How Harlem Shake Forever Changed Music (Seriously)

So everyone is fully aware of the awesomeness that is the Harlem Shake fad, correct?



Of course.

There is no denying its simplistic power and the acute ability to be replicated and duplicated in multiple ways without getting too atrocious. But with internet fads, we have no control over who decides to participate---leading to many awful videos for every singular good one. This is why the fad is on the decline and by the end of the season it would have been a mere footnote in the history of the internets.

That being said, the music scene should take notice because the Harlem Shake is going to forever change the face of music.

It no longer requires to be a radio-friendly song to become the top of the world. It no longer requires for studio executives to actually push for the song to chart on top before it has a shot at the top. And guess what, for the first time in a long period, the music video may make a furious comeback in sheer hopes that YouTube will notice and support.

The internet is now going to pretty much dictate from now on what we think is the hottest song in the country. The Billboard Charts started channeling downloaded songs a couple years ago, leading to some trendsetting and indie songs that usually law low below the radar to rise up and become #1 hits. Last year was an amazing example as "We Are Young" and "Somebody That I Used to Know" were very unique sounding songs that exploded in YouTube, Twitter, and the streaming music circles before ultimately conquering the Billboard charts. These two songs were not crafted for the radio, the radio changed its technique and now we have the pop and even adult contemporary stations branching out a little for some new sounds.

But those two songs have not held a candle to the one-two YouTube punch that became "Gangnam Style" and "Harlem Shake." Gangnam Style is now the most viewed video of all-time, and despite already becoming a phenomenal hit in Korea, really strick the stratosphere when the United States started embracing it. Before you know it, the entire planet for those few pleasant months were Gangnam Styling left and right.




And now we have the Harlem Shake.

This fad took off so ridiculously, that it changed the rules. Billboard finally started giving notice to the streaming audios and videos of the internet and decide to take those into account. But it was the Harlem Shake that did it simply because of its sheer strength at the peak of its existence. To have hundreds of imitators being uploaded EVERY DAY was too big to deny. Harlem Shake without having a single play on the radio was the most-heard song in the country, and was on its way to hit #1 in the United Kingsom and random countries around the planet---like New Zealand and Australia.

The Harlem Shake is a simple song done for a small label, and was so low-budget that up until the printing of this article has yet to have recieved the permission from the samples involved. The lack of permission on the samples wasn't a big deal----until 100 million streams of the song have been reported. The world is big but is getting much smaller thanks to the internet tightening us and bringing us closer together. Like a rumor, a good fad or song can spread like pure wildfire thanks to the connections YouTube makes---via Twitter, Facebook, Myspace (Stop laughing), etc.

So guess what boys and girls, even if the Harlem Shake fad will end, its impact on music cannot and shall not be ignored. This was a little song that without much press was picked up by the people and propelled it into something so big, Billbaord re-altered its methods in determining the #1 song. They claimed it had been in the works for a while, but its too much coincidence that when Harlem became arguably the biggest YouTube fad you'll ever see, Billboard suddenly shifts its gears.

Then again, maybe it was stalling to prevent Rebecca Black's awful-but-still-became-a-successful-song from utilizing the new rules and take the #1 slot in the Hot 100. We all know the end of the world would have happened if this eventually occurred.

So what have we learned? Not anyone can make a successful song, but a successful song can come from anywhere.







Yep.