The iconic 1984 Wham! hit “Last Christmas” is synonymous with the holiday season and almost impossible to get out of your head.
See? Now you’re humming it.
But a growing number of people are turning down the volume of that Christmas classic in a viral survival game known as “Whamageddon.”
Will a win “save you from tears?”
How to play
The challenge runs from Dec. 1 through the end of Christmas Eve. You’re considered out as soon as you hear and recognize “Last Christmas.”
Many share their hilarious accounts of how they got “whammed” on social media.
But only the original version applies, which means covers like Emilia Clarke’s rendition in the Wham!-inspired film, “Last Christmas,” and even off-key a cappella singing with friends are approved.
How did ‘Whamageddon’ start
The explosion in popularity, fueled by social media, started among a group of friends in Denmark nearly two decades ago.
Thomas Mertz, who runs the website devoted to the game, said he never could have imagined it picking up this much steam. “I don’t think a game like this could exist without social media,” Mertz told NBC News.
#Whamageddon has raked in more than 11 million views on TikTok, and the game’s website saw more than half a million visitors last year. You can even snag Whamageddon-branded mugs and shirts.
Some players are so passionate that a DJ apologized after playing the song during a soccer match in Britain, effectively eliminating thousands from the competition.
“I never knew people took it so seriously,” Matt Facer told BBC Radio.
What do people have against the Christmas classic
Nothing. Pop music is actually Mertz’s guilty pleasure.
He said the game’s inspiration is rooted in the spirit of the season and is about bringing people together with a bit of ridiculousness.
“A lot of people enjoy this snippet of levity we can inject into their lives in a very stressful period of the year,” Mertz said. “It’s not so much about winning as much as it is about being in a shared experience.”
After all, as the top-streamed holiday song in more than 40 countries, making it to Christmas without Wham! is a nearly impossible feat.
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