Rick Astley’s Rick Roll meme goes viral again with disturbing 4K remaster

Georgina Smith
Rick Astley in the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up

Rick Astley’s smash hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ has gone viral yet again after someone remastered it to make it 4k and 60fps – though many are finding the new version weirdly disturbing.

[jwplayer pNjHVqy4]

While plenty of memes have cropped up on the internet over the years, making a lasting impression on internet culture, none have had quite the staying power like the Rick Roll.

For those that have somehow managed to avoid this phenomenon, a Rick Roll refers to when someone uses a disguised hyperlink to bait you into clicking it, only to have Rick Astley’s upbeat song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ waiting at the other end of the link.

The prank was popularized in 2007, but is still used frequently to this day, and proves to be either hilarious or very annoying, depending on which end of the Rick Roll you’re on.

Now, YouTuber Revideo has sparked new life into the meme by remastering the original video in full 4k and 60 FPS, making it look more high quality than ever before.

https://youtu.be/2ocykBzWDiM

They explained in the description that it’s a “remastered music video with Topaz Video Enhance AI and RIFE (Flowframes)” and the results were impressive.

Compared to the original, the remastered version runs a lot smoother, making Astley’s face a lot clearer and the dancing a lot more snappy.

The reactions to the new version were certainly mixed, with some people loving the new and improved music video. “The future is now,” one person wrote, another saying “this is beautiful.” One user even said, “This makes me feel like Rick Astley is really here, Rick Rolling me in person.”

https://twitter.com/SirPauer/status/1362335683302608897

However, some Twitter users felt strangely disturbed by the video. “Somebody remastered the Rick Astley video in 60 FPS 4k and I am deeply, deeply upset,” someone wrote, another saying “this is terrifying! Why is it so high quality?”

https://twitter.com/ddalgitokki29/status/1362348800702963716

Why exactly the remastered version of Never Gonna Give You Up has some people feeling freaked out is unclear, but people have already announced their plans to start using it as their new Rick Roll go-to.