I personally think 2011 was the best year for memes ever (long live Nyan Cat!), but 2012 was no slouch when it came to creating memorable, easily shared memes. Memes sprouted up from from radio, from Reddit, from Tumblr, and even from Korea. Here are, in my opinion, the best memes of 2012. I’m normally wrong though, so let me know your favorite memes in the comments.
10 . Overly Attached Girlfriend
Overly Attached Girlfriend started as a creepy entry for a Justin Bieber sing-off contest, but quickly became an amazing image macro symbolizing the people that love us just a little too much.
Although her image macro series was pretty similar to Crazy Girlfriend Praying Mantis. We love her anyway. We have to. OR ELSE
9. Ridiculously Photogenic Guy
Zeddie Little ran out of that marathon, and straight into our hearts. Zeddie went from a random photo on Flickr to being on news shows. He’s THAT ridiculously photogenic.
8. KONY 2012
In February, real-life super villain Joseph Kony was suddenly brought to attention of the world by the YouTube video Kony 2012. Suddenly, people who had never heard of Uganda were driven to GET THE WORD OUT about Kony and his army of kidnapped child soldiers. The whole situation with Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army is a horrible nightmare, but since a lot of people saw the video and got involved in the social media campaign, it became fodder for a slew of jokes. Kony is still out there, but he’s finally famous.
7. Call Me Maybe
The catchy melody and memorable lyrics of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen inspired legions of parodies and jokes on the internet and beyond. For the record, giving your number to a guy you just met may be bold, but it’s hardly crazy.
6. Hey Girls, Did You Know...
Instagram user Officialsabrina_xo’s picture got crazy popular on Tumblr this summer, but the backlash images and parodies tumblr users came up with in response to "Hey girls, did you know.." were internet gold. GOLD.
5. Somebody That I Used to Know
People who complain about Gangnam Style being overplayed forget how much rotation Somebody That I Used to Know song got in the first half of 2012. With its limited amount of lyrics and saturation levels of airplay, Gotye’s hit spawned tons of covers, parodies, and photoshops. I even stooped so low to make some myself.
4. Ehrmahgerd
For some reason, imagining the way this girl would talk with a retainer in her mouth was hilarious. Ehrmagerd speak became its own language, and this meme escaped into countless others.
3. Stahp
Sometimes in life, we see that the bad choices might lead to negative consequences. It’s only natural to want to know what they are doing, and more importantly, to let them know they should reconsider their poor decisions, and STAHP.
2. Grumpy Cat
In an internet culture saturated with cute cats, Grumpy Cat stood out as the cat that didn’t like anything. Grumpy Cat’s genetically sour expression appeals to the cynic in all of us, while still appealing to the part of our brain that likes adorableness. Even if you don’t like anything, you probably still like Grumpy Cat. And unlike some other memes, Grumpy Cat seemingly has new photoshoots constantly, so fans always have new grumpiness to look forward to.
1. Gangnam Style
With over 1 Billion views, it’s the most viewed YouTube video of all time. From the dancing guy in the elevator, to Psy screaming at that girl’s butt, the images from Gangnam Style have become iconic. It blew up from just an internet meme to radio hit to full-fledged phenomenon, with thousands of mashups, remixes, and parodies. Hell, the President got in on it. Congrats Psy, you’re the meme of the year. You’ve made Korea proud.
Honorable mentions: Bad Luck Brian, Sh*t People say, Evil Cows, Friend Zone Johnny, and McKayla Is Not Impressed, Ikea monkey, Ecce Homo painting, What people think I do/What I actually do, Binders Full of Women.
Any good ones I missed? How wrong am I? Let me know in the comments or on twitter at @carpetislava.
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