Every so often, social media finds a new niche hyperfixation that results in our timelines being flooded with clips and reactions of one particular subject.
In recent history, this has been Harry Styles’ new haircut (and its supposed resemblance to an EastEnders fave), it’s been The Rock’s visit to The Capitol, and it’s even been Posh and Becks in their prime.
And now, for some reason, now it’s Cilla Black.
The singer and TV presenter died in 2015, and was a much-beloved part of British celeb culture, hosting Blind Date, Surprise Suprise and more, as well as counting The Beatles and Paul O’Grady among her close friends.
She also once revealed she used to cover oranges in Oxo cubes as a snack – but that’s not even the most bizarre resurfaced clip that has somehow found its way to the forefront of the zeitgeist once more.
Her newly-regained popularity (or, indeed, infamy) seemed to start over the weekend, when one user on X (formerly Twitter) joked that Cilla was “a menace to society”, alongside a vintage clip of her belting out She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain on a steam train with *checks notes* a full backing troupe and a nice elderly lady.
The clip has now been viewed upwards of a million times, with other users also reflecting on more unexpectedly iconic moments in the star’s career – including this festive sing-a-long.
But that’s not the only Christmas clip to have graced X in recent days; as one user wrote: “I thought Cilla Black singing and dancing with a Christmas tree on her head was something only AI could generate, but no, it actually happened.”
Admittedly, Cilla’s unique vocal stylings aren’t exactly to everyone’s tastes, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t enjoying the clips of her singing her heart out all the same.
Many X users have also been jumping to Cilla’s defence, with one arguing that no singer today “goes for the big notes” anymore.
Summing up the mood, one user shared a clip of Cilla saying the words “ultimate chaos”, with the message: “Can’t wait to see what archive horror of Cilla Black is unearthed and ridiculed for tomorrow.”
Now… shall we have that Oxo cube clip one more time for good measure?
Oh, Cilla…