Earlier this month, roughly a year after the release of the Oscar-nominated film "A Star Is Born," the internet and its inhabitants collectively embraced a new budding star: Kylie Jenner, the vocalist.
Jenner spent more than 16 minutes giving fans a tour of her cosmetic company's headquarters in a video posted to YouTube, but a seconds-long interaction quickly outshone the rest. In a TikTok-like clip that someone tweeted early last week, the 22-year-old billionaire tells the camera that it's time to wake up her young daughter, Stormi. She then walks into a sparsely decorated room, flips on the light switch and, facing the already-awake baby, sings the magical words: "Rise and shine."
She croons them, actually, tacking a dramatic "h" onto the front of "rise" and concluding "shine" with a gentle lilt. The results are awkward and stirring in a way that memes often are, and the clip spread like wildfire. Jenner's riff might now evoke as much of a Pavlovian response as the iPhone's chilling radar alarm. It's as if she listened to Lady Gaga's glory note at the climax of "Shallow" and said, "Hold my beer."
But now, some news for the "Rise and Shine" hive: It was reported Tuesday that Jenner has applied to trademark the phrase. If accepted, the trademark would apply to cosmetics and various forms of apparel, such as jackets, undergarments and footwear. Just like that, A Meme Is Monetized.
Of course Jenner, who clearly has inherited her mother's business acumen, didn't wait to cash in on her sudden surge in popularity. The official Kylie Jenner store includes a $65 black hoodie with the phrase on its sleeves - stylized "Riiise + Shiiinnee" - that is already sold out. Another sweatshirt, also sold out, recalls the Microsoft Paint aesthetic and features Jenner's face in a pink sun and a smattering of music notes.
While Jenner has done her part to invigorate the fandom by sharing memes (such as the one Miley Cyrus tweeted) and posting videos of Stormi dancing to a remix, "Rise and Shine" has spread far beyond her reach. Pop star Ariana Grande covered the meme in her Instagram story and asked if she could sample it in a song. Lizzo, one of the year's most popular artists, sang "Rise and Shine" after playing a little ditty on her flute at a recent concert.
The riff even entered the sportsphere when the Golden State Warriors posted a TikTok of point guard Steph Curry dancing to it "for the 67th time today."
This isn't the first time a KarJenner has made money off a meme. Big sister Kim Kardashian West, for instance, made Kimoji and phone cases out of her famous crying face. But given the hastening speed of online joke cycles (and general exhaustion with this particular family) it'll be interesting to see how successfully Jenner is able to continue monetizing this one.
“Rise and Shine” might overcome those obstacles, given that it even seems to have infiltrated the brains of those in KarJenner-averse circles. Will someone - Kylie Jenner, maybe - get this rising star a billboard?
(c) 2019, The Washington Post · Sonia Rao