Katy Perry’s ‘Backpack Kid’ swishes his way into SNL history

Sit down, Katy Perry. Clearly the people came to see the Backpack Kid.

Performing at SNL this past weekend, the pop star whipped out her latest and catchiest single of 2017 dubbed Swish Swish. And while her vocal performance was solid, there’s one particular area in which she was upstaged.

Ladies and gentlemen, @katyperry performing #SwishSwish live in Studio 8H! 🎶 https://t.co/opaqgz9jaF #SNLFinale pic.twitter.com/pyztFyOxka

— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) May 21, 2017

First spotted by Rihanna late last year, 15-year-old Russell Horning took to the stage at the end of the performance and “flossed” his way into SNL folklore.

Now, it’s not exactly unusual for a Katy Perry performance to feature a backup dancer more famous than she. Hell, who can forget Left Shark?

But Backpack Kid has the stuff to make the internet cheer rather than cringe.

Say what you want, but this 15 year old kid had a better weekend than ALL OF US. #SwishSwish pic.twitter.com/TEWEUfF14g

— Leah923 (@Leah923) May 22, 2017

So, this kid with the backpack dancing with Katy Perry on #SNL? I must now worship him as a god. pic.twitter.com/22YcoYl3z2

— Mike Scholtz (@MikeScholtz) May 21, 2017

#SNLFinale me: why am i so tired all the time
me at 3 am: pic.twitter.com/vQKtblVpbj

— Austin S. Harris (@austinsharris) May 21, 2017

I’m going as the backpack swish arms kid for Halloween. #snl #SNLFinale #KatyPerry

— Josh Perilo (@joshperilo) May 21, 2017

I just spent an hour watching all of backpack kid’s videos on instagram dear god help me

— Jennifer Malone (@jenjenmalone) May 22, 2017

As for what’s in that backpack, USAToday had a poke around.

“So in the bookbag. I just have a full water bottle, a charger, a couple fidget spinners and earbuds to keep it a little heavy while I dance. When I’m not dancing I can listen to music, drink water, charge my phone, or fidget!” Horning told the site.

Practical and stylish? Kudos.

Even if this performance doesn’t live on to become an iconic meme, you’ll likely see Backpack Kid in a GIF repository near you.