Harlem Shake Quiz: The 2013 Viral Video Craze
One masked dancer moves alone until the bass drops, then everyone goes wild in costumes, and this Harlem Shake quiz explains how that format swept the web in 2013. Play 10 interactive questions on producer Baauer, the first viral videos, the Billboard rule change that sent the song to number one and the original 1981 Harlem dance.
Start Harlem Shake Quiz
🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Producer
Who produced the song Harlem Shake?
Year
When did the Harlem Shake meme explode?
Format
How does a classic Harlem Shake video start?
Length
Roughly how long are most Harlem Shake videos?
Billboard
What did Billboard change in February 2013?
Number one
Where did Harlem Shake debut on the Hot 100?
Original
When did the original Harlem shake dance begin?
Reaction
How did some Harlem residents react to the viral videos?
Costumes
What is common in the second half of the videos?
Impact
What did the Harlem Shake show about online trends?
Your score
0/10
Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: Who produced the song Harlem Shake?
Answer: Baauer
Harry Rodrigues released it as Baauer in 2012.
- Q2: When did the Harlem Shake meme explode?
Answer: February 2013
Thousands of videos appeared within weeks.
- Q3: How does a classic Harlem Shake video start?
Answer: One person dances alone while others ignore them
When the bass drops, the whole group joins in.
- Q4: Roughly how long are most Harlem Shake videos?
Answer: About 30 seconds
The short format made them easy to copy.
- Q5: What did Billboard change in February 2013?
Answer: It began counting YouTube views in the Hot 100
The change helped the song debut at number one.
- Q6: Where did Harlem Shake debut on the Hot 100?
Answer: Number one
It topped the chart for five weeks.
- Q7: When did the original Harlem shake dance begin?
Answer: In the early 1980s
It was created in Harlem by a dancer known as Al B.
- Q8: How did some Harlem residents react to the viral videos?
Answer: They said the meme looked nothing like the real dance
News videos showed locals puzzled by the craze.
- Q9: What is common in the second half of the videos?
Answer: Costumes, helmets and wild dancing
Props and masks add to the chaos.
- Q10: What did the Harlem Shake show about online trends?
Answer: How a simple format can spread worldwide in days
It became a template for later viral challenges.
Harlem Shake Quiz – The 2013 Viral Video Craze
Harlem Shake is a 2012 track by producer Baauer, real name Harry Rodrigues. In February 2013 it became the soundtrack for a viral video format: one masked person dances alone, then the bass drops and everyone dances wildly in costumes.
Offices, sports teams, university clubs and even military units uploaded versions, most around 30 seconds long. When Billboard began counting YouTube views in February 2013, the song debuted at number one on the Hot 100.
The meme borrowed the name of a real dance created in Harlem in the early 1980s, and some Harlem residents said the viral videos looked nothing like it. The craze showed how quickly a simple format can spread online.
What This Quiz Teaches
Internet culture fans will enjoy these questions.
- Who made the song
- How the videos worked
- How charts changed
- Where the dance came from
- Why the trend spread
Did You Know?
- The song was released on Mad Decent.
- Some workplace videos led to people being fired.
- The first viral clips came from Australia and the US.
- Baauer later released an album called Aa.
- The trend faded within a few months.
Related Quizzes
Ready for another round?
Jump to a random quiz from the archive.