‘Harlem Shake’ Shakes It Across YouTube, With Over 44 Million Views

By Joanna Stern
@joannastern
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Feb 13, 2013 3:45pm

Credit: YouTube/NFLRevolution1

You’ve likely landed at this article looking for one of two things. Number 1: an explanation of what this “Harlem Shake” thing is. Number 2: To see more Harlem Shakes!

We’ve got you covered with both.

Technically, the “Harlem Shake” was a dance move from the ’80s. It began in New York’s Harlem, and was popular in music videos. Then, in 2011, it was the title of an electronic song produced by Baauer. Now, in 2013, the song has become the track of many viral videos.

It seems to have started with the video below. The video of people wearing masks and dressed in latex suits, one in a Power Ranger costume, was uploaded to YouTube on Jan. 30, 2013. As you’ll see in the video, which has been viewed over three million times, everyone dances.

But the dance and the video premise evolved. A YouTube user by the name of TheSunnyCoastSkate uploaded a video in which everyone around him was just going about their business while he danced to the music with a motorcycle helmet on. Then when the lyrics start, everyone else starts dancing. According to YouTube, that’s the video that started the real viral trend.  As of Feb. 11, there have been over 12,000 “Harlem Shake” videos, and they’ve been watched more than 44 million times. Now, YouTube says, over 4,000 of these crazy dance videos are being uploaded per day.

And it hasn’t just been YouTube stars uploading these videos. Lots of media companies and offices jumped on the trend. Buzzfeed, Now This News, College Humor and others have uploaded some pretty hilarious, jam-packed dance videos. Then came ones from West Point, the Coast Guard Academy and the Air Force Academy.

Now, of course, the competition is on for the best Harlem Shake video on the Internet. We leave you with some of our favorites.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com