The Mannequin Challenge has become popular again in 2026 when global fans of the trend from 2016 start to bring it back to life. The challenge requires participants to remain motionless as a camera records them while they perform the task, which uses Rae Sremmurd's popular song Black Beatles as its background music.
The social media challenge which originated in a Florida classroom has now spread across the world. Users on TikTok, Instagram and X now revive the trend which began ten years ago as part of the rising "2026 is the new 2016" nostalgia movement.
The Mannequin Challenge went viral after a video was posted by students of Edward H. White High School in Jacksonville, Florida, showing their classmates frozen in place inside a classroom on October 26, 2016.
The brief film gained immediate popularity. All over the world, celebrities and athletes and politicians started to participate in the online challenge. The New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Milwaukee Bucks developed their unique Mannequin Challenge performances.
Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” became the official soundtrack of the internet challenge. The duo even performed the song live while crowds froze mid-motion. The trend turned into a global internet culture moment and a defining viral challenge of the decade.
According to social media users, the revival is a celebration of the best pop culture moments of the 2010s. The Mannequin Challenge is quite easy to recreate. All one needs to do is gather friends or colleagues. Choose a creative setting. Freeze. Let the camera move through the scene. Add music. The more dramatic the poses, the better the reaction will be online.