Rick Astley - Page 2

Rick Astley Turns The “Lights Out” In His New Video

Robbie Daw | August 9, 2010 10:10 am
Robbie Daw | August 9, 2010 10:10 am

FRIDAY VIDEO TIME: The Highly Subjective Totally Debatable List Of The Best Songs That Start With The Letter “N”

Erika Brooks Adickman | July 9, 2010 1:41 pm
Erika Brooks Adickman | July 9, 2010 1:41 pm

Rick Astley Returns With “Lights Out”

Robbie Daw | May 11, 2010 11:00 am
Robbie Daw | May 11, 2010 11:00 am


The Rick Astley / Nirvana Mash-Up: A Not Very Good Attempt To Make Kurt Cobain Rickroll Over In His Grave

noah | July 20, 2009 9:30 am
noah | July 20, 2009 9:30 am

nevergonnagivekurtupDespite attempts to quash the Internet trend of Rickrolling—which included Twitter whacking of Rick Astley—the phenomena of playing “Never Gonna Give You Up” at odd moments is still making enough people on the internet snicker for the meme to persist. Keeping that in mind, here is “Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up,” a blend of Astley’s 1987 track with the song that broke a little Washington band called Nirvana only a few years later. After the jump, hear why this mash-up was basically concocted for the purposes of making its creator, DJ Morgoth, have his 15 seconds of Digg fame and little else. More »


Rick Astley: Not Dead

noah | June 30, 2009 4:45 am
noah | June 30, 2009 4:45 am

togetherforever_400The recent rash of celebrity deaths has led to an Internet killing spree of sorts, where famous people of all stripes have been struck down by news reports touting their demise while they in reality have just been doing boring things like sleeping or Twittering. The latest (and perhaps most inevitable) non-casualty of these not-even-all-that-real-looking fake reports: Internet-beloved, ginger-haired pop singer Rick Astley, who was struck down by a fake report (since deleted) claiming that he had passed away in a Berlin hotel room. The phony story was submitted to CNN’s user-generated, non-edited iReport.com, which, because it carries the imprimatur of the cable news network, gets extra “cred” from credulous readers. Take heed, content companies in search of cheaply sourced meat: These are the sorts of shenanigans that are sort of inevitable when you try to pump up your pageviews, and dilute your brand, with what CNN calls “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.” More »


So Rick Astley Walks Into A Karaoke Bar…

noah | May 11, 2009 11:00 am
noah | May 11, 2009 11:00 am


Since the advent of the Rickroll–in which Web surfers are redirected to a clip of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”–the song has become something of a “funny” karaoke staple for people who want to incorporate some comedy into their routine. But is Rickroll karaoke still funny when Astley himself is responsible for vocal duties? An audience in Athens, Ga., found out the other night, when the British singer stopped by, and treated the audience to a performance of his now-signature hit. He’s definitely working the crowd, allowing them to sing along. (Also, the glasses make him look quite fetching!) And there’s more from the evening–after the jump, Rick shows off his falsetto with a performance of “9 To 5,” and peeves someone else in attendance with his need for multiple star turns! More »



Rick Astley Is Fascinated By The Internet

noah | April 30, 2009 8:30 am
noah | April 30, 2009 8:30 am

rickrollRick Astley recalls the Five Stages Of Rickroll Grief in honor of moot, creator of the site that got the whole phenomenon, er, rolling around the Internet, making the Time 100: “I suppose at first I was a little embarrassed by it. I always liken it to when people look through their photo albums or home videos from 20 years ago and think, Gosh, did I really wear that? The difference is, thankfully on the one hand and perhaps a bit scarily on the other, mine are out there for the public to see whenever they want. I find some Rickrolls really funny. Have you seen the one with President Barack Obama? Someone has cut up his speeches and put them together so that he sings ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’ It’s totally amazing. I find it bonkers, by the way!” The original Rickroll video, by the way? 20 million views and counting. I wish someone would figure out a way to incorporate his later works into the joke, but maybe the Internet needs to first fall in on itself for that to happen. [Time; HT Rachel Sklar] More »


80 ’08 (and Heartbreak): Announcing Idolator’s Year-End Extravaganza

Michaelangelo Matos | December 31, 2008 12:45 pm
Michaelangelo Matos | December 31, 2008 12:45 pm

What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ’08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump.

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No. 14: The Internet Is Never Gonna Give Rick Astley Up

noah | December 29, 2008 4:00 am
noah | December 29, 2008 4:00 am

Oh, sure, the phenomenon of “rickrolling”—in which an unsuspecting Web browser is led to an online rip of Rick Astley’s Stock/Aitken/Waterman-penned hit “Never Gonna Give You Up,” for the sole purpose of bringing lulz—originated in 2007. But it wasn’t until 2008 that shocking people with a little bit of gleaming, synth-drum-laden blue-eyed soul really took on a life of its own outside of the Internet’s echo chambers, perplexing baseball fans, Thanksgiving parade watchers, and other people who were inadvertently reminded of the redheaded British crooner’s existence by the ever-increasing hordes of people who were in on the joke.

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Pop Culture Is Never Gonna Give The Rickroll Up

noah | December 1, 2008 9:30 am
noah | December 1, 2008 9:30 am

A few news items that you might have missed while sleeping off your cranberry-sauce-and-stuffing coma:

• Ne-Yo is going to bring his grown sexiness to the next Marilyn Manson album. [Hollywood Insider]
• There’s a Grammy Museum opening! It’ll be like a Hard Rock Cafe, except more self-important and with fewer franchises. [Variety]
• The latest ’90s band to have reunion rumors swirl around it: Faith No More. Don’t mess with my heart, you guys. [Blabbermotuh]
• And finally, lots of American breakfast tables were no doubt filled with confusing conversations about “this Internet thing” as Rick Astley came out to lipsync “Never Gonna Give You Up” during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, much to the delight of the Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends cast. Clip after the jump.

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