The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme that went viral on YouTube in February 2013. The meme is in the form of a video that began being replicated according to a similar concept by many people.
The videos last 31 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. Moreover, in the second half of the video, people often wear a minimum of clothes or crazy outfits or costumes while wielding strange props.
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.
The Washington Post explained the meme's instant virality by referring to the jump cuts, hypnotic beat, quick setups and half minute routines.
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.
The art form of this meme was established by five teenagers known as The Sunny Coast Skate from Queensland, Australia.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, in this case a series of similar videos re-created according to a similar concept.
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.
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.
Source: wikipedia.org
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