· Nyan Cat became popular on the Internet in April 2011. The animation of the cat was combined with a remixed version of a Japanese song, "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" and the video went viral. The video ranked at number 5 on the list of most viewed YouTube videos in 2011.
· Nyan Cat is the name of a YouTube video uploaded in April 2011, which became an Internet meme. The video merged a Japanese pop song with an animated cartoon cat with the body of a Pop-Tart, flying through space, and leaving a rainbow trail behind it.
· The Nyan Cat music video reached ninth place in Business Insider's top ten viral videos of April 2011, with 7.2 million total views. The original YouTube video has received over 65 million views as of February 24, 2012. According to Google Insights, the video was at 38 in April 2011, reached 78 in May, and peaked at 100 in June and July before dropping to 77 in August, and 71 in September. Views picked up to 88 in October and then fell to 86 in November and 78 in December. The current figure for February 2012 is 56. The most popular region of Nyan Cat is Chile. The US ranks at 6. Japan is not in the top 10.
· Due to its popularity, many new remixes and cover versions have been made, some hours long. Christopher Torres, creator of the Nyan Cat animation, has criticized the website nyan.cat, which features a similar-looking cat with the same background music.
· Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4
Alyssa Jaffer
