Am I Being Rick Rolled? Rick Astley’s 1980s Smash Hit Just Surpassed a Massive Milestone

Young or old, the majority of folks have seemingly heard Rick Astley’s 1987 hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Consequently, the song has surpassed a billion streams on Spotify 38 years after its initial release. This is an incredible statistic in and of itself, though it becomes even more incredible when one realizes that Astley released this song nearly 20 years before the start of Spotify.

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Following its initial release, “Never Gonna Give You Up” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and on more than 20 different international charts. Astley’s hit also received a double Platinum certification in the United Kingdom and a five-time Platinum certification in the United States. Now, in terms of the modern music era, Astley has accomplished something that many current musicians have yet to do.

Rick Astley “Never Could Have Imagined” the Single’s Generational Success

Rick Astley’s song has remained relevant due to a plethora of factors. Notably, the Rickrolling internet trolling phenomenon majorly helped bring it back into mainstream around the mid-2000s. For context, the Rickrolling phenomenon was a way to prank your friends through a disguised link that would send you to the music video after clicking it. After that, Astley and his hit single became an integral piece of pop culture in the early internet meme days.

Regarding the song’s achievement, Astley said in a statement per the Hollywood Reporter, “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,” concluded Astley.

Spotify is not the only medium in which Astley has surpassed more than a billion streams and or views on. As of now, the music video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is currently south of 1.7 billion views on YouTube. While this is Astley’s most notable single, his other hits include “Together Forever” and “She Wants to Dance With Me”. Rick Astley is set to take the stage next on July 11, 2025, at the Henley Festival in the UK.

Photo by Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns