The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a massive box office hit, but it’s also a viral sensation thanks to Bowser’s song “Peaches” as sung by Jack Black. The internet loves the song already, but now it seems that people are loving it even more as fans are wondering if “Peaches” was basically just Jack Black RickRolling us all.
The theory starts with YouTuber Charles Cornell who published a video recently where he analyzed “Peaches” musically, and basically argued that while the song is hilarious, it’s actually far more interesting from a music theory perspective than many might expect. However, Kotaku watched the full video and listened to the music as Cornell was playing, noticed the key of the song and the chord progression made “Peaches” sound an awful lot like Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Jack Black really got us with that shadow RickRoll pic.twitter.com/2OAeY1yms7April 17, 2023
Does this definitively prove that “Peaches” was some sort of secret intentional RickRoll? No, of course, it doesn’t. Many songs share key and chord progressions, just ask the recently vindicated of plagiarism charges, Ed Sheeran. However, that doesn’t make the whole thing any less hilarious. Watching the original video it’s difficult to not hear the Rick Astley song, though that may only be because I already knew about this theory before I watched it.
If this somehow was intentional, then it’s Jack Black playing four-dimensional chess with the audience, which you honestly couldn’t put past him. It sounds like exactly the sort of thing Black might do as a joke. The guy who makes up one-half of Tenacious D knows a thing or two about being funny with music. And Black is also a great musician, so this feels like the sort of thing he could and would do.
But even if this was an accident, which if we’re being honest is far more likely, it might actually be even funnier. It’s like the RickRoll snuck its way into the song, and now it’s there, and you’ll never be able to unhear it. The next time you watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie and hear Peaches you’ll be hearing Rick Astley in the back of your mind singing along.
We’ll have to see if this particular theory takes off. If it does, I would have to believe that we could actually see it impact the franchise. At this point, it seems all but confirmed that The Super Mario Bros. Movie will get a sequel. You don't make a billion dollars to not become a franchise, and a Mario Bros. sequel has places to go. Considering how popular “Peaches” was, getting a song from Jack Black in the sequel would also seem likely. So here’s to a Rick Astley vocal cameo in the new movie. It needs to happen.
