Rick Astley an unlikely beneficiary of Melania Trump's speech
Online videos gather millions of views, comparing Melania Trump's speech and Astley's 1987 hit
Rick Astley may see a bump in his next royalty payout thanks to Melania Trump.
Astley's 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up" had a 19 per cent jump in streams on Spotify following Mrs Trump's speech to the RNC, according to a Spotify representative.
The internet was abuzz following Melania Trump's plagiarism accusations of Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC Speech. But a different type of scandal emerged as social media users revived "rickrolling," an internet meme and prank using "Never Give You Up," first started in 2007.
Following Mrs Trump's speech, memes, tweets, and videos spread gathering millions of views, comparing Melania's speech and Astley's music video side by side. Meme creators matched portions of the speech in which Mrs. Trump spoke about her husband, particularly the lines "he will never, ever, give up. And, most importantly, he will never, ever, let you down," with Astley singing, "never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down."
The Trump campaign responded to plagiarism accusations over Michelle Obama's speech, with a staffer writing a letter apologising and offering her resignation.