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How Did LeBron James ‘You Are My Sunshine’ Become a Meme? All About TikTok Trend
LeBron James went viral on TikTok for reasons even he might not be sure about. Here's what you need to know about the LeBron James ‘You Are My Sunshine’ meme.
If you're into basketball TikTok, or Instagram, or Reddit, you've probably come across the LeBron James 'You are my sunshine' meme. No matter who you think the greatest player of all time is—LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant—you've likely seen it, especially after the Lakers' game on March 31, 2024.
LeBron's NBA journey began 16 years before TikTok became a global sensation. He's now a star on the platform, though maybe not in the way he envisioned. What does the LeBron James 'You Are My Sunshine' meme and trend mean, who started it, and how did it begin? Here’s the scoop on the viral meme on TikTok.
LeBron James 'You Are My Sunshine' meme explained
After LeBron scored 40 points in Brooklyn, some TikTok videos show the crowd singing You Are My Sunshine to the superstar. A meme that started in January 2023 has come to life over a year later.
The trend began in early 2023, mocking James' most passionate fans. These super-fans existed long before TikTok, and James has always had devoted supporters and critics who mock his ardent defenders.
In January 2024, the trend took off. On January 20, 2024, TikToker @lebrigga posted a video edit with Christina Perri's You Are My Sunshine playing over LeBron's basketball footage, captioned, "I love you bron bron," followed by three red heart emojis, which got over 794,000 views in two months. This video is among the most viral of the "LeBron sunshine" memes.
By overly adoring James to an exaggerated degree, users posting these videos are poking fun at the extreme passion of his biggest fans.
According to Know Your Meme, "Back in January 2023, TikTokers began an ironic meme trend known as 'LeBron glazing' that mocks dedicated fans and defenders of NBA legend LeBron James for their seeming inability to criticize LeBron. The meme often sees users attach overly supportive captions over images or footage of LeBron, including captions that refer to him with nicknames like 'my glorious king LeBron.'"
TikTokers continued using You Are My Sunshine in LeBron videos over the following months. On January 24 and January 29, 2024, TikTokers @dropinsports and @perfectly_round posted slideshows praising LeBron to the song, garnering over 730,000 and 830,000 views, respectively, in two months.
On January 31, TikToker @widesquaretables posted a video drawing a portrait of LeBron set to the song, with the description reading, "LeBron, where do I even start?" This video received over 1.2 million views in two months.
The meme continued to spread into March 2024. On March 12, 2024, TikToker @lesunshine_james posted a video showing an edited photo of LeBron glowing while the song plays, gaining over 68,000 views in 10 days.
The, what is the LeBonBon / LeEvil James meme?
LeBonBon and LeEvil James refer to nicknames and a series of memes depicting LeBron James in bright or dark alter egos. These memes began on TikTok in mid-March 2024 after the You Are My Sunshine edits, leading to more parodies and fan art showing James in various lights.
Ervil LeBaron, a cult leader of a Mormon fundamentalist sect, ordered the killings of his rivals from 1974 until his death in 1981. In 2024, he was featured in a Hulu documentary. His name became a common soundalike for LeBron James in ironic TikTok edits, with jokes that "Ervil LeBaron" sounds like "Evil LeBron."
'Boy oh boy, LeBron' meaning
Videos aren't the only way users join this viral trend. They often include captions professing ironic love for James, usually starting with, "Boy oh boy, LeBron, where do I even begin."
These captions mock fans who defend James to an extreme, swooning over the Lakers star in a way that makes it clear the videos are satirical.
LeBron James 'You Are My Sunshine' meme song
The song used in most of these memes is Christina Perri's 'You Are My Sunshine.' Perri's version is just one of many renditions of the song, originally released in 1940 and featured in commercials, movies, and TV shows over the years. By using this song, users are ironically professing love for James, poking fun at his most passionate fans.
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