Adam Levine and Cardi B side by side in a still from the Girls Like You music video

Girls Like You

2017viral music videoclassic

Published August 24, 2026

"Girls Like You" is a Maroon 5 pop rock song from 2017 that turned into a viral music-video moment in 2018 after a rerecorded version featuring a Cardi B verse dropped with a celebrity-packed video. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that September, ending a 34-week run of rap chart-toppers.

music video memes earworm memes lip sync memes song remix memes celebrity reaction memes

Overview

"Girls Like You" is a Maroon 5 pop rock song that first appeared in 2017 as an album cut and hit its viral peak in 2018 after a rerecorded version featuring Cardi B was released with a music video packed with famous women 1. The chart-topping run pushed the song into cover territory, where YouTube channels reworked the arrangement and TikTokers looped the chorus for short clips 6.

The track's meme footprint sits in what creators did with it after that chart peak. Cover bands, "without music" edits, and lip-dub parody uploads circulated across YouTube for months 3. The chorus became recognizable enough to work as a punchline on its own in text-swap rewrites 5.

Origin & Background

Platform
Album release (2017) / YouTube (viral spread)
Creator
Maroon 5
Date
2017

Maroon 5 released the first version of "Girls Like You" on November 3rd, 2017 as part of their sixth studio album Red Pill Blues 4. The rerecorded cut with a Cardi B verse arrived on May 30th, 2018, when the band posted the official music video for the new version 2. The clip parades a lineup of famous women, including athletes and actors, walking into frame while Adam Levine sings from a center spot in a single continuous shot.

How It Spread

On July 10th, 2018, the Walk off the Earth YouTube channel posted a group cover that pulled more than 8.8 million views and 9,700 comments within seven months 3. Later that month, on July 27th, the Without Music channel uploaded a version stripping the instrumental to isolate Adam Levine's vocals over foley sound, which passed 8.04 million views in the same window 4.

"Girls Like You" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated September 29th, 2018, dethroning Drake's "In My Feelings" after a 10-week run at the top and closing a 34-week streak of rap No. 1s 1. Billboard called it the first pop song to top the chart since January of that year and Maroon 5's fourth career Hot 100 No. 1 1.

Parody edits followed the chart peak. On October 8th, YouTuber Alex o posted a bathroom-mirror lip-dub of a father and daughter performing the chorus 5. On October 19th, Danny Padilla uploaded a MadLibs-style rewrite of the lyrics that passed one million views and 1,800 comments within four months 5.

How to Use This Meme

Creators typically loop the "'cause girls like you" chorus under short lip-dub clips or fill it with new words for MadLibs-style rewrites 5. Cover versions often stick close to the finger-snap arrangement of the original, while "without music" edits pull the instrumental out to isolate Adam Levine's vocal for comedy 3.

Frequently Asked Questions