* ApprovalOfGod: Rick Astley has made it very clear that he adores the meme of Rick Rolling.
* CareerResurrection: Probably due to success of the JustForFun/{{Rickroll}}, Rick Astley recorded his first single in 17 years: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgUrqGFxV3Q Lights Out]]. Even better, his 2016 album ''50'' debuted on top of the UK charts, his first #1 album since ''Whenever You Need Somebody'', the very album that spawned his two #1 hits.
* ChannelHop: Astley was originally signed to Creator/RCARecords and remained there until the early '90s, when he retired from music to look after his family. After he came out of retirement in 2000, he signed a new deal with Creator/PolydorRecords, who released ''Keep It Turned On'' through their Cruz Music imprint. The Polydor deal lasted only for that album, with Astley returning to RCA for 2005's ''Portrait'' before moving over to BMG for all of his following material.
* ColbertBump: The "Meet the Quagmires" episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' from 2007, which is an extended parody of ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', featured "Never Gonna Give You Up" and used Astley for its version of the Music/ChuckBerry gag from the original film. That episode was probably the main catalyst in inspiring the MemeticMutation that revived his career.
* HeAlsoDid: Composed the music for the 2004 short film ''Film/{{Cashback}}''.
* RevivalByCommercialization: The Internet effectively gave Rick Astley his career back.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Music/StockAitkenWaterman penned "Nothing Can Divide Us" as the intended lead single for Astley's second album, ''Hold Me In Your Arms''. However, Astley turned the song down, writing "She Wants to Dance With Me" himself in its place. SAW would ultimately give "Nothing Can Divide Us" to another act on their roster, Creator/JasonDonovan. Additionally, Astley would hire Phil Harding and Ian Curnow (who co-produced two songs on ''Whenever You Need Somebody'') to produce the song; this and the rejection of "Nothing Can Divide Us" marked the start of Astley's breakaway from SAW, which would be finalized with his next album, ''Free''.
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