The riff comes from Careless Whisper, released in 1984 by George Michael while he was still in Wham!, and became one of the most famous saxophone solos in pop music. The smooth sax line, performed by Steve Gregory, turned into a universal audio shorthand for romance and seduction online. It later spread widely as a meme sound on video platforms, where creators reuse it for ironic love scenes, thirst traps and slow motion entrances, similar to how other classic meme reactions like sudden suspense are used to set a mood instantly.