Rick Astley Dishes on ‘Never Gonna Give It Up’ Partnership With Frito-Lay: ‘Not Giving Something Up’ Is Better (Exclusive)

Popstar Rick Astley is well known for his hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and this year he’s once again using the world-famous tune as the cornerstone of his partnership with Frito-Lay. This is the second outing for the “Never Gonna Give It Up” campaign and contest, and Astley exclusively dished to PopCulture.com over the idea behind the New Years promotion. He explained that, sometimes, “not giving something up” is a better option than denying yourself delicious foods and snacks for the sake of change.

“When we’re always talking about let’s say New Year’s Eve stuff and resolutions and giving things up…. and there’s a pun intended there, believe me, ‘never going to give you up,’” Astley joked. “I kind of think it is quite of a negative think and to be honest when I think back over the years of the amount of times I’ve said on New Year’s Eve, ‘I’m not going to do this next year. I’m not going to eat this, I’m not going to drink that, I’m not going to behave like that.’ Yes, people are looking for something to try and make next year better or make their life better or what have you. But there is sometimes a negative thing literally in just saying, I’m not going to do that rather than I am going to do this. And so not giving something up, I think is some ways better than giving it up, but it has to be the right thing, obviously.”

Astley went on to offer how he believes everybody is “a lot more food conscious now, drink conscious, everything,” noting it’s something we should be. “But I also think you can take that to a point where it actually starts to have a reaction against you almost because you’re so in that mold of like, ‘Oh, I can’t have this, I can’t have that, I can’t have the other.’ You can, you can. You just have to do it in moderation and you just have to pick your moments.” 

Astley explained that he and his wife “have been discussing food quite a lot, to be honest, recently,” since they and the rest of the “world [have] been home a lot more” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think, again, you become a bit more conscious of what you’re eating because half the time you are making it, he said, later adding, “I think we’re just a bit more aware of it right now.”

The “Never Gonna Give It Up” contest kicks off on Dec. 27, and includes an opportunity for 18 people to win $1,000 each. All that aspiring contestants have to do in order to join the competition, is head over to NeverGonnaGiveItUp.com and share their “Never Gonna Give It Up” resolution for the 2022. Fans can also take part in the RickTok challenge on TikTok, where they make a duet of themselves singing and dancing along with Astley himself.