Thelife- In October, a creator posted a video singing Gen Alpha slang over a popular hyperpop beat.
- After initially mocking it, TikTokers started parodying the song and turning it into rock and pop anthems.
On October 2, the anonymous creator @ovp.9 posted a TikTok featuring a Fortnite character walking in a field while a squeaky voice sang a surreal stream of internet slang: "Sticking out your gyat for the rizzler," they mewled. "You're so skibidi, you're so fanum tax. I just wanna be your sigma."
Two days later, on October 4, another creator @waxsdd posted a TikTok featuring a Roblox character dancing to the audio while decked out in a furry animal costume and with a sparkling "GAMER" chain .
The videos went viral and the track spread like wildfire across the app.
The song, a parody of the band Suicidal-Idol's viral hyperpop song "Ecstasy," features a best-hits gumbo of internet slang popularized by Gen Alpha.
@waxsdd give views #foryoupage #foryou #fyp #dahood
♬ original sound - realElonMuskofficial
At first, people ridiculed it no end, asking how we've "reached this point as a civilization" and mocking kids for having a cringeworthy sense of humor. But soon, teens and twenty-somethings started crafting ingenious parodies, weaving the maddening lingo into rock and pop songs like Mitski's "Washing Machine Heart." Most people eventually embraced the absurdity.
As of December, the audio has been used in over 1.1 million TikToks, and creators have amassed tens of millions of views with parodies of the original song.
I would like to proclaim that it is the best meme of the year. For those whose brains aren't rotten by the internet, here is a guide to helpful definitions and some context to how it captivated the internet in 2023.
From ridicule to catchy remixes
@yonkerrz this one is for u lark ️️️. #cover#electricbass#mitski#washingmachineheart#singing#skibidi#gyatt#rizz#fypシ#foryoupage#xybca#sigma
♬ Washing machine gyatt - ☆ｌｉｌｌｙ☆
"Gyat" is often used to refer to someone's butt. "Rizzler" is a riff on "rizz," which is shorthand for "charisma," or having swagger or an ability to charm a potential romantic interest. "Skibidi" is a reference to "skibidi toilet," a surrealist meme about a man in a toilet. "Fanum tax" was coined by the streamer Fanum after he kept "taxing" his friends by eating their food. "Sigma" has an amorphous definition, but is often used to describe someone whose personality isn't alpha or beta and behaves like a lone wolf.
Immediately after the squeaky audio was posted on October 4, TikTok filled up with mocking responses. One man made a popular video showing him looking horrified as he listened to the song with text saying this is what it sounds like when a kid goes on Roblox voice chat. Another user made a troubling self-harm joke about it.
@somb.r just listen to my new ep pls
♬ original sound - sombr
People started uploading the parodies about a week after the original audio dropped. One of the biggest remixes early on was a piano rendition that amassed over 16 million views. In the clip, the man played bittersweet notes while mournfully singing the word "sigma" like he was about to lose a loved one.
Another popular clip with over 5.3 million views remixed Radiohead's "Creep."
"When you were in Ohio, couldn't look you in the gyat," they sang in tune with the melody. "You're just like Adin Ross, your mew makes me edge." (Adin Ross is a famous streamer and "mewing" is a facial exercise that can purportedly sharpen a person's jawline.)
@felixbosquesh this is the worst thing I've ever done. inspo from @Oscar Espejel #radiohead #creep #guitarcover #singingcover #gyatt #skibidi #rizz #parody #kaicenat #fyp #fypシ
♬ creep gyatt version - Felix Bosques Harima
"I just wanna be your sigma" parodies continued to go viral until late last month, with users riffing on everything from the "Tangled" movie soundtrack to The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" and a song from the rapper Yeat. Creators integrated every possible related slang. There are even references to Kai Cenat (the famous streamer), Baby Gronk (a young football player who became a meme), Grimace shakes (the viral McDonald's drink), and countless others.
Perhaps the most thrilling remix was by the TikTok filmmaker Michael Lam, who sang the lyrics over the dreamy music from Mac DeMarco's "Chamber of Reflection."
@majlam_ Chamber of Gyatt - @Your Anxiety Buddy #gyatt
♬ original sound - Michael Lam | Filmmaker
"This one hit a little too hard," one user wrote. "I'm crying so hard this is the most beautiful thing i've ever heard," another person said.
The ingenious parodies bridge generational divides
In a year where Gen Z and millennials panicked about falling out of touch with Gen Alpha memes, it was heartening to see a digital fad that crossed generational lines. Instead of dogpiling the youth for popularizing bizarre terms, the meme became a rare monocultural moment.
Gen Z is slowly coming around to the realization that what they enjoyed as kids was just as strange and brain-frying as Gen Alpha humor, which could explain why they eventually joined in on the fad.
The trend should also be commended for leaning so far into silliness that it came out the other end as ironically genius. The often "dumb" parodies people have made become infectious, and the way people have rewired popular song lyrics is nothing short of creative.
While congealing all these niche slang terms into one piece of content can feel like digital chaos, it's also the point: to laugh at the inanity of online life.
The comments on the videos are full of people remarking in awe. Some reacted as if they just had a transcendental experience — although it's difficult to know if people are being genuine or ironic, which is also part of the fun.
"This made me sob uncontrollably," one commenter wrote about a parody of Alex G's poignant indie folk song "Pretend."
"A new emotion was felt today. Thank you."