[2][4] The versions of "Take On Me" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" have seen millions of views on YouTube and have created a brief resurgence of the original song in the popular culture.
In the concept's first year, YouTube has hosted 100 different "literal version" videos, from users all over the world, including foreign language entries.
show on Current TV, stated that the idea for literal videos came about from an inside joke with his fellow workers,[8] and that two of his coworkers along with his wife helped to provide the new vocal lyrics.
The most popular of these initial non-McLean videos was a redub of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", by copyrighthater, which went on to receive over two million views in its first year online.
[10] The new lyrics give a nod to "Rickrolling", a previous internet meme that involved tricking people into watching the original video of the same song.
His sixth video, a redub of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was posted on May 25, 2009 with the singing done by Scott's friend Felisha Noble.
[13] In December 2008, literal versions of "Take On Me" and "Under the Bridge" were removed from Dustin McLean's YouTube account, due to copyright claims by Warner Music Group.
[14] Two of Scott's literal videos, Crowded House's "World Where You Live" and The Killers' "Read My Mind" were banned in several non-U.S. countries immediately upon upload, due to copyright restrictions by EMI and Universal Music Group, respectively.
levmyshkin (whose May 2008 "Bill O'Reilly Flips Out - DANCE REMIX" got 2.9 million views in its first year) saw his literal version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" taken down, after a copyright claim by Sony Music, one month after he had posted it.
[16] Later that month (less than a week after excerpts were shown on ABC's "Nightline"), the literal videos for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" (the latter posted by deshem in December 2008) were both removed from YouTube, after a copyright claim by EMI Music.
Artists parodied by the removed videos included Billy Joel, Boyz II Men, REM, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Hanson, Cyndi Lauper, and Rick Astley.