Almost 40 years after it first hit the charts, Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” has hit a major Spotify milestone.
The catchy ‘80s tune hit a billion streams on the music service, despite being released two decades before Spotify existed, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Astley released a statement saying, “I never could have imagined back in 1987 that ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ would still be going strong decades later. Thanks to streaming platforms, a whole new generation has been able to discover music like mine. Reaching 1 billion streams is something I never dreamed of and to everyone who’s ever listened, thank you.”
He also addressed the viral phenomenon in his 2024 memoir “Never,” writing, “I don’t know how my career would have turned out without Rickrolling. But it would be stupid to say it hasn’t ultimately done me a lot of good,” USA Today reported.
The song was No. 1 on more than 20 international charts, including the Billboard Hot 100, when it was first released.
“Never Gonna Give You Up” was written by Stock Aitken Waterman, USA Today reported.
Not only has it found success on Spotify, but the song was certified double platinum in the U.K. and five times platinum in the U.S. within the past five years. It was also streamed 1.6 billion times on YouTube.
It hit the billion YouTube mark in 2021, Variety reported at the time.
A new generation discovered the now-classic song thanks to Rickrolling, which started in about 2007, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
For those who may not know, Rickrolling is a joke where a hyperlink, instead of going to what the clicker wanted to visit, the link goes to the probably unrelated “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video.
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