Kyle Gordon never set out to become the accidental voice of a generation’s musical cringe, but that is exactly what happened when the comedian with more than 5 million online followers crafted a song parodying the folk-pop explosion that dominated the charts in the early 2010s.

was shared online to Gordon’s account, @kylegordonisgreat, and has since been viewed more than 8.3 million times, spawning a trending sound, viral memes and mass affectionate ridicule of the recession era’s now-questionable aesthetic choices.

“Well first and foremost, I am squarely a millennial myself,” Gordon, who is from New York, told Regalrumination.com. “I was born in 1992, so this genre of hyper-commercial folkish anthemic pop was everywhere when I was in college.

“It must have seeped into my DNA because it really didn’t take me long to write the song.”

What began as a niche sketch soon exploded into a full-blown cultural moment.

In the clip, which is effectively a parody music video, Gordon appears fully kitted out in the unmistakable uniform of the era: a checkered flannel shirt, Chelsea boots, a trilby hat, stacked bracelets and skinny jeans.

Behind him, a band dressed in identical garb launches into a bombastic, stadium-friendly anthem straight out of 2011. Filmed on a street in Brooklyn, New York, and featuring a woman styled in the equally kitschy fashion of the time, the scene captures the peak of millennial “quirky” culture with uncanny accuracy.

The song, aptly named We Will Never Die, instantly evoked comparisons to the likes of FUN., Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers and Bastille—acts whose anthemic choruses filled indie playlists, hipster coffee shops and festival stages during the early part of the decade.

Gordon’s pastiche hits every beat, from the foot-stomping rhythm to the clapping in unison and the dramatic vocal inflections.

“It’s incredible,” Gordon said, reflecting on the viral attention on the song. “It was such a fun process to see the first wave of reactions to the song itself, and then a few weeks after I posted the original clip a culture and meme developed around the song that was completely organic.

“What more could you want! I love all the interesting and creative ways people used my song.”

Since the post began to go viral, Gordon, who parodies the music of other decades, too, has leaned further into the “millennial-core” fever online.

He swiftly produced more comedy videos, including an elaborate “office” lip-dub—a perfectly on-point nod to the viral office sing-alongs and quirky working spaces that were briefly ubiquitous in the early YouTube era.

Viewers were able to see staffers in decade-appropriate outfits mime along to the parody track, channeling the same relentless optimism and team-building zeal that once defined millennial startup and “girl boss” culture.

That layer of authenticity is part of what has made Gordon’s video take off as a viral sound.

The song has since been used as the background to hundreds of and posts poking fun at the era’s defining cultural markers: overpriced artisan burger joints, open-plan offices, quinoa everything and music that sounds like it belongs in a commercial.

The original post had even been captioned, “your coworker’s favorite song,” as a lighthearted nod toward how uncool the styles and symbols of this era now seem to many.

In the comments section of the original video, viewers expressed that they could not believe how closely Gordon nailed such a nice vibe.

“This song is how it must of felt to work at Buzzfeed in 2014,” one viewer said.

“Imma tell my kids this was FUN.,” another added.

“Babe wake up! Mumford Dragons Lumineers Fun. just dropped a new song,” another said.

“This is the most 2013 song I’ve heard since 2013,” another added.

“This is perfect I hate it,” another said.

“This makes me want to buy a necklace with a giant owl pendant,” another added.

“How much is a burger here,” another joked, in reference to the viral memes poking fun at millennial burger joints that vow to “do things a little differently.”

For Gordon, the success of the parody has been years in the making—even if the joke took only a moment to land.

“I have loved my career so far,” he said. “I had been performing live comedy for many years before building an audience online, so I’m lucky that I had time to develop as a performer and establish my own comedic voice.

“But creating content online allows me not only complete creative control, but it also allows me to reach my audience directly.”

While the internet was the launchpad for his latest round of viral success, Gordon is taking his musical comedy offline with a national tour beginning this month. He said the live experience is every bit as chaotic and high-energy as his online clips and persona suggest.

“I’m really excited to play all of these songs live,” he said. “I tour with a full band and the show is super high energy and crazy, and then the sky’s the limit.

“I love writing songs so I’m sure there will be more music coming in the future, but I’d also love to focus on acting and developing my own projects for film and TV. I want to do it all!”

Though rooted in comedic flair, Gordon’s viral hit underscores a growing trend: the internet’s recent obsession with early 2010s nostalgia, more specifically, in poking fun at the styles and sounds of the era.

Much like how Y2K fashion made a comeback with Gen Z in 2024, the millennial era—defined by its business casual clubbing outfits and hashtag whimsy—is now being mined for laughs, aesthetics and cultural commentary. And Gordon has unintentionally positioned himself at the very center of that revival, one perfectly crafted pastiche at a time.