Meme · meme
The 'Haminations Cringe' Meme, Explained
Peaking now
See it in action
Video: Haminations Cringe Compilation, embedded from its original platform.
What the meme is
Haminations Cringe refers to a TikTok trend built around clips from Haminations, the YouTube storytime animation channel run by Bryson Julian Rasmussen, who started it in 2017 at age 16. The specific fuel is a December 21, 2019 upload called 'Who I Am (Official Music Video),' in which Rasmussen sings an upbeat, theatrical song introducing himself, his personality, and his interests.
The meme works because that video is the exact opposite of how people present themselves online now: zero irony, maximum sincerity, a guy earnestly singing about who he is. TikTok users clip it and pair it with captions about situations where that same energy would be mortifying, introducing yourself in class, writing a Discord bio, talking too openly about a niche hobby.
The emotional core of the meme is retrospective embarrassment. A huge slice of Gen Z genuinely grew up on storytime animation channels like Haminations, TheOdd1sOut, and Jaiden Animations, and the trend is less an attack on Rasmussen than a way of processing the fact that they once watched this stuff completely sincerely.
Posts under the trend express embarrassment over having watched and enjoyed Haminations as children, and use the clips to joke about the awkwardness of introducing yourself, talking about your interests, or openly sharing things you enjoy. The 'cringe' is aimed inward as much as outward, the joke is really 'this was me at 12.'
In practice the format is flexible. Some posts use the song to mock any over-earnest self-presentation, like one viral take comparing it to what English teachers expect when they make you introduce yourself to the class. Others use it as a measuring stick for growing out of things, like a variation built around a comment comparing the song to what Travis Scott sounds like when you're no longer 12.
Another compared the vibe to Discord profile descriptions. Across all of them, the clip functions as shorthand for a very specific flavor of late-2010s YouTube sincerity that reads as unbearably awkward to a more irony-poisoned 2026 audience. [1][2][3]
The receipt
Original post, embedded from Twitter, linked and credited. Visuals on this page are shown for commentary and identification.
The receipts
Documented, dated uses of “Haminations Cringe”: each quote is verbatim from the linked source.
“The latest phenomenon capturing the attention of millions across social media is the Haminations Cringe trend, alternatively recognized as the Haminations Song Meme or the Who I Am Meme.”
Seen in use
People using “Haminations Cringe” in their own posts, each linked to the post itself. These are examples of use, not sources.
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Every quote above passed the same verification gate this site publishes under: real source, real date, copied verbatim. See the editorial policy.
How it spread
Why now: snapost.net wrote about it on Sep 11, 2026.
The trend exploded in the first week of September 2026 when the 2019 'Who I Am' video resurfaced and TikTok users started isolating its audio and footage for parody. The spread was fast and stacked: on September 7th, @exolindoessomethingidk posted a clip edit that pulled over 746,500 views and 77,200 likes in about three days, and the same day @morgopegger's Discord-bio comparison hit over 732,400 views and 134,200 likes.
On September 8th, @witeral's Travis Scott variation cleared 621,900 views in roughly two days, and on September 9th @scratchmypony's English-teacher joke passed 526,400 views in about a day, while @eggheehee joked that you can't miss a single day on TikTok without a new meme taking over, a post that itself topped 406,200 views in a day.
It's peaking because it sits at the intersection of two things TikTok loves: nostalgia mining and self-deprecating cringe humor. Haminations is enormous, roughly 9 million subscribers and over 2 billion total views as of September 2026, which means a massive audience has a personal history with the channel, and the 'Who I Am' video itself had over 14 million views before the meme even started.
That built-in recognition turned a seven-year-old music video into a shared reference point overnight, and the format is open-ended enough that any awkward self-introduction scenario can be plugged into it.
Variants & examples
Casual TikTok/meme register; it's affectionate self-mockery more than genuine hate, though calling the channel itself 'cringe' to a current fan can read as a jab.
- “Not the Haminations cringe resurfacing, I used to watch this unironically after school every day.”TikTok comment section
- “The 'Who I Am' video is exactly how my English teacher wants me to introduce myself on the first day.”TikTok caption over the clip
- “Haminations cringe is just realizing your childhood Discord bio had the same energy as that song.”Group chat
- “You miss one day on TikTok and suddenly the Haminations song is everywhere.”TikTok video joke
- “This is what Travis Scott sounds like when you're no longer 12, I'm crying.”Comment under a Haminations meme edit
Frequently asked
What is the Haminations Cringe meme?
It's a TikTok trend that repurposes clips from YouTuber Haminations' 2019 'Who I Am' music video to joke about the cringey earnestness of the channel's older content and of people's own childhood selves.
What video do the clips come from?
They come from 'Who I Am (Official Music Video),' uploaded to the Haminations YouTube channel on December 21, 2019, in which creator Bryson Julian Rasmussen sings while introducing himself and his interests.
Who is Haminations?
Haminations is a storytime animation YouTube channel run by Bryson Julian Rasmussen, who created it on February 20, 2017, at age 16. As of September 2026 it had about 9 million subscribers and over 2 billion total views.
Is the meme making fun of Haminations himself?
Mostly no, the dominant tone is self-deprecating nostalgia. Users joke about their own embarrassment at having watched and loved the channel as kids, and use the clips to parody awkward self-introductions and oversharing in general.
When did the Haminations Cringe trend start?
The clips resurfaced and went viral on TikTok in early September 2026, with multiple posts pulling hundreds of thousands of views within days of September 7th.