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Italian brainrot

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Tralalero Tralala, a shark with legs and blue Nike sneakers

Italian brainrot is a series of surrealist Internet memes that emerged in early 2025 characterized by absurd photos of AI-generated creatures with pseudo-Italian names.[1][2] The phenomenon quickly spread across social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, owing to its combination of synthesized "Italian" voiceovers, grotesque, funny visuals, abstractism, and nonsensical narrative.[3][2]

Description

Italian brainrot is characterized by absurd images or videos created by generative artificial intelligence. It typically features hybrids of animals with everyday objects, food, and weapons.[4] They are given Italianized names or use stereotypical cultural markers and are accompanied by AI-generated audio of an Italian man's narration, which is often nonsensical.[5] These characters combine elements of surrealism, visual anxiety (uncanny valley) and internet irony, reflecting the post-ironic humor of Generation Z.[3]

The term brain rot was Oxford's Word of the Year in 2024, and refers to the deteriorating effect on one's mental state when overconsuming "trivial or unchallenging content" online. It can also to refer to the content itself.[6] Online users often use this label to acknowledge the ridiculousness of Italian brainrot, while recognising the growing amount of AI slop present online.[5] Fans have created various stories featuring characters from Italian brainrot,[5][7] forming a type of "Internet folklore" with overly dramatic storylines and voices.[8]

History

Precursor

In October of 2023, Internet users would create various Italian memes about actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson, where he rhymes about absurd topics. In one video, Johnson would use the nonsense word "Tralalero tralala", and would later rhyme it with "smerdo pure nell’aldilà" ("I shit even in the afterlife"). The phrase would later be used to create the basis of Italian brainrot.[9]

Creation

Although the exact origin of Italian brainrot is hard to pinpoint, the character Tralalero Tralala is widely considered to be the first example of the trend.[5][10] The creation of the character is often attributed to the TikTok user @eZburger401, who reportedly posted a video featuring the character in January 2025. The user was banned after posting, potentially due to its accompanying audio containing profanity and blasphemy against God and Allah in Italian.[11][12] Alternatively, American website Vulture claimed that Tiktok user @burgermerda created the audio in September 2024, had it re-uploaded by @Ezburger401, and then paired with an image of a photoshopped shark-seagull hybrid by user @elchino1246 in 2025.[a][9] Vulture further states that it was user @iamtralalelotralalahot who first paired the audio with an AI-generated shark with shoes.[9]

Italian brainrot gained notoriety in many regions such as Indonesia, the United States, South Korea, many Spanish-speaking countries, and much of Europe.[12] Various brands have replicated the memes for use in marketing content on social media.[12][7]

Characters

Ballerina Cappuccina, a ballerina with a cappuccino cup for a head

Italian brainrot features various AI-generated characters. The first viral character of the genre was Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark in Nike sneakers who is often depicted jumping or fighting a hybrid creature with the head of a crocodile and the body of a World War II-era twin-engine bomber, known as Bombardiro Crocodilo.[1][2][5] Tralalero Tralala is athletic, being able to run at superhuman speeds and having high jump lengths.[13]

Tung Tung Tung Sahur is an anthropomorphic wooden object resembling an Indian club or bedug drum and holding a baseball bat. Although often claimed or mistaken as a popular part of Italian brainrot, it has Indonesian origin – the 'Tung Tung Tung' in its name is an onomatopoeia of how Indonesians traditionally beat drums to commence suhur, the pre-dawn meal that Muslims eat before fasting during Ramadan.[14] The character was originally made by @noxaasht in February 2025 and has become its own meme.[15][16] In May 2025, Indonesian production house Dee Company [id] would express interest in making a film based on it.[17]

Ballerina Cappuccina is a ballerina wearing a tutu and pointe shoes albeit with a cappuccino mug as a head, emphasizing the absurdity of the genre by combining the incompatible: an everyday object and a classical dance image.[2] The original meme featured her pirouetting gracefully.[18] Other characters include Lirili Larila, a bipedal cactus-elephant hybrid wearing sandals. [2]

Reception

The likenesses of some Italian brainrot characters have been used to sell toys and NFTs.[9] Italian brainrot also inspired a variety of volatile meme coins, such as "Italianrot", which was launched in March 2025.[19][20]

Polish radio channel Polskie Radio noted that the meme is popular among Generation Alpha "because it's stupid, funny and veeeery [sic] addictive".[21] Polskie Radio highlighted how the meme has been adapted into other media, such as Roblox games, musical remixes, and quizzes.[21] Radio France Internationale would call the usage of pseudo-Italian names amongst characters "a bit problematic".[22] Daily German newspaper Die Tageszeitung called Italian brainrot a "creative approach to technology, language, and pop culture".[23]

Controversy

Bombardiro Crocodilo, a bomber with the head of a crocodile

Tralalero Tralala and Bombardiro Crocodilo memes have been accused of being Islamophobic, as lyrics of the former's video mock Allah in Italian,[b] although some Italian users have pointed out that it is merely generic blasphemy.[24] Meanwhile, Bombardiro Crocodilo has been criticized for making light of the Gaza genocide, since some videos use his Italian narration, which describes the character bombing children in Gaza and the rest of Palestine.[5][24] This has caused concerns regarding topics such as casual cruelty and desensitisation.[8] Bombardiro's full narration is as follows:

Bombardiro Crocodilo is a flying alligator who drops bombs on children in Gaza and Palestine. He doesn't believe in Allah and loves bombs. He feeds on your mother's spirit, and if you've translated everything up to this point, you're a complete idiot.[23]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ elchino1246's video is one of the earliest examples of the character.[10]
  2. ^ The original audio states "Tralalero Tralalà, porco Dio e porco Allah" (Tralalero Tralala, damn God and damn Allah).[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b "Апогей брейнрота: Бомбардиро Крокодило и другие боевые ИИ-животные захватили соцсети" [Brainrot's Apogee: Bombardiro Crocodilo and Other AI-Battle Animals Take Over Social Media]. Afisha (in Russian). 27 March 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e ""Итальянский брейнрот": что это за мемы и почему они так популярны" ["Italian Brainrot": What Are These Memes and Why Are They So Popular]. Vechernyaya Moskva (in Russian). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Italian brainrot has taken over social media". Cybernews. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  4. ^ White, Robert (18 April 2025). "Is 'Italian brainrot' the stupidest internet trend yet?". News.com.au. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Gupta, Alisha Haridasani (30 April 2025). "Meet Ballerina Cappuccina and the Italian Brain Rot Crew". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  6. ^ "'Brain rot' named Oxford Word of the Year 2024". corp.oup.com. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Italian brainrot on TikTok: Ballerina Cappuccina explained". nss g-club. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b Darla, Alice (4 June 2025). "Italian Brainrot: Why Gen Alpha Is Obsessed with Gibberish Sharks and Cappuccino Ballerinas". Neon Music. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d Zhan, Jennifer (29 May 2025). "The Italian Brain Rot Ren-AI-ssance, Explained". Vulture. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  10. ^ a b Hines, Matthew (6 May 2025). "WATCH — Why you might want to translate Italian brain rot before repeating it". CBC. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  11. ^ Good, Anna (30 April 2025). "Tralalero Tralala: This AI-generated shark in Nikes is the face of TikTok's Italian brainrot obsession". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  12. ^ a b c "I meme nati in Italia che stanno avendo un enorme successo su TikTok" [The memes born in Italy that are having huge success on TikTok] (in Italian). Ilpost. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  13. ^ Y, Esquivel (11 April 2025). "¡Tralalero Tralala! Qué es el Brainrot italiano y cuáles son los animales con poderes". Excélsior. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Tung Tung Tung Sahur meme explained: Know the origin story behind Ramadan's viral wake-up call". The Economic Times. 21 April 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Has the viral 'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' meme crossed your feed yet? Here's all about the TikTok trend". Tribune. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  16. ^ Vaishnavi, Arya (23 April 2025). "Tung Tung Tung Sahur: What is the new TikTok meme and why is it trending?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  17. ^ Rantung, Revi C. (12 May 2025). "Viral di Medsos, Meme Tung Tung Tung Sahur Dikabarkan Akan Dibuatkan Film" [Viral on Social Media, Tung Tung Tung Sahur Meme Reportedly to be Made into a Film]. KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  18. ^ Good, Anna (28 April 2025). "The bizarre rise of Ballerina Cappuccina, TikTok's surreal new Italian brainrot star". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Italian Shanhaijing and Tungtungtung are here to brainwash people. New abstract cultural Meme coins are hot again". PANews. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Meme coin trapralaleo tralala surges 17000%, experts caution investors on volatility". CHOSUNBIZ. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Czym jest brainrot? Trippi Troppi i Ballerina Cappuccina - tego nie ogarniają nawet zetki". Polskie Radio. Polskieradio.pl. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Le phénomène "italian brainrot" : génie de l'absurde ou signe que l'humanité est vraiment perdue ?". Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  23. ^ a b Grimaldi, Giorgia (15 April 2025). "Der verführerische Charme der Sinnlosigkeit [The seductive charm of meaninglessness]". Die Tageszeitung. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  24. ^ a b Ferraris, Matilda (26 April 2025). "From Ballerina Cappuccina to Tralalero Tralalà, we unpack the darker undertones of Italian brainrot". SCREENSHOT Media. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
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