MA-0020 · first seen 30 January 2013
Harlem Shake
A thirty-second video format in which one person dances alone, the bass drops, and everyone else erupts.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 6/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- 0%Estimated
- Peak
- 90Feb 2013
- Years active
- 1Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 201330 January 2013
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Jan 2013 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
The format was simple: for the first 15 seconds, one masked person dances in a room while the people around them ignore them. Then the bass drops from Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” and everyone is suddenly dancing in costumes. The first video that defined it was posted on 30 January 2013.
It spread at extraordinary speed. By mid-February around 4,000 new versions were being uploaded every day and, within 40 days, the videos had passed one billion views. Baauer’s track reached number one in the United States. The craze lasted only a few months before corporate participation and overexposure killed it.
Origin
A video posted to YouTube on 30 January 2013, set to Baauer’s 2012 track “Harlem Shake”.
30 January 2013
Viralization
Thousands of copies were uploaded each day in early February 2013.
February 2013
Peak
Mid-February 2013: roughly 4,000 videos a day, and 40,000 versions with 700 million views by 15 February.
Feb 2013
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
The first video
A 30-second video of a masked dancer sets the format.
Early adoption
Copies appear
Groups of friends, teams and offices begin posting their own.
Viral
4,000 a day
Around 4,000 new versions are being uploaded each day.
Peak
700 million views
40,000 versions have been uploaded, with a combined 700 million views.
Decline
A billion views
Brands and institutions join in; the novelty fades within weeks.
Current
A period piece
Remembered as the fastest-burning dance meme of its time.
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