagers from [[Queensland, Australia|Queensland]], [[Australia]].<ref name="cbc"/><ref name="youtube trends"/><ref>

Revision as of 04:42, 23 February 2013

Not to be confused with Harlem shake (dance).

The Harlem Shake is a forced Internet meme that went viral on YouTube in early February 2013. The meme is in the form of a video that began being replicated according to a similar concept by many people.[1]

The meme was established in a video uploaded on February 2 by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia.[2][3][4] The teenagers' video, in its turn, was a follow-up to a video by a YouTube comedy vlogger named Filthy Frank[5][6][2] featuring a part where several costumed people danced to the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer.[7][8]

Concept

Stills from a Harlem Shake video made by the office of Rolling Stone Indonesia
A Harlem Shake video by Rolling Stone Indonesia

The videos last between 30 and 32 seconds and feature an excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake" by electronic musician Baauer. Usually, a video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video cuts to the entire crowd doing a crazy convulsive dance for the next 15 seconds. The dancing style should not be confused with the original Harlem Shake dance.[9][10] Moreover, in the second half of the video, people often wear a minimum of clothes or crazy outfits or costumes while wielding strange props.[11][12]

Reasons for success

The success of the videos was in part attributed to the anticipation of the breakout moment and short length, making them very accessible to watch.[13]

The Washington Post explained the meme's instant virality by referring to the jump cuts, hypnotic beat, quick setups and half minute routines.[14]

The Harlem Shake is technically very easy for fans to reproduce, as it consists of a single locked camera shot and one jump cut. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the concept allows fans considerable scope in creating their own distinctive variant and making their mark, while retaining the basic elements. In its simplest form, it could be made with two people; a more sophisticated version might even involve a crowded stadium. Moreover, there is a level playing field for celebrities and fans alike, with no guarantee of success for either group. There is a strong vein of humour running through each video that is not dependent on language, further increasing its potential to spread virally.[15][16][17][18]

History

Creation

This meme was established by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia.[6][3] After a while, more people started to replicate the original video and upload their own versions to YouTube, therefore Harlem Shake became what is called an Internet meme,[3] in this case a series of similar videos re-created according to a similar concept.

Viral spread

On February 10, the upload rate of Harlem Shake videos reached 4,000 per day. As of February 11, about 12,000 versions of the popular Internet meme had been uploaded to YouTube, garnering over 44 million unique views. As of February 15, about 40,000 Harlem Shake videos had been uploaded, totalling 175 million views.[3]

As a result of the popularity of the phenomenon, Baauer's single reached #1 on the iTunes America chart and #2 on iTunes in the UK and Australia on February 15, 2013.[19]

Cambridge, England (stills from one of 4000 videos a day uploaded at the peak of the meme's popularity)

Reception

Initial critical response

Numerous commenters have compared the Harlem Shake to "Gangnam Style".[20][21] But the business magazine Forbes pointed out that unlike "Gangnam Style" and other notable hits from 2012, Harlem Shake is more of a meme, since a wide variety of groups and individuals have uploaded variants of the dance.[22]

Martin Talbot, Managing Director of The Official Charts Company in the UK, described "Harlem Shake" as a "phenomenon", the first ever "crowd sourced video" to significantly drive sales of a song. Previously, as happened with "Gangnam Style", there was always an initial video created by an artist which would start a dance craze that was subsequently adopted by fans.[16]

Although it gained most of its popularity in USA, it has not been well received in most of Europe.[citation needed]

Projected lifespan

The Atlantic magazine declared the "meme murder[ed]" when the mainstream Today television program broadcast their version of the Harlem Shake on February 13.[12]

The Los Angeles Times cited a number of reasons why it felt the meme was nearing its peak, including what it described as an "extravagant" departure from the meme's humble origins, adoption by a very broad demographic including the elderly, choreographed corporate versions by ad agencies and marketing departments, apparent boredom of video participants, and significant departures from the original formula, such as the use of multiple camera angles and visual effects.[23]

Ad Age identified sixty advertising agencies exploiting the meme, calling it "played-out" after Pepsico released a Harlem Shake video featuring dancing soft drinks. Gabrielle Levy of UPI called the Pepsi ad "a bridge too far," noting that low production values had been "part of the charm" of the meme. Time asked, "do you really want to open a can of soda after it’s done the Harlem Shake?"[24] [25][26]

A KQED blog declared on February 19th that the phenomenon had "jumped the shark" after heavy exposure in the mass media and a plethora of "forced and forgettable" efforts.[27]

Notable people and groups who performed the Harlem Shake

Various groups that shot videos of themselves doing the Harlem Shake included the staff of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon[28], a squadron of the Norwegian Army,[29] basketball players from the Dallas Mavericks,[23] football players from Manchester City[30][31] and the colleagues of CNN newsanchor Anderson Cooper, the last of whom received a Twitter shout-out from Baauer himself.[12] Cooper showed video of his staff performing the dance, while declaring himself "horrified" and "uncomfortable" about it.[32] Other participants in the craze included the University of Georgia swim team, whose video received at least 7.8 million views,[19] music producer and international DJ Markus Schulz,[citation needed] "a senior community,"[33] NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon,[34] musicians Matt & Kim,[29] musician Azealia Banks,[35][36][37][38] the staff of The Daily Show,[39] Ryan Seacrest, Stephen Colbert,[40][41][14] Rhett & Link[42] and members of the WWE show.[43]

A video titled Harlem Shake (Grandma Edition), in which a man and his two octogenarian grandmothers dance, received over a million views online within three days. It was broadcast on the Today show and CNN.[44][45]

After numerous companies and startups began uploading their own Harlem Shake videos for what appeared to be promotional purposes, the business magazine Forbes advised them to produce their own original content instead of variants of the same video. It stated that there were too many versions already on YouTube, and that such publicity efforts could become "lost amidst all the noise."[22]

Similarly, Ad Age begged advertising agencies not to "attempt to surf on the now-crashed viral wave."[46]

In February 2013, a New York boys' hockey team was forced to forfeit a first-round playoff game as a result of a Harlem Shake video uploaded to YouTube. The team's video, shot in a locker room, depicts scantily clad team members, notably, one player wearing nothing but a sock.[47][48] On February 20, 2013, the cast of American reality television series Splash including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katherine Webb, Ndamukong Suh and Louie Anderson also uploaded a video of them dancing on the clip.[49] The same day, Australian singer Cody Simpson uploaded a video of his crew and him doing the Harlem Shake in his tour bus.[50]

Timeline of going viral

Because of the unusual way in which this meme started, it is important to clarify the precise sequence of events; namely a longer 3 minute 22 second video was uploaded by Filthy Frank on Jan 30th 2013 which included a 19 second section with some elements of the meme. The Sunny Coast Skate then uploaded their 31 second version of that original section on February 2 at 15:17. This includes all the recognisable elements of the meme, with the exception of the slowed down ending which many include. Filthy Frank then uploaded an extended 36 second section of his original dance as a standalone video clip on February 2 at 17:38.

{{{inline}}}

All times UTC

  • 2013-01-30 22:34: "Filthy Compilation #6 - Smell My Fingers" by Filthy Frank (channel DizastaMusic) uploaded to YouTube[51]
  • 2013-02-02 15:17: The Sunny Coast Skate's version uploaded[52]
  • 2013-02-02 17:38: Filthy Frank's version uploaded[53]

References

  1. ^ Template:Web
  2. ^ a b "Will the Harlem Shake viral meme ever stop?". 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-15. 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.
  3. ^ "'Harlem Shake' Shakes It Across YouTube, With Over 44 Million Views". Abcnews.go.com. 2013-02-13. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  4. ^ Template:Web
  5. ^ a b Muir, Kristy (February 15, 2013). "Copycat shakers tap into worldwide video hit by Coast teens". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  6. ^ Peppers, Margot (February 19, 2013). "Making the Harlem Shake: Meet the man behind internet's hottest new craze". Daily Mail.
  7. ^ Holpuch, Amanda (February 19, 2013). "Harlem Shake: Baauer cashes in on viral video's massive YouTube success". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Inventor of Harlem Shake Interview". InsideHoops. August 13, 2003. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  9. ^ "Harlem Shake meme obscuring dance's history, critics argue". cbcnews. February 18,2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Mallenbaum, Carly (February 13, 2013). "'Harlem Shake' videos stir up YouTube". USAToday. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Wagner, David (February 13, 2013). "The Harlem Shake Meme Is Dead". The Atlantic.
  12. ^ "YouTube:Here's How 'Harlem Shake' Went Viral". Mashable. Feb 13, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Kaufman, Sarah (February 14, 2013). "Is it any wonder the Harlem Shake went viral?". The Washington Post.
  14. ^ Berkowitz, Joe (February 15, 2013). "A brief history of internet phenomenon 'Harlem Shake'". FastCompany.
  15. ^ a b Cochrane, Greg (February 14, 2013). "Viral fan videos propel Harlem Shake track into charts". BBC.
  16. ^ Constine, Josh (February 19, 2013). "The Science Behind Why The Harlem Shake Is So Popular". techcrunch.
  17. ^ Kosner, Anthony Wing (February 18, 2013). "The Present Shock Of The Harlem Shake". Forbes.
  18. ^ a b "Harlem Shake challenges Gangnam Style on online dance floors". Articles.chicagotribune.com. February 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  19. ^ Template:Web
  20. ^ Template:Web
  21. ^ a b Kelly Clay (2012-04-18). "Forget The Harlem Shake And Do Your Own Dance". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  22. ^ a b Rodriguez, Salvador (February 16, 2013). "Eight things killing the Harlem Shake". The Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^ Pathak, Shareen (2013-02-15). "Over 60 Ad Agencies Have Harlem Shake Videos". Adage.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22. Still worse, brands are getting in on the action with their own videos. Pepsi posted a video to its YouTube page yesterday, featuring a bunch of soda cans doing the moves [...]
  24. ^ Gabrielle Levy. "Companies jump on Harlem Shake video trend for advertisements". Part of the charm of the videos was their very lo-fi style [...] So when Pepsi uploaded a video of its various beverages taking the place of the dancers, it was something of a bridge too far. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 65 (help)
  25. ^ "Here Is Why Pepsi Cans Shouldn't Do the Harlem Shake". time.com. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  26. ^ Ian Hill (2013-02-19). "8 People Who Made Harlem Shake Videos Interesting : KQED Pop". kqed.org. Retrieved 2013-02-22. [...] the Harlem Shake probably reached its peak last week when it was the subject of stories by mainstream media outlets [...]. Then it jumped the shark. Everyone has been doing it lately [...] and most of their videos have been forced and forgettable.
  27. ^ "The Harlem Shake Is the New Gangnam Style!". E! Online. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  28. ^ a b Watercutter, Angela. "Breaking Down the Harlem Shake Meme With Matt & Kim | Underwire". Wired.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  29. ^ "Dzek this out! Manchester City stars do the Harlem Shake in this hilarious video". Mirror.co.uk. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  30. ^ "City do the Harlem Shake". Manchester City Football Club (www.mcfc.co.uk). 20 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  31. ^ "Anderson Cooper Horrified By 'Harlem Shake' (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  32. ^ "Harlem Shake Detroit Videos: Dance Craze Sweeps Motown - But Who Danced It Best?". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  33. ^ "Jeff Gordon shows off his moves in Harlem Shake video". USA Today. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  34. ^ "Azealia Banks Calls 'Harlem Shake' Artist a Gay Slur, Reignites Beef With Perez Hilton". Billboard. 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  35. ^ "Azealia Banks Takes On 'Harlem Shake' Producer And Perez Hilton (Again)". Rapfix.mtv.com. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  36. ^ Kathy Iandoli. "Azealia Banks Delivers The Twerk In "Harlem Shake" Video: watch". Idolator.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  37. ^ "Azealia Banks – "Harlem Shake" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  38. ^ "Jon Stewart Calls Out CNN's Carnival Triumph Cruise Ship Coverage: 'You're Not Heroes' (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  39. ^ Hartwig, Gabe (2013-02-07). "Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert do the 'Harlem Shake' : Entertainment". Stltoday.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  40. ^ Catalini, Michael. "Play of the Day: The States (And Colbert) Take on The Banks". NationalJournal.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  41. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZEQqa9rybk
  42. ^ "WWE's Harlem Shake". WWE.com. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  43. ^ Angela Hill (2013-02-15). "Harlem Shake videos, with 44 million views, have gone mainstream". Oroville Mercury-Register. Hank Rao of San Rafael dances in front of his grandmothers in a video titled Harlem Shake (Grandma Edition). Posted on YouTube, the video went viral and had more than 1 million views less than three days after it was posted. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |note= ignored (help)
  44. ^ Paul Liberatore (2013-02-14). "Harlem Shake videos, with 44 million views, have gone mainstream". Marin Independent Journal. It took only 30 seconds for 22-year-old Hank Rao of San Rafael and his two octogenarian grandmothers to become the latest Internet sensations.[...]It was on the 'Today' show yesterday morning. It's trending on the front page of YouTube. It was on CNN." {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |note= ignored (help)
  45. ^ Dumenco, Simon (2013-02-14). "Please Stop Making That Harlem Shake-Themed Commercial". Adage.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22. My colleague Nat Ives was wondering this morning how many agencies have been pulling all-nighters trying to churn out Harlem Shake-themed commercials that attempt to surf on the now-crashed viral wave. [...] friends don't let friends make Harlem Shake videos: {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |autor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ "Harlem Shake video costs NY hockey team spot in sectional playoffs". Yahoo Sports.
  47. ^ "Nyack/Tappan Zee will not be part of the dance". LoHud Hockey Blog.
  48. ^ Foss, Mike (February 20, 2013). "Katherine Webb, Ndamukong Suh, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar do the Harlem Shake". USA Today. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  49. ^ Vulpo, Michael (February 20, 2013). "The Harlem Shake Invades Cody Simpson's Tour Bus". RyanSeacrest.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  50. ^ "YouTube data for "FILTHY COMPILATION #6 - SMELL MY FINGERS" by DizastaMusic". Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  51. ^ "YouTube data for "The Harlem Shake v1 (TSCS original)" by TheSunnyCoastSkate". Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  52. ^ "YouTube data for "DO THE HARLEM SHAKE (ORIGINAL)" by DizastaMusic". Retrieved 2013-02-17.
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