This is Between You and Meme, a series where we talk to people whose most awkward, embarrassing, or weird moments made them go viral, and try to understand the impact of internet fame.
Last year, Tyler, the Creator tweeted that he was looking for a video in which a girl on stage was “crying then outta nowhere she makes a funny face then goes back to crying.”
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The girl in question was then 21-year old Querubin Llavore.
Llavore was a third-year psychology student when she joined a televised Filipino singing competition last year. She won a round and was apparently so surprised and emotional that she was brought to tears. At least until she caught sight of the camera, at which point she quickly raised her eyebrows, threw some deuces up, and stuck her tongue out, then went back to bawling. Llavore can sing, but that clip of her abruptly switching emotions is arguably what made her a star… and a meme.
She has been singing since she was a kid, and joined the same singing competition that threw her into memedom four times before. So when she won that round of the competition, she knew exactly what to do.
“I was, like, ‘where’s the camera?’ I was looking for the camera, like, ‘where she at, where is it?’ I won, bitch,” Llavore told VICE before adding a tongue pop.
When the show aired, Llavore’s friends said they knew her reaction would go viral, just because it was so funny. Her family wasn’t surprised, either, because she had always posted selfies, making funny faces, on social media. The only person surprised by the virality was Llavore herself. How she acted in the clip was apparently just how she acted every day, so she didn’t think anything of it.
After going viral, Llavore said she started getting recognized a lot. People would also ask her to do her now-signature deuces-and-tongue-out expression. All the social stimulation, like people taking pictures, came as a shock. But Llavore knows it comes with the territory.
She used to get really excited and would interact with anybody who recognized her, but now she said she has gotten a little tired and sometimes gets anxious around crowds. When this happens and she’s out at an event, she goes into the toilet and stays there until she’s ready to socialize again.
“But when I’m OK and I’m feeling it, like, let’s get this shit going,” she said. “I got into this, so why not, coconut?”
Of course, not everyone’s a fan. Some people said she was overacting, but Llavore doesn’t really care what they think.
While other contestants on the show got carried away by people’s opinions, Llavore said it’s best to not listen to what others have to say. “You do you and they do them,” she said.
Going viral got Llavore invited to sing at a lot of birthdays, weddings, and other events. Unfortunately, she had to turn a lot of them down.
After winning the round of the competition that made her famous, she got sick with vocal nodules, stopping her from progressing in the show. But her time in the spotlight wasn’t over. The show had a wildcard round that gave eliminated favorites a second chance in the competition. She said no to the gigs because she was preparing to compete in this wildcard round.
Llavore won that wildcard round and gave what the fans wanted. She faced the camera and once again rapidly switched between tears and wacky expressions, birthing more memes.
Quips and sass aside, Llavore said rising to fame was a dream come true for her and her parents. Her main motivation to stay in the spotlight is to make money to be able to support them. She dreams of one day having a big house with a farm next to it, so every morning she can go to the farm and feed animals.
In the meantime, she said she’s happy to ride her meme status.
“Why not? I came from nothing to something, so… period.”
