We all remember judging our parents’ music as kids. However, as we scroll through our For You Page on TikTok, all we hear are catchy throwback jams. Sometimes you may not even realize a song is older than you. There are plenty of examples of viral songs that were once heard on radio stations when our parents were young.
Last summer, season four of “Stranger Things” was released. “Stranger Things” is a drama series that first aired on Netflix in 2016. On May 26, 2022, the first episode of “Stranger Things” season four was released. The soundtrack for season four includes, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush, and “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.
On Spotify, Kate Bush has earned over a billion streams for her hit song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”. She earned $2.3 million in streaming royalties alone after “Stranger Things” season four was released. Kate Bush had never scored herself a spot in the top ten until 2022– thirty-seven years after her song was initially released.
Unlike Kate Bush, Metallica has been a hit heavy metal band since the early ‘80s. Metallica is considered to be one of the founding bands of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. The band continues to tour today, forty-three years after their formation. Their top song is “Enter Sandman” with over a billion streams. As of July 7, 2022, “Master of Puppets” climbed to number six on Spotify’s US charts. The streaming for “Master of Puppets” increased by 650.3% since its release thirty six years ago. “Master of Puppets” also entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time on July 12, thirty-six years after its initial release. There are several versions of the song on TikTok, the most used sound has over 200,000 videos. Another trend on TikTok is guitar players recreating the solo using their own guitars and showing off their talents.
Another song that resurfaced years later is “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. “Dreams” surfaced at number two on the Rolling Stone 100 chart, after re-entering the commercial charts for the first time in over forty years. “Dreams” is Fleetwood Mac’s only number-one hit. The song is still successful today, and over 800,000 videos are using the sound on TikTok.
“Take My Breath Away” was the second single from the “Top Gun” soundtrack and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium. Later on, the song was awarded “Best Original Song” at the 59th Academy Awards. This song was also featured in the sequel to “Top Gun.” When the sequel was released in 2022, the sound took over Tik Tok. There are now over 600,000 videos under several different versions of the song.
Not only are songs from the 80s making a comeback, but songs from when a lot of us were just born have flooded our For You Pages. Another throwback jam is “Potential Breakup Song” by Aly & AJ which took over TikTok after its release sixteen years ago. The most famous video has 13.4 million likes and over a million views. The viral video shows a group of mothers singing along to the song, filmed by their daughters. After this video was released, the sound took over the app and now there are over 900 thousand TikTok videos posted to the song. “Potential Breakup Song” now has over a hundred million streams on Spotify.
Britney Spears is considered an icon in the world of pop music, and has become a household name over the last two decades. Her most popular song is “Toxic”, with over a billion streams on Spotify. This song won Britney her only grammy award. “Toxic” also has 1.1 million videos on TikTok, the most popular video earning 2.5 million likes. Another reason Britney is so popular on TikTok and other social media platforms, is because of the #FreeBritney movement. Britney was held under a conservatorship by her father, Jamie Spears, after her popularized breakdown in November of 2006. This resulted in her being hospitalized and placed into rehabilitation. Britney fans are frustrated to see she is still under a conservatorship at 38 years old, therefore forming the movement so that Britney is able to make her own choices and not be controlled by her father. The movement took over social media, especially TikTok, in 2021. Only bringing Britney more attention and fame.
These songs have accumulated lots of success over the years, but TikTok has helped spark more success and brought more attention to new genres of music and older songs. Songs from when we were young and songs from before we were born have appeared on TikTok and helped us bond with our parents about songs that were once old but are new again.
