Who knew we'd be listening to Gia Giudice’s sad childhood song so many years later?
It’s hard to go online these days without running across the viral hit, but if you're not aware of how Gia Giudice is taking the world by storm with a decade-old song, allow us to fill you in.
In 2011, when the third season of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" series was airing, reality star Teresa Giudice and her brother Joe Gorga’s family drama had taken centerstage on the show at the time. During the season, Giudice held a birthday party for her daughter Milania in the midst of the family’s continuing beef. But things got a little messy when eldest daughter Gia, then 10 years old, shocked the party guests with a tearful performance of her own made-up song, "Waking Up in the Morning."
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The audio sample of Gia's "Waking Up in the Morning" song has recently gone viral on social media, with over 270 million—yes, million—views. And that’s not all: you may be shocked to learn that Will Smith is one of the celebrities who have jumped on the #WakingUpInTheMorning bandwagon!
Of course, Gia Giudice, who is now 20, has noticed the song's popularity. As she mentions: “I got a bunch of text messages from friends saying Will Smith was singing your song on Instagram, and when I saw it, I couldn’t believe it.”
Who wouldn't want to be TikTok famous, as she adds: “Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and I thought it was very cool that he did that. Maybe I'll do one of his songs in exchange.”
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Despite the awkwardness of the situation at the time, the trending song has since helped bring people together in a whole new way as they reminisce about their own humiliating moments.
Even Cardi B has joined the list of fans, as the "WAP" star took to Twitter, saying: “Thinking about deleting this app until I drop my next little project. But then again where I'm going to hear 'Wakin’ up in the morning thinkin’ about so many things, I just wish things will get better'?"
this is unreal!! CARDI I’m in Bahamas let’s meet upMarch 26, 2021
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Scroll through TikTok for a minute, and you’ll most likely hear these sad words: “Waking up in the morning, thinking of so many things…I just wish things would get better.” The song has become an anthem for TikTok users’ most embarrassing moments. A standard clip usually begins with the TikTok user passionately mouthing along to the lyrics before cutting to footage of said cringey moment, such as getting broken up with in the middle of prom or having a wedding ceremony with a cardboard cut-out of Harry Styles.
@michaelslagel yikes #greenscreen #Coming2America #arianagrande #arianator #ariana #meetandgreet #embarrased #awkward #victorious #homediy #viral #fyp #positions
♬ original sound – Amir Yass
The famous “Waking Up In The Morning” audio was created long before TikTok was ever a thing, though. It was actually an original song that Teresa Giudice‘s daughter, Gia Giudice, sang on Season 3 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey! FYI, that season aired in 2011 — so, it’s a major throwback. While Gia’s song has become TikTok’s inside joke, it actually has a heartbreaking story.
Gia, who was then about nine or 10 years old, wrote the ballad because her mom and uncle, Joe Gorga, kept fighting. Gia performed it at her little sister Milania‘s fifth birthday party, which you can watch below:
While Gia’s song cuts off in the audio that is trending on TikTok, she continues to sing through tears, “Walking into school, thinking of what is going to happen next. Things are just caught up in my mind. Just can not get rid of them. I am worrying and worrying I just can not get rid of this. I can not take chances. It is just too much. Waking up in the morning, going into school. Worrying and worrying. It is just too much.”
Gia is now 20 years old and has a TikTok herself, so hopefully she can find some humor in the painful memory (although she hasn’t created a video to the audio yet). Other celebrities, however, have been featured in some of these TikToks!
@sophia.ellio.tt i think about this moment every day #zacEfron #rejection #fyp #imnotok #sidepart #2018 #college
♬ original sound – Amir Yass
One of the best showed Zac Efron reading a high school student’s letter from Cornell University…only to announce that the student was deferred. Another hilarious celebrity-themed “Waking Up In The Morning” video read, “remembering the time i ran into ariana grande while crying because i was in the middle of a fight with my dad.” The TikTok user then revealed a throwback photo of himself, crying, while posing with the pop star amid her Victorious days. You can watch both of these videos above!
@amiryassofficial This iconic RHONJ @giagiudicexx scene is perfect for Trump to hear leaving office 😂 #biden2020 #fyp #fypシ#neeyyxxtt #xyzbca #trending #dumptrump
♬ original sound – Amir Yass
While this trend didn’t blow up until March of 2021, the audio was actually first used by TikTok user @amiryassofficial in January. The social media user shared the clip of Gia singing and wrote over it, “Trump on Jan 20th” (referring, of course, to the fact that Donald Trump had to leave the White House after Joe Biden took office).