Rick Astley

In 1988, Astley followed up his debut album with Hold Me in Your Arms which achieved platinum and gold certifications internationally. The lead single "She Wants to Dance with Me" became a worldwide top 10 hit. In 1991, he left Stock Aitken Waterman and moved his musical direction towards soul, which he explored on his other albums. His 1991 single "Cry for Help" was his last single to reach the top 10 in either the US or UK. In 1993, he retired from music to focus on spending time with his partner and daughter. He returned to the music industry in 2000 and released 50 to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2016, with the album debuting in the UK at No. 1. His most recent studio album Are We There Yet? was released in 2023.
Astley has sold approximately 40 million records worldwide and was nominated in 1989 for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist but lost to Tracy Chapman. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world. In the United Kingdom, Astley was also in the top 40 every week for the first six months of his career. He became an internet phenomenon in 2007 following the emergence of the Rickrolling meme, which utilizes the music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up", and his career was revitalised by the meme's popularity. A year after the Rickrolling meme began, he was voted "Best Act Ever" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008. On 28 July 2021, "Never Gonna Give You Up" became the fourth 1980s song to reach one billion views on YouTube.