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Robbie Williams (and his World Cup middle finger) spikes Google Search traffic

By Andy Walker

15 Jun 2018

If you were expecting Will Smith to open the 2018 World Cup in Russia this evening, don't worry, we were, too.

Feature image: Drew de F Fawkes via Flickr (CC 2.0 BY), on Memeburn

Instead, a British pop singer from the 1990s named Robbie Williams appeared like a legendary Pokemon to sing some of his hits from yesteryear.

It was a tad odd, considering that “Rock DJ”, one of four tracks he performed from the beginning of this millennium, is now old enough to legally order an alcoholic beverage in South Africa. His other tracks aren’t any younger.

To make matters even worse, he kind of flipped off most of planet Earth in a subtle-but-not-so-subtle moment that’s really quite confusing.

"I did this for free." Robbie Williams. June 14, 2018 �� pic.twitter.com/VUeOSFGKY5
— lou (@loubarigozzi) June 14, 2018

So it’s safe to say that Twitter reacted to his appearance and actions with due reverence.

Robbie Williams managed to get the whole world shouting about him by only lifting ONE finger. Icon.
— x (@markydays) June 14, 2018

Over on Google, search results for the former Take That member spiked to its highest point in years (except in 2014 when people across the internet thought he died).

Interest over time, via Google Trends

Russia (obviously), Brazil, Argentina and Germany rank among the countries using his name and his sung tracks in the Google search bar most often today.

We’re not sure for how long, but it seems that Robbie Williams is once again in the internet zeitgeist for all the wrong reasons.

About Andy Walker

Camper by day, run-and-gunner by night, Andy is editor at Memeburn and prefers his toast like his coffee -- dark and crunchy. Specialising in spotting the next big Instagram cat star, Andy also dabbles in smartphone and game reviews over on Gearburn.