Never Gonna Give You Up was released by Rick Astley in 1987 as a hit single from his debut album Whenever You Need Somebody. Two decades later, the song became the centre of the Rickroll prank, where a link promising one thing instead opened the music video, a bait-and-switch that spread through forums, social media and video platforms from around 2007. Its staying power comes from instant recognition, upbeat nostalgia and the harmless surprise, making it a shorthand for an internet joke that almost everyone already knows.