The thought of ‘80s singer Rick Astley getting “Rickrolled” himself is rather hilarious, but it turns out it was more of a frustrating experience for him the first time it happened.
Rickrolling was the bait-and-switch prank of the new millennium. Users are promised one thing before clicking on a link that actually leads to the music video of Astley’s 1987 hit, "Never Gonna Give You Up."
“A friend of mine ‘Rickrolled’ me before I even knew what it was,” Ashley told Fox News. “He had to do it a couple of times because I didn’t know what he was doing. I’m just like, ‘Why is he sending me this?’ And my video just suddenly shows up.”
He continued, “In the end, we had an actual telephone conversation. We went old school and he explained it to me. He lives in California and works in music as well. And he works with a lot of guys who are younger than him. So obviously, they’re right on the tip of everything all the time…. I just thought it was really weird.”
Thanks to his daughter explaining it’s “cool” to be a viral sensation, no matter how weird it feels, Astley has been able to fully embrace the role. In fact, he’s embraced it so much that he has partnered with Frito-Lay brand for their, “New Year, New You” campaign.
The campaign celebrates Astley’s hit and features opportunities for 18 fans to win 1,000 each. Another element includes a “RickTok” challenge on TikTok where fans are encouraged to perform their own duet of “Never Gonna Give You Up,” alongside Astley.
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