If you reside on the same side of the Internet as I do, you’re probably tired of hearing about Among Us. The multiplayer game produced by Innersloth took the Internet by storm in 2020 and generated tons of memes. The premise of Among Us is fairly simple. As stated on the official webpage, “crewmates work together to complete tasks before one or more Impostors can kill everyone aboard.” In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Among Us helped people connect, whether through memes or playing the game itself.
But like most things on the Internet, the saturation of Among Us content online prompted some to declare Among Us as an official “dead meme.” Memes about the game have lost most of their appeal, but for Among Us, one format stands the test of time: the song parody.
The appeal of Among Us parodies is largely rooted in nostalgia. Fellow zoomers may remember listening to the Minecraft-inspired songs “Don’t Mine at Night” (a parody of Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night”) or “Revenge” (a parody of Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again”) on YouTube. Minecraft parodies combined the innocence of Kidz Bop with the clever humor of Weird Al Yankovic. While the aforementioned songs seem to have been produced professionally, many (often young) amateurs wrote and performed their own parodies. The poor quality of these creations only added to their comedic appeal.
In the music video for 2012 parody of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” “Eye of the Spider,” creator Itsoo1 dances in front of images from Minecraft displayed on a greenscreen.
Three years ago, we saw the resurgence of the musical video game parody with Fortnite, particularly with “Chug With You” (a parody of American Boy by Estelle,) which later became immensely popular on TikTok. But as the Fortnite craze died down, Among Us emerged on the scene, inspiring a renaissance of parodies.
Among Us, like Minecraft, possesses a wide array of game-related terms, lending itself to songwriting. You can turn pretty much any song with lyrics into an Among Us parody by inserting “sus,” “sussy,” “baka,” “crewmates,” “tasks,” “venting,” or “Impostor” wherever you can. The lyrics may sound like a jumbled mess of nonsense, but that’s kind of the appeal. Among Us parodies themselves are essentially parodies of Minecraft parodies. By creating their own Among Us songs, members of Gen-Z who grew up listening (often unironically) to Minecraft parodies can poke fun at their childhood interests.
In this parody of “Creep” by Radiohead, YouTube creator Signny sings in a monotone voice: “But I am sus. Yeah, I’m an Impostor.” The sound of a smoke alarm chirping in the background, as user Marty ScorchedEarthse comments, “really ties it all together.”
Some have bought Among Us to their current tastes in music. On YouTube, you can find Among Us parodies of songs by Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, and even Bladee. This summer, I myself wrote and recorded two Among Us parodies of Azealia Banks’s “212” and “Luxury.”
Like Minecraft and Fortnite, Among Us is experiencing a decline in popularity online. Among Us memes are not as funny as they used to be, but that does not take away from the humor of Among Us parodies. Whether its the intentionally-terrible singing, awkward lyricism, or low-effort visuals, Among Us parodies give us an opportunity to take a look back and laugh at our younger selves.
Wow! You’re an amazing journalist. Very well written!!
poopy!!