# He-Man Sings
He-Man Sings, also known as HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA, is a 2005 animated music video pairing footage of the 1980s cartoon hero Prince Adam with 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Up.' Released on the Something Awful forums by Slackcircus Studios, the clip escaped its niche corner of the web and grew into one of the earliest bait-and-switch pranks of the YouTube era, racking up tens of millions of views.
## Origin
The clip was made by two animators at Slackcircus Studios, who took inspiration from Eric Fensler's G.I. Joe PSA parodies and stitched footage of Prince Adam to 4 Non Blondes' 1992 single 'What's Up'[5]. On May 8, 2005, they posted the file to the Something Awful forums under the title 'Fabulous Secret Powers,' where early viewers first bumped into it[2]. That same month, the creators launched a straight-faced tie-in blog written from the perspective of Prince Adam and backdated to 1995 to sell the bit[5].
- **Platform:** Something Awful forums (viral spread via YouTube)
- **Creator:** Slackcircus Studios
- **Date:** 2005
## Overview
The joke rides on the mismatch: Prince Adam's hyper-articulated mouth movements from the original Filmation cartoon get repurposed to lip-sync a mopey 90s rock anthem, and the sincerity of both halves makes the collision funnier[1]. The animation loops key gestures, syncs sword lifts to song beats, and lets ambient dialogue creep back in during the intro and outro of the full cut[2]. Fans usually recognize the clip by the drawn-out 'HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA' vocal run that later gave the two-minute edit its title[6].
Beyond the original, the format inspired copycats swapping in other songs, including a 2006 remix that set He-Man footage to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'[4]. The video is also a classic payload for bait-and-switch links, dropped on unsuspecting readers the same way a Rickroll gets deployed[5].
## How It Spread
The clip jumped to the eBaum's World forums on May 22, 2005 as 'He-Man Sings a Gay Song,' then reached YouTube on February 11, 2006 titled 'He-Man does 4 non-blondes.' Reuploads kept multiplying across the site[2]. Bloggers and posters at MetaFilter, TheSite.org and BodyBuilding.com kept the clip in rotation from 2006 through 2009[3].
In January 2010, Slackcircus reposted 'Fabulous Secret Powers' to Vimeo, where it pulled another 257,000 views over the next three years. That November, an editor stripped the intro, outro and dialogue and reuploaded the two-minute cut to YouTube as 'HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA,' the version that passed 30 million views by February 2013[6]. Writers at Comics Alliance later described the clip as He-Man's 'hyper-articulated dance cover' of an early 90s one-hit wonder[1].
## How to Use
Most people use He-Man Sings by dropping the YouTube link into chats or comments as a bait-and-switch prank, letting unsuspecting viewers sit through the intro before they realize what they clicked[6]. Creators who want their own version typically pick a song with strong emotional or comedic contrast to the cartoon footage, then edit He-Man clips to lip-sync the lyrics, following the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' remix template[4].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is He-Man Sings?
It's a 2005 animated music video that pairs footage of Prince Adam from the 1980s He-Man cartoon with 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Up'[1].
### Where did He-Man Sings come from?
Two animators at Slackcircus Studios posted the video to the Something Awful forums on May 8, 2005 under the title 'Fabulous Secret Powers'[5].
### What does He-Man Sings mean?
The title 'HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA' comes from Prince Adam's drawn-out vocal run during the song, and the clip is often used as a bait-and-switch link like a Rickroll[6].
### How do you use He-Man Sings?
People typically link it to trick friends into watching, or edit their own versions swapping in other songs like Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'[4].
### Is He-Man Sings still popular?
The 'HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA' YouTube upload passed 30 million views by 2013[6], and coverage from outlets like Comics Alliance kept the video in the meme conversation years after its release[1].
## References
1. [https://comicsalliance.com/he-man-sings-dance-cover-of-4-non-blondes/]()
2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR7wOGyAzpw]()
3. [https://www.metafilter.com/62036/Im-fcking-Tintin-I-am#1727664]()
4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeFH-QoAPCk]()
5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/he-man-sings-heyyeyaaeyaaaeyaeyaa]()
6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ5LpwO-An4]()
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