Sometimes songs take on a life of their own. Whether because of their timelessness, their lyrics, their hilarity, or their catchiness, they go viral. We’ve picked 10 of our favorite musical references from viral songs currently in the zeitgeist听to take a look at the language and see if their popularity makes any sense …
Our first musical interlude features the unlikely combo of comedian Andy Samberg and rapper T-Pain. Oh yea, and a boat.
The hit single听I鈥檓 on a Boat听was released by The Lonely Island on February 3, 2009 and premiered on NBC鈥檚听Saturday Night Live听as a Saturday Night Live: Digital Short on February 9, 2009. It features comedians Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, alongside special guest rapper T-Pain, performing on a boat.
Much of the song鈥檚 lyrics are bombastic and profane observations about being on a boat, such as 鈥淚鈥檓 on a boat motherf**ker take a look at me, / Straight flowin’ on a boat on the deep blue sea.鈥�
People often humorously allude to the song by declaring in speech or text听I鈥檓 on a boat听when actually on a seafaring vessel. The phrase is typically proclaimed in a loud or obnoxious manner, similar to Samberg鈥檚 delivery in the music video, and it is often meant to express how being on a boat is a special experience. The allusion can be both sincere and ironic, and it is frequently referenced with nostalgia … and in that feeling lies the reason for its popularity and virality.
Our next viral song also features white comedians rapping on boats. Do you sense a theme?
Comedians Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly teamed up with director Adam McKay for the popular 2008 comedy,听Step Brothers.听In the movie, Ferrell and Reilly play unemployed, middle-aged, music production-aspiring stepbrothers in need of direction in life. Under threat of being thrown out of their parents鈥� house, the two, improbably, start an entertainment company, inaugurating their venture with a music video for their song Boats 鈥楴 Hoes, filmed on one of their father鈥檚 boats. Its hook goes: 鈥淏oats 鈥榥 hoes, boats 鈥榥 hoes / gotta have me my boats 鈥榥 hoes.鈥�
The ironic ridiculousness of the song, its quotable verses featuring cheesy sex and sailing puns (e.g., going听port to port, among much more explicit lines), and its parody of rap video tropes helped make it a hit in popular culture, further boosted by the star power of Ferrell and Reilly in the late 2000s.
The phrase has even surpassed the popularity of the movie. The lower-cased听boats 鈥榥 hoes听has become a colloquial way to express excitement and enjoyment, especially when vacationing or partying on a boat or body of water. However, while many women do quote or allude to听Boats 鈥楴 Hoes, many others may consider the phrase鈥檚听ho, a slang term for a听whore, vulgar and offensive.
Before J. Lo was an international superstar, she was Jenny from the Block, as she sang on her 2002 hit song by that name. The song is about how she will never forget her roots despite her international fame and wealth. The success of听Jenny from the Block听has led the popular media to use it as a nickname for Jennifer Lopez.
Someone acting or dancing like Lopez in the video may also occasionally be called a听Jenny from the Block, as may some young, music-inclined, or fame-aspiring women living in the Bronx. Fans of the song or Jennifer Lopez, especially those also named Jennifer or from the Bronx, commonly use听Jenny from the Block听as a username on social media.
The relatable aspect of this phrase definitely contributed to the catchiness of the beat in this song: that’s a recipe for viral stardom.
Miss Mary Mack is by far the oldest musical reference on this list, but she remains a constant feature in modern rap songs. We tip our hat to this viral all star.
It’s unclear exactly where the name听Miss Mary Mack听came from and who听Miss Mary Mack听is. Regardless of its exact origin, the rhyme was firmly established as a black children鈥檚 clapping games by the 1920s. And now, as one of the most popular and best-known children鈥檚 clapping games,听Miss Mary Mack听is nostalgically alluded to in colloquial speech and writing.听The first few, and most popular, verses are also often riffed on in jokes. These jokes typically reference听Miss Mary Mack鈥榮 fashion sense (e.g., That moment you realize听Miss Mary Mack听all dressed in black with silver buttons all down her back was most definitely emo) or play with the song鈥檚 structure and rhyme (e.g.,听Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack听throw that a$$ back back back).Miss Mary Mack听has been widely referenced in hip-hop rap, including 鈥淢iss Mary Mack鈥� by Juicy J (2015), 鈥淐ircles鈥� by B.o.B. (2012), and 鈥淩ockabye Baby鈥� by听Priscilla Renea (2009). Notably, rap artist Rich Kidz referenced听Miss Mary Mack听in 鈥淧op That鈥� (2013), singing: 鈥淢iss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack / All dressed in black, black, black / She got tattoos / All down her back, back, back.鈥� That portion of the song inspired a dance craze that spread as the video听Miss Mary Mack Challenge听on social media.
What can’t this woman do?
Coming in as the second-oldest song on this list,听Smells Like Teen Spirit was the 1991 Nirvana single that catapulted them to fame.
Supposedly, the name came from graffiti that Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill once wrote on the wall of lead singer Kurt Cobain鈥檚 hotel room. She wrote 鈥淜urt smells like Teen Spirit鈥� in reference to a deodorant brand that Cobain鈥檚 girlfriend at the time wore. Cobain, who didn鈥檛 know what Teen Spirit was, was said to have interpreted it as a revolutionary catchphrase and named a song after it.
With its distinctive, distorted guitar riff,听Smells Like Teen Spirit听became Nirvana鈥檚 most popular song. It served as an anthem for many of听Generation X, who, like Cobain, found themselves confused and uncertain about the world around them. The song鈥檚 nihilistic vibe (鈥淗ere we are now, entertain us / I feel stupid and contagious鈥�) appealed to many in a youth culture perceived as apathetic and cynical by outsiders.
If Smells Like Teen Spirit was the anthem of Gen X, then this next song is the Millennial anthem.
The earworm What Does the Fox Say? went viral in 2013, earning over 750-million views and spawning an internet meme based on its chorus line,听What does the fox say? The song was written by Norwegian brothers B氓rd and Vegard Ylvis氓ker, known together as the comedy duo Ylvis. In 2013, they had an offbeat idea: Make an intentionally terrible song, pair it with a high-quality, studio-level music video, and release it as a joke they expected to fail but help promote their Norwegian TV show.听What Does the Fox Say? is recognized as a piece of mid-2010s pop culture, often discussed in the context of viral content and internet culture more generally. It is sometimes quoted by comedians and alluded to on TV, in movies, and around the internet. Memes of What Does the Fox Say? picture foxes and provide captions providing funny, alternative things the fox is saying. A prominent sound effect that the fox is given in the song and video,听ring-ding-ding-ding-ding, is also often referenced and used with images of foxes on social media.
Our next featured musical reference also comes from a bit of unusual Scandinavian comedy that went internationally viral.
We Are Number One sounds like a champion’s boast鈥攚hich it is鈥攂ut it’s also a song from the Icelandic children’s television show听LazyTown听that became a popular meme听through countless remixes and parodies.
In the original听We Are Number One听song, Robbie Rotten shows his bad-guy buds, Bobbie, Tobbie, and Fobbie Rotten, all the different ways he plans to catch Sportacus. As Robbie sing-splains: 鈥淚f you wanna be a Villain Number One / You have to chase a superhero on the run.鈥� The song, which is super catchy whether you like it or not features a Hungarian klezmer-like melody, and its video visuals are absolutely bananas. One part shows Robbie trying to catch Sportacus with a giant butterfly net, for example.We Are Number One听first aired in October 2014.听That might have been the end of it, but, sadly, Stef谩n Karl Stef谩nsson, who played Robbie Rotten, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2016.听A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his treatment was immediately launched. To draw attention to the campaign, fans began releasing remixes of the听We Are Number One听song. (Tragically, Stef谩nsson passed away in August 2018.)We Are Number One听parodies were most popular in December 2016. This led some users to joke that the meme鈥攁nd Robbie Rotten himself鈥攈ad achieved 鈥済od-like meme status,鈥� which in turn spawned its own set of memes. Because meme culture.
This next musical reference, Suavemente, is well, incredibly smooth. From the Spanish for “smoothly,” Suavemente popularly refers to a 1998 Spanish-language song by Elvis Crespo. It inspired a popular meme in 2015 when it was compared to rapper Drake’s dancing in his music video for “Hotline Bling.”Suavemente has been popular in the Latinx community since its release in 1998. The song has become (and is referenced as) a party staple and a crowd favorite, the type that everyone gets up to dance to at an event.
Gaining popularity in both English- and Spanish-speaking populations, it is common to see the Spanish-language title Suavemente familiarly used in English (e.g., I know there鈥檚 a party when I hear the beginning of Suavemente). Internet personality @JValentino_ notably parodied Suavemente by singing an English translation of the lyrics. On the internet, people will also post the lyrics of the song, most of them highlighting the drawn-out way Elvis Crespo sings (e.g., Suuuuuuaveeementeeeeeee).
What’s more fun to sing than that?
Some of the best song lyrics that go viral come from dance challenges鈥攖hink Gangnam Style circa 2012. Juju on that Beat was one our favorite of these kinds of viral trends.Juju has a variety of meanings. It is the name of a type of guitar and drum-based music among the Yoruba in West Africa. It can refer to a supernatural power or luck caused by a charm or fetish. Since the 1940s, juju has also been slang for marijuana. In their 2016 song Juju on That Beat, hip-hop duo Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall draw on juju鈥榮 associations of being 鈥渉igh鈥� or 鈥渆nchanted.鈥� Hilfigerrr has explained the slang juju as 鈥渓ike I鈥檓 the height 鈥� turned up 鈥� I don鈥檛 care.鈥�
Also known as the TZ Anthem (the two Zs, Zay and Zay), the song was originally created in 2014 when Hilfigerrr freestyled over the beat of Crime Mob鈥檚 2004 track 鈥淜nuck if you Buck.鈥� The duo released the song as a single in July 2016 when they were just 15 years old. Detroit dance duo Fresh the Clown approached Hillfigerrr and McCall about making it a dance challenge鈥攖hink the Mannequin Challenge or the Harlem Shake.
Later that summer, Fresh the Clown posted a YouTube video where they danced听the听juju听(脿 la the Whip or听Nae Nae). Under the hashtag 鈥�#TZAnthemChallenge,鈥� the dance went viral, helping听Hillfigerrr and McCall become an overnight sensation and sending Juju on That Beat to #5 on the Billboard charts.
To be vindicated is to be proven correct or cleared of blame. But, for emo fans of a certain age, the word instantly brings to mind the 2004 Dashboard Confessional hit Vindicated, which repeats the word鈥攙ery emotionally, very often.
Band frontman Chris Carrabba wrote the song for the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack, where it ultimately played over the end credits. The peak-vindicated听era coincided, not unsurprisingly, with the release of the song in 2004. People still reference the song today, a testament to its enduring popularity. It does have a reputation, though, for being very emo. But, just try belting out the chorus … we bet you’ll feel all the feels instantaneously.
What’s funny though is that Vindicated notably riffed on a meme based on听LGBTQ+ self-identification poll.听The chorus of Vindicated 鈥淚 am vindicated / I am selfish / I am wrong鈥︹��) lends itself to the menu options …
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