Shooting Stars Meme EXPLAINED: How One Song and a Fall Turned Into Internet Magic
The Shooting Stars Meme is one of the internet’s most surreal and awesome formats—where people (or pets, or objects) trip and fall very dramatically… and then float through space, party with dolphins, or fly past galaxies to the euphoric beats of Bag Raiders’ “Shooting Stars.” It’s half ridiculous and half somehow abstract and beautiful; this meme turned regular falls into cosmic journeys. In this Grumpysharks breakdown, we’ll discover how a song from 2008 and one perfectly timed fall produced a trend that still twinkles throughout TikTok, YouTube, and meme history.
#1 What’s the Song Behind the Shooting Stars Meme?
The famous meme soundtrack is “Shooting Stars” from the Australian electronica duo Bag Raiders. Released in 2009, the track had a modest follow in their home country and cult fanfare amongst electronic music fans, reaching the ARIA charts and having some acclaim during that time for having a dreamy, synthy vibe at the tail end of the decade. This song did not get global recognition until years later though.
In 2017, “Shooting Stars” resurfaced through the internet in the most tone-deaf way, by falling, fainting, or diving into people falling (immediate pauses included) followed by some spacey moments and psychedelic edits. The editing package gave the song some life and reintroduced it to music charts and even relevancy into pop culture. Besides its hypnotic beat and nostalgic shimmer, it was a great audio backdrop for falling into the, metaphoric and literal void.
The pairing of visual absurdity and emotionally euphoric sound sealed the meme. A fall was no longer just a fail. A fall was about to go cosmic to a Bag Raiders beat.
#2 What’s the Visual Formula Behind the Meme’s Magic?
The meme usually starts with someone falling—a staged faint, a guy falling in front of everyone, or even an animal flopping. Instead of a cringeworthy end where someone gets up and mumbles something embarrassing, the fall transitions into a weird slapstick/sci-fi scene where they are flying through the universe, or surfing down rainbow rivers, or whatever visions of grandeur the creator might dream up. It’s the wonderful combination of silly and surreal that makes it stick in your mind.
When this first came onto my radar we remember seeing a video of a larger man belly-flopping into a pool that went viral; along with a video of a cat that flew into space because it was edited that way, and even a flying Mario through 8-bit stars. None of these early videos were interesting edits for edits sake—they were all based off of a formula that involved a ratio of timing, sync of audio, and ridiculousness. Which made the transition from the fall into the absurd unexpected and funny. As meme makers, we have seen how something as minor as a well-timed blink can launch an edit into the viral orbit.
#3 When Did the Shooting Stars Meme Go Viral, and How Did It Spread?
The meme didn’t explode overnight. The meme began brewing in late 2016 and started to really take off on Reddit and YouTube where creators were combining fails with “Shooting Stars” and all kinds of crazier visuals. The first round of memes were compilation videos – especially the one by Ozzy Man Reviews which contained multiple meme clips and hit millions of views.
By early 2017 the meme made it to Facebook and Twitter and turned into a full internet moment. It wasn’t just niche humor anymore – it was literally everywhere. Celebrities were tweeting about it, brands were parodying it, and later, TikTok would borrow it entirely as numerous different transitions and templates. We were seeing this all in real time at Grumpysharks – this was the time where surreal humor started to stop being “weird” and became mainstream.
#4 Why Has the Shooting Stars Meme Stayed So Popular for So Long?
Some memes only last a month. Shooting Stars Meme lasted for years. Why? Because it can be appreciated beyond comedy, it is visual storytelling with a musical feel to it. The absurd poses, along with the euphoric rise of Bag Raiders track, are what create the emotional arc: a set up, a release and blissful nothingness.
In the next section of this chapter, we will analyze this meme’s formula with several remixes, parodies, and cultural references across animated shows, and brand campaigns. It reshaped the way editors think about pacing, punchlines, and unexplained emotional shifts. And even today, individuals rom-com create their videos as a nostalgic template, or a remix of the established media. It is a meme, but also a meme language, and it created a stamp on the culture of internet remix.
#5 What Are the Most Common Questions About the Shooting Stars Meme?
1. Who are Bag Raiders?
Bag Raiders are an Australian electronic music duo. Their song “Shooting Stars” was originally released in 2008–2009 and became a surprise hit almost a decade later, thanks to the meme revival.
2. What’s the original video that inspired it?
There isn’t just one origin clip. But one of the earliest and most viral was the diving man video. The meme’s power comes from its formula—any fall can work, as long as it transitions right.
3. Can I make my own Shooting Stars meme?
Absolutely. Many creators still use the format today with apps like CapCut or After Effects. Just grab a funny fall clip, cut at the perfect moment, and launch into space (bonus if it syncs with the beat).
4. Why do people find it so funny?
It’s the contrast. A goofy fall followed by an unexpectedly beautiful or bizarre journey catches people off-guard. It blends physical comedy with escapism—something only the internet could have invented.
#6 Conclusion
At the same time, the Shooting Stars meme is an ideal collision of everything: music with emotional elevation, visual editing with comedic timing, and a tone both ridiculous and… strangely poignant. It literally turns a fall into flight.
We, at Grumpysharks, consider this format to be a case study in the brilliance of internet culture. It’s not only episodic humor, it’s also a metamorphosis, altering the humdrum into something awkwardly poignant. And that is what helps it live on in the collective memory of the internet.
