Harlem Shake

Associated With

Decentralised user-created format - creator or operator

Defining Feature

Short videos that switch from one moving person to a group dance at the musical drop

Status

Historical event - YouTube recorded about 1.7 million versions during 2013

Overview

Harlem Shake videos used a sudden musical drop to turn a quiet setup into chaotic group dancing.

One person initially moved while everyone nearby appeared uninterested. At the drop in Baauer’s track, a sharp cut revealed the larger group dancing in costumes or improvised movement.

Google reported about 1.7 million versions during 2013. Harlem Shake also ranked fifth among the company’s global trending searches for the year.

Why It Mattered

The joke belonged to the format rather than any single upload, so schools, offices, teams and groups could make it their own. That repeatable before-and-after edit turned thousands of unrelated videos into one unmistakable internet event.

Repeatable Video Structure

• Early platform analysis identified a lone masked or helmeted dancer before the musical drop.
• The cut then revealed a larger group in costumes or improvised movement.

Early Platform Growth

• YouTube Trends counted more than 12,000 uploads and 44 million views by 11 February 2013.
• A later YouTube update recorded more than 40,000 uploads and 175 million views.

Year-End Reach

• Google reported about 1.7 million versions in 2013.
• Harlem Shake ranked fifth among Google’s global trending searches that year.

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