Joshua Ryan Hutcherson was born in Union, Kentucky, on October 12, 1992 (1). He moved to Los Angeles at the age of nine to pursue acting. His early roles included appearances in TV shows and films like "Zathura: A Space Adventure" (2005) and "Bridge to Terabithia" (2007).
Hutcherson gained widespread recognition for his Peeta Mellark role in "The Hunger Games" (2012) series. He also starred in several other notable films, such as "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (2008) and "The Kids Are All Right" (2010).
Highlights
- Hutcherson's meme began with a fan video on his 22nd birthday.
- The video has 14.5 million views and a 2010s Tumblr vibe.
- Hutcherson wasn't aware of the meme until his girlfriend showed him.
- In 2023, the meme resurged due to Hutcherson's movie roles.
When Did the Josh Hutcherson Meme First Appear Online?
On April 26, 2012, Joel Merry, an English performer, uploaded a fan-made cover of Flo Rida’s "Whistle" on his YouTube channel. Titled "Flo Rida - Whistle (Joel Cover)," this version has garnered over 5.7 million views so far.
The song starts with whistling, and then the lyrics begin:
"Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl, I’m gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow [...]"
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU99kuUSmTE[/embed]
The same song appears on a YouTube fan cam video, "Josh Hutcherson || Whistle," uploaded by MetroGirlzStation on October 12, 2014. This video, uploaded on Hutcherson’s 22nd birthday, gave rise to the now-viral Josh Hutcherson meme.
Lasting 92 seconds, it is a thirst trap montage of photos and footage of the fresh-faced actor Josh Hutcherson and includes stylized behind-the-scenes and posed shots.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbeeuzU5Qc8[/embed]
As of June 2024, this video has been viewed more than 14.5 million times. It has a definite 2010s Tumblr vibe. The song "Whistle" is incredibly catchy, and the footage of Hutcherson provides fans with the chance to see him in various situations.
For instance, one photo shows Hutcherson sporting heart-shaped sunglasses, while another shows him looking surprised as two female fans kiss his cheeks.
The Spread of Josh Hutcherson Meme
Josh Hutcherson’s whistle meme surged to popularity in 2023 for two likely reasons. The movie, "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” was released in November 2023 (2), reigniting interest in the character of Peeta. Hutcherson’s lead role in "Five Nights at Freddy’s", which came out in October 2023, might have also contributed to renewed interest in Hutcherson (3).
In 2023, the popular TikTok meme showcased the 2014 fan video popping up in unexpected places, playing homage to the themes of retro nostalgia and the horror genre.
One TikTok version of the meme, published by @00mewtwo_ on November 15, 2022, features shaky hand-held footage of the creator opening a door to go outside. The text overlay reads, "Y’all be careful going outside," the camera pans up to reveal the fan video in place of the sky above a row of trees.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@00mewtwo_/video/7301374833353428267[/embed]
A TikTok video from @munne.png on November 22, 2023, features the content creator slicing into a tangerine. The text overlay reads, "Just found this in a fruit my neighbor just gave me!?? Please be really careful!!" The fan video then appears superimposed in one half of the sliced-open fruit and starts playing.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@munne.png/video/7303910835829656865[/embed]
Another version of Josh Hutcherson meme, shared by @meaaganrosee on December 9, 2023, opens with someone holding an old camera covered in dirt and the text overlay, "My boyfriend came back home from a hike with an old camera that he found in the middle of nowhere."
As the user opens the camera, the on-screen text reads, "The photos on it are CRAZY," followed by, "We ended up calling the police." The user extracts an SD card from the camera with pliers, turns it over in her hand, and then imports the images onto a computer. The 2014 video starts playing.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@meaaganrosee/video/7310434376754466056[/embed]
Many whistle-song memes feature a mug of coffee, including a TikTok video posted by @isablud on December 5, 2023. In this version of the meme, the content creator uses a teaspoon to play with the foam on the coffee to eventually reveal the opening scene of the "Whistle" video.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@isablud/video/7308737273212734725[/embed]
The famous meme has spurned other types of content as well, such as a viral TikTok video uploaded by @harry.daniels on January 12, 2024. It features @harry.daniels walking up to Josh Hutcherson in the street and singing "Whistle" to him.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@harry.daniels/video/7322959617674202411[/embed]
How Did Josh React to Josh Hutcherson's Meme?
Hutcherson recently spoke about the meme publicly. He was questioned about it during an appearance on The Tonight Show on January 10, 2024, on the FallonTonight TikTok channel. In a snippet of the interview released on January 10, 2024, on the FallonTonight TikTok channel, Hutcherson mentioned that he wasn’t aware of the meme until his "girlfriend sent him something."
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@fallontonight/video/7322337672008109342[/embed]
In the interview, he also states that his younger brother and his brother’s boyfriend then sat him down to explain the phenomenon. Hutcherson’s response to the meme is somewhat bemused but ultimately declares, "I’m here for it."
How Did Joel Merry React to Josh Hutcherson’s Meme?
Merry also spoke about the meme in public. In a video posted on his TikTok channel on January 15, 2024, Merry mentioned that he had no idea about the meme until his Instagram comments exploded.
[embed]http://www.tiktok.com/@joelmerry/video/7323988512997395744[/embed]
One comment featured in the video says, "Came here for the meme, stayed because the cover’s THAT DAMN GOOD."
In the video, Merry also reports getting emails and DMs from journalists asking him to react to the meme’s popularity. He said, "The story’s moral is that the internet is a crazy place."
Rickrolling and Josh Hutcherson Meme
The term "rickrolling" refers to a popular internet prank where people are tricked into watching the music video for Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up (4)." This form of "bait-and-switch linking" has become widely known and even caught the attention of the White House, which directed a user to the video as a response to a complaint about their Twitter feed.
Rickrolling originated as a prank on the 4chan message board. Initially, disguised links led to a picture of a duck on wheels, also known as "duck rolling." The first instance of this trick redirecting to Rick Astley’s video was when it was disguised as a secret trailer for the unreleased game Grand Theft Auto IV.
It’s fair to say that the Josh Hutcherson meme is the latest example of "rickrolling" as it lures innocent viewers into listening to Joel Merry’s cover of the 2012 Flo Rida "Whistle" song.
References
- Anonymous. "Josh Hutcherson Biography." IMDb. | https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1242688/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
- "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes." IMDb, 2023. | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10545296/?ref_=ttrel_ov_i
- "Five Nights at Freddy's." IMDb, 2023. | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4589218/
- "Rickrolling." Dictionary. | https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/rickrolling/