When people say Nicholas Fraser's vine isn't the best of 2015: why you always lyin'?

It’s had more than 16 million loops, but why is a vine sung to the tune of Next’s Too Close an internet hit? Because, ironically, it speaks the truth

Along with Blackstreet’s No Diggity and Boyz II Men’s End of the Road, it was one of the defining R&B jams of the 90s. Now, 18 years after its release, Next’s Too Close has provided the source material for one of the best vines on the internet.

A good vine is funny. A great vine is hilarious, but also, crucially, exposes a fundamental truth of our times. This is what Nicholas Fraser has hit on in his immensely popular (16 million loops and counting) vine, which we’ll call Why You Always Lyin’.

Why You Always Lyin’ consists of Fraser, one Converse-shod foot propped on an outside toilet (?), shirt unbuttoned, singing along to Next’s Too Close, but replacing the lyrics: “baby when we’re grinding / I get so excited” with “why the fuck you lying? / why you always lying?” All the while, Fraser wears a grin so wide that the corners of his mouth line up with the bottoms of his earlobes, which is the expression that one should always wear when calling someone out.

The reason Fraser’s Why You Always Lyin’ vine has become so popular is because it’s pretty much what most of us spend a good portion of our lives wondering. When a mate cancels because of a “cold”. When your boss tells you there’s no budget for a pay rise. When someone says they’ve run out of cigarettes at a party. When a police officer tells you it is illegal to film them (it isn’t, folks).

We will mumble ok, or give a withering look, but what we really want to say in all of these scenarios is: “why the fuck you lyin’?” Or perhaps, sing it, with one foot on a toilet, to the tune of Next’s Too Close. And that’s why we love Fraser, for making this collective dream a reality. And for creating a perfect, shareable quick reaction on the internet to dubious opinions and claims.

"Why You Always Lying" is the Best video of 2015. @_DowngoesFraser . thank you.

— Quinta B. (@quintabrunson) September 3, 2015

The original, longer version by Fraser was posted to Instagram, and was in response to people fake bragging about buying a bunch of products. But it’s the vine that has truly taken off. Mash-ups on Vine and Instagram have proliferated, with one of the best (more than nine thousand retweets) adding the music to Kanye West’s VMAs dance. Musicians P.Diddy and Chris Brown (euw) have reposted Why You Always Lyin’ to their own Instagrams, and the clip is spreading across numerous platforms. Fraser has also jokingly put the toilet in the vine up for sale (“bidding starts at $14 million”).

Some of the most popular Why You Lying variations

We’re also fans of the “mmmm oh my god” bridge, sung so soulfully and with such feeling that it has spawned a hashtag all of its own. Fraser was already on the rise as a social media personality, with more than 36 million vine loops overall, and 41 thousand followers on Instagram, but Why You Always Lyin’ has now entered mainstream internet discourse.

The 21-year-old college student, who lives in Queens, New York, has said that he dreamt up the vine when singing along to Too Close in his mum’s car when driving to meet a date. He also told Complex that he actually says “oh my god” like that in general.

In fact, Fraser seems to be a pretty great personality IRL (in real life) as well as on Vine. Asked why, exactly, he has a toilet in his backyard, he said: “You know, certain questions you can’t answer because there’s really no answer.” Fair.

He has also said he doesn’t want to be known as the “Why You Lyin’ guy”, because nobody wants to be known as a one hit wonder. He does admit he didn’t think the vine would prove so popular:

“I thought it would get 100 likes, and what’s 100 likes nowadays? It’s worth like, what, two hot dog buns? It’s not worth anything.”

Obviously, a few people have proclaimed to not like the Fraser vine at all, but, well, we know what to say to those people.

• Follow Nicholas Fraser on social media at: @_DowngoesFraser and instagram.com/downgoes.fraser

Contributor

Hannah Jane Parkinson

The GuardianTramp

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