The hashtag #ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin and the phrase "this could be us" have been mentioned 6.8 million times on Twitter since Jan. 1, Twitter told Mashable.
The hashtag and phrase refer to the meme that mocks unflattering or odd photos of couples, and now the meme is the impetus for a song from Prince himself.
[seealso slug="dark-90s-songs/"]
Yes, this is the same Prince who in 2010 stated, "The Internet's completely over."
Prince's Twitter account, @3RDEYEGIRL, tweeted a "this could be us" photo of him and Apollonia Kotero (from the 1984 Purple Rain film, which came out 30 years ago Friday) this week, linking to a Minneapolis Star Tribune article discussing his new song "This Could Be Us."
THIS COULD B http://t.co/FgJ43Mjkt7 US pic.twitter.com/sF2dhi3mDK
— 3RDEYEGIRL (@3RDEYEGIRL) June 23, 2014
The song, described as a "joyful ballad," will be on Prince's untitled next album.
On Wednesday, the @3RDEYEGIRL account tweeted what appears to be lyrics to Prince's "This Could Be Us":
THIS COULD B US... pic.twitter.com/LOHdJMUesd
— 3RDEYEGIRL (@3RDEYEGIRL) June 25, 2014
To help us give you more insight into the meme, Twitter's Shavone Charles dug up these examples of the "This Could Be Us" phenomenon:
Hey @DJPaulyD , this could be us again but you keep playin pic.twitter.com/iAcIobOOpE
— Vinny Guadagnino (@VINNYGUADAGNINO) February 8, 2014
#ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin pic.twitter.com/oPbWj2Lpei
— Space Cats (@SCatsx) May 8, 2014
#ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin pic.twitter.com/593DzF7q3o
— Pajama Kid (@RealPajamasKid) April 19, 2014
.@dylansprouse This could be us but you playin. pic.twitter.com/argbfSxVEr
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) March 9, 2014
This could be Us, But I can't rap, You cant sing, and We don't have no Money ... So We Playing. pic.twitter.com/WN9nM6rrRt
— Da KiDD Stizz (@PrincxIzzy) January 27, 2014
#ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin pic.twitter.com/ZUnn8Jd8kf
— The Notebook (@Notebook) February 5, 2014
BONUS: The Complete Hiss-tory of Cats on the Internet
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