Today in Viral Internet: November 1
Halloween ends, the feed resets, and November 1 has quietly become one of the internet's most loaded dates.
Tyrese Posts The My Shayla Video
On November 1, 2017, Tyrese Gibson posted an emotional Instagram video during a public custody fight over his daughter Shayla, crying out the words that the internet would later know as My Shayla. At the time it was a painful personal moment shared in public, viewed as a celebrity unravelling in real time.
The clip took on a second life years later. In December 2024 TikTok users lifted the audio and turned it into a term of dramatic affection for friends, pets and favourite foods, with early uses passing 450,000 plays. Tyrese has since addressed the trend in interviews, explaining the state he was in when he recorded it and saying he now finds the meme endearing.
Mariah Carey Claims November 1
Mariah Carey started a tradition on November 1, 2019, posting a video where Halloween Mariah went to sleep and Christmas Mariah woke up to take the call. It was the first of her annual It's Time reveals, and it turned the midnight after Halloween into a scheduled internet event.
The production kept growing from there. Later editions added a Halloween intruder at the door, a full festive set, and in 2023 a giant block of ice that Mariah had to sing her way out of, making the defrosting joke fans had told for years into an official piece of theatre. By owning the joke, she converted a meme about her into a yearly marketing moment she controls.
A Classroom Costume Video Sparks Outrage
Also on November 1, 2019, a student posted video of a California high school teacher performing in blackface as the rapper Common, parodying a set of technology commercials. The clip passed 680,000 views with thousands of likes and reposts in under a week, and the fallout moved just as fast as the views.
The student reported the same day that the school had told the teacher to clean up, implying a dismissal, and the district placed the teacher on administrative leave while the story spread nationally. It remains a case study in how a phone in a classroom can carry a local decision to a national audience before lunch.
The Dancing Cat Takes The Feed
A short clip of a cat appearing to belly dance to Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend was first posted on Douyin on October 31, 2023, and a repost to TikTok on November 1 carried it to roughly 25.7 million plays and 2.6 million likes. The cat was lying on its back on its owner's lap, paws moving it into what looked like a full dance routine.
Within weeks a greenscreen version turned the cat into a template anyone could drop into any scene, and by December 1 the main CapCut template had passed 185,800 uses. It is the purest form of viral, no campaign, no celebrity, just a pet, a chorus and perfect timing on the first day of a new month.
Remember November Finally Arrives
Back in 2023 an image of a polar bear began circulating with a strange promise attached, presenting itself as a November meme from 2026 that viewers would not understand yet. The bear kept returning as the date got closer, gathering a song, remixes and layers of fan theories across three years of waiting.
Now the month on the poster is actually here. Final updates in the last days of October counted down to November 2026 like a film premiere, and November 1 is the moment the longest running joke in recent meme culture has to pay off. Whether the bear delivers a meaning or the mystery was always the point, a meme scheduled three years in advance just reached its release date.
Keep Reading
Enjoyed this? Get the Daily Drop
More trending culture, hip hop history, and new music. Straight to your inbox.
More Where That Came From
Daily hip hop history, trending culture, and new music.
Stream My Music All Trending