The first Harlem Shake gathering in Athens organized by the Stunnerz productions group outside the Thission Station on Feb. 23, exceeded all expectations, since according to first estimates more than 2,000 people took part.
The new dancing trend spread rapidly and on the same evening the center of Thessaloniki surrendered to the rhythm of the new song. Hundreds of Thessalonians came armed with costumes, funny props and gathered at the White Tower in the center of the city.
The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme that went viral on YouTube in early Feb. 2013. The meme is in the form of a video that began being replicated according to a similar concept by many people.
The meme was established in a video uploaded on Feb. 2 by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia. The teenagers’ video in its turn was a follow-up to a video by a YouTube comedy blogger named Filthy Frank featuring a part where several costumed people danced to the song Harlem Shake by Baauer.
In the Harlem neighborhood in New York of the 1920’s and 30’s, Billie Holiday gave performances at the famous Apollo Theater, making music history. Today, the musical mores seem to have changed. The Harlem Shake aspires to follow the Asian Gangnam Style trend.
On Feb. 10, the upload rate of Harlem Shake videos reached 4,000 per day. As of Feb. 11, about 12,000 versions of the popular Internet meme had been uploaded to YouTube, garnering over 44 million unique views. As of Feb. 15, about 40,000 Harlem Shake videos had been uploaded, totallng 175 million views. The Harlem Shake meme went on to achieve widespread global success.
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