Yesterday, the collective heart of the Internet skipped a beat when that old reliable video, Rick Astley singing “Never Gonna Give You Up” that launched a worldwide sensation known as Rickrolling, got taken down by YouTube and parent company Sony/BMG for copyright violations. However, rest assured that YouTube is never gonna give Rickrolling up. Calling the video’s removal a mistake, YouTube restored the video and apologized for the mistake in a press release.
Did YouTube/Google do their own version of the Rickroll, this time to us? I don’t doubt they have that sense of humor, but this does seem more like a technical mistake. After all, Astley approves wholeheartedly of Rickrolling, and no doubt Sony loves the increase in attention for the 20-year-old song. The Rickroll video has amassed over 30 million hits! Time to watch it again.
Tags: Rick Astley, Rickrolling, rickroll video, rickroll video banned, rickroll video restored, internet culture, youtube videos, viral videos, music videos, rickroll removed and restored, google