No one can escape the Josh Hutcherson ‘Whistle’ edit

polygon.com:

Wake up, babe! Early 2010s Tumblr fandom is back, and we have Josh Hutcherson to thank for it.

In the past two weeks, a fan-made video known as the “Josh Hutcherson ‘Whistle’ edit” has gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok. Originally posted to YouTube in 2014, the video combines photos of Josh Hutcherson with a cover of the song “Whistle” by Flo Rida. Sure, the video looks a bit paltry compared to the snazzy edits of anime characters and K-pop stars you so often seen today. Still, it’s a weirdly important video in the annals of internet history and served as one of the early progenitors of viral thrist edits that are everywhere today.

Now, thanks to the release of the new Hunger Games movie, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the edit is making the rounds and has become a bona fide viral video. It’s truly iconic, so we’ll give you the rundown of the popular meme.

The Josh Hutcherson “Whistle” edit is a fan-made video that compiles several photos of the American actor set to a cover of Flo Rida’s “Whistle,” sung by Joel Merry. The video is still hosted on YouTube; you can view it via MetroGirlzStation’s channel. Overall, it’s a strong example of the aesthetic tastes of the era. The images are edited with pinkish hues, and the video uses the Ken Burns effect.

Some fans, depending on age, have also called the video a fancam or a fan-made music video (FMV). I tend to reserve the prior usage for actual recordings of performers, but you still see people use the term with this video.

The fandom around Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series inspired an avid online fandom in the early 2010s. The first Hunger Games movie came out in 2012; Hutcherson played one of two major love interests of the series, Peeta Mallark.