What's The 'Josh Hutcherson Whistle' Edit? The TikTok Trend About A 2014 Fan Edit For The 'FNaF' Actor Explained

An old YouTube fan edit from 2014 has resurfaced on TikTok over the past week, centering on the song "Whistle" and the Five Nights at Freddy's actor Josh Hutcherson. What's become known as the "Josh Hutcherson 'Whistle' Edit" is a true internet relic.

Of course, ever since his role in The Hunger Games as Peeta Mellark, actor Josh Hutcherson has been the subject of many fangirls' adoration. The once "teen heartthrob" is now an "adult heartthrob," recently finding newly devoted parasocial relationships because of his role in the FNaF film as the main character Mike Schmidt.

However, this new "Whistle" trend is an objectively strange one. It's taken over the feeds of many TikTokers. But, what is it? How did it start? Let's explain.

What's The Original 'Josh Hutcherson Whistle Edit?'

The original video was posted by a YouTuber named MetroGirlzStation in October 2014. Of course, its upload coincided with the Hunger Games craze that was sweeping the nation. At the time, there were plenty of fan edits circling around that featured Hutcherson's co-star Jennifer Lawrence.

This meme, however, is all about Hutcherson and the roughly one-minute-and-a-half-long edit that transitioned between so-called "thirsty" photos of him. The "thirst" was ultimately snowballed by the song choice: a cover of Flo Rida's "Whistle."

What's The Song In The 'Josh Hutcherson Whistle Edit?'

As stated, the song used in the edit is a cover of Flo Rida's famous song "Whistle." The cover is an acoustic cover from singer-songwriter Joel Merry. The softer tone of the cover seemed to match the aesthetic of the Hutcherson edit, leading with the iconic lyric, "Can you blow my whistle, baby?"

What's The 'Josh Hutcherson Whistle Edit' Meme And TikTok Trend?

This month, following the release of the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, TikTokers unearthed the "Whistle" edit and went viral for it. The "old internet" feel of the video and its objectively corny adoration of the actor led to its ironic usage in memes this year.

So far, it appears that the predominant memetic usage of the video is projecting it onto large objects (like garage doors) or playing it on multiple phones, tablets and TV screens all at the same time. The practice is rather nonsensical but that's also the reason why people find it so funny.

The other most popular usage is inserting the "Whistle" edit into exploitable templates. For instance, many meme creators are referencing the age-old concept of unexpectedly finding the video in your children's Halloween candy.

For the full history of the Josh Hutcherson "Whistle" edit, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.