What songs are trending right now? In today’s music landscape, viral hits aren’t limited to brand-new releases topping the charts. Thanks to TikTok challenges, TV and film syncs, commercials, and even random moments of internet magic, older tracks are constantly finding new life. From Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” soundtracking a longboard ride to Connie Francis and “Pretty Little Baby” re-emerging in pop culture, these resurgent songs prove that music history can go viral all over again. In this column, we’ll break down the classic tracks trending online today — and explain what’s driving their return to the spotlight.
A key track from Weezer’s ninth studio album, 2014’s U.S. Top 5 hit Everything Will Be Alright In The End, the melodic, slow-burning “Go Away” was never issued as a single, but it remains a much-loved deep cut. Part of its enduring appeal is surely due to the song’s memorable promo video (in which Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo valiantly attempts to win the heart of guest star Bethany Cosentino) though “Go Away” is now winning new friends thanks to a TikTok trend where creators share clips from cartoons and/or video games featuring on-screen lyrics from the Weezer song.
Initially released as the second single from Trace Adkins’ career-spanning 2007 compilation American Man: Greatest Hits Vol.II, “You’re Gonna Miss This” became the Louisiana country music star’s third No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country chart and also a double platinum-selling Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In retrospect, its success shouldn’t come as a surprise, for the poignant “You’re Gonna Miss This” reflects on parents missing their children after they’ve grown up. That’s a theme with a truly universal appeal, so it’s logical that the song’s current resurgence is driven by a TikTok trend involving the intimate moments parents share with their kids during early childhood.
Buy Trace Adkins’s “You’re Gonna Miss This” now.
Comprising Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, Russian pop duo t.A.T.u enjoyed mainstream success during the early 2000s when their English language debut album 200Km/H In The Wrong Lane was released by Interscope and went gold in both the U.S. and U.K. One of that record’s two international hits, the Trevor Horn co-write “All The Things She Said” also topped the U.K. charts and its risqué promotional video became the first Russian pop music video to receive a Vevo cert for 100 million views. The song’s now trending again after it featured in a recent episode of the first season of HBO Max’s Canadian sports romance series Heated Rivalry.
Famously chosen as one of his Desert Island Discs selections by his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney, John Lennon’s heartfelt “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” was directly inspired by his son, Sean. One of the key tracks from Lennon’s final studio album, 1980’s Double Fantasy, “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” also featured on the flipside of the record’s third single “Watching The Wheels” and it remains a firm fan favorite. It’s now back in the spotlight thanks to a nostalgic TikTok trend where creators post images of significant males in their lives.
Buy “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” on vinyl now.
Currently spiking in popularity thanks to a dance-related TikTok trend, Black Eyed Peas’ playful “Bebot” remains one of the L.A. crew’s more unlikely successes as it was written and sung entirely in Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines. Though it was never a single, “Bebot” remains one of the many adventurous tracks from Black Eyed Peas’ acclaimed fourth album Monkey Business: a diverse 2005 collection that blended hip-hop with elements of funk, reggae, calypso, soul and Latin music and eventually went on to sell over 4 million copies in the U.S.
Buy “Bebot” on vinyl now.
The first of two major hits from Stromae’s second album, 2013’s Racine carrée, “Papaoutai” was written as a tribute to the Belgian singer and rapper’s father, who was killed when he was just a child. A chart-topping single in both France and Belgium, the song’s video also went on to pass one billion views on YouTube in August 2023: in the process becoming only the second French language song (after Indila’s “Dernière Danse”) to reach this milestone. Still one of Stromae’s key songs, “Papaoutai” is currently big news with creators on TikTok.
A playful pop song with a dynamic chorus, “My Moon, My Man” was chosen as the first single from Canadian singer-songwriter Feist’s third album The Reminder. A U.S. Top 20 hit and also the iTunes Store’s biggest selling album of 2007, the album did good business with “My Moon, My Man” also achieving in its own right. Since making the Top 10 of Billboard’s Adult Alternative Chart on release, the song has featured in an episode of medical drama Grey’s Anatomy and a Verizon commercial. It’s now trending following its prominent placement in a recent episode of HBO Max’s sports romance series Heated Rivalry.
The celebratory, R&B-tinged “No Lie” first featured on Sean Paul’s 2016 EP Mad Love The Prequel, and became a U.K. Top 10 for the Jamaican dancehall star and the song’s special guest, the English singer-songwriter Dua Lipa. It was also included in the deluxe edition of Lipa’s self-titled debut album in 2017 and its official video has since surpassed one billion views on YouTube. Now, the seemingly irrepressible “No Lie” is trending again following a TikTok mashup with Coldplay’s 2015 hit “Adventure Of A Lifetime” and a trend on the same platform involving creators sharing outfits they’re keen to wear when winter is finally over.
One of the key tracks from Mazzy Star’s sophomore set, 1993’s So Tonight I Might See, the sparse, haunting “Into Dust” was never officially a single, yet it continues to make its presence felt. It’s twice enjoyed minor hit status in the U.K. following appearances in a 2009 Virgin Media commercial and a 2011 trailer for the Xbox 360 video game Gears Of War 3 and its currently enjoying another resurgence after placements in two new Netflix series, Ripple and Run Away.
Buy Mazzy Star’s “Into Dust” on vinyl now.
Record World’s contemporary review declared that Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” contained “simply some of the best soft sounds on the contemporary scene” and the public clearly agreed, as it topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on release in 1972. Twice nominated for a Grammy, the song has long been accepted as a pop classic and it inspired Greg Kohs’ 2008 documentary about the star of a Neil Diamond tribute show married to a Patsy Cline tribute performer. “Song Sung Blue” is now trending again after Kohs’ documentary was adapted into a feature film of the same name that stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson and is currently hot property at the box office.
Buy Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” on vinyl now.
Written by the band’s frontman, Sting, while he vacationed at James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s house in Jamaica, The Police’s iconic signature hit “Every Breath You Take” topped the U.S., U.K. and Canadian charts on release and became 1983’s biggest global hit. A winner of two Grammy Awards, this brilliant, slow-burning tune was recognized as the most-played radio song of all time in 2019 and it impacted on social media following its use in an episode of series 2 of Netflix’s hugely-successful Stranger Things. “Every Breath You Take” is now trending again after Stranger Things’ recent series finale with TikTok creators using it in posts relating to the much-loved drama series.
Buy The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” on vinyl now.
One of the key tracks from Oregon alt-rockers Everclear’s second album Sparkle And Fade, the soaring, anthemic “Santa Monica” wasn’t granted official single release, yet it received such strong radio play that it topped Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks in 1996. Still regarded as one of Everclear’s signature songs, it’s recently enjoyed a resurgence thanks to two separate TikTok trends. One involves creators reflecting on how their lives have changed over the past 12 months, while the other concerns an episode of the Netflix comedy Tires featuring a verbal exchange about the song.
Though originally one of the deep cuts from Marvin Gaye’s best-selling Let’s Get It On from 1973, “Distant Lover” still became a U.S. Top 30 hit when the impassioned version captured for 1974’s Marvin Gaye Live! was issued as a spin-off single that same year. With hindsight, both the studio and live takes of “Distant Lover” are sublime cuts of smooth, funk-imbued soul, so it’s no surprise that the song is seducing new listeners on TikTok right now. “Distant Lover” isn’t currently behind any specific trend, but it’s still big news on the digital platform, with creators singing its praises it in a multitude of posts reflecting on love, life and the human condition.
Buy Marvin Gaye’s “Distant Lover” on vinyl now.
Long since accepted as a pop classic, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” wowed audiences from the get-go. First issued as a single in May 1969, it swiftly rose to a No. 4 chart peak on the Billboard Hot 100 and went gold within 3 months of its initial release. Nowadays, the irrepressible “Sweet Caroline” is sung heartily by crowds of fans at sporting events all over the world and its popularity shows little sign of waning. It’s now trending afresh thanks to a new movie based on Neil Diamond’s music, Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, that’s all set to open in the U.S. on Christmas Day 2025.
Buy Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” on vinyl now.
Legendary Russian born American composer Irving Berlin originally wrote “Cheek To Cheek” specifically for Fred Astaire to perform in the 1935 musical Top Hat, co-starring Ginger Rogers. Astaire’s recording subsequently topped the U.S. Hit Parade for 5 weeks, with “Cheek To Cheek” later lending itself to further iconic recordings from the likes of Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Included on her album Jump For Joy (released by Capitol in 1958) Peggy Lee’s charismatic cover of the song is now trending following its appearance in the first episode of the second series of the post-apocalyptic drama series Fallout that recently aired on Amazon Prime.
One of the key tracks from DJ Khaled’s U.S. Top 10 album Suffering From Success (released through Cash Money/Republic in 2013), the blissful “I Wanna Be With You” featured high-profile cameos from Nicki Minaj, Future and Rick Ross. Also a Top 30 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as a spin-off single, “I Wanna Be With You” has since gone gold in North America and it’s now enjoying a resurgence thanks to a TikTok trend involving creators inventing and performing new dances, usually in pairs.
Weezer first appeared on many music fans’ radars through “Undone – The Sweater Song,” the grunge-y, hypnotic single trailing the band’s multi-platinum self-titled 1994 debut (aka The Blue Album). An instant hit on MTV thanks to its Spike Jonze-directed video, “Undone…” went on to become a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and has remained a fan favorite ever since. It’s currently trending following its adoption on TikTok by a viral creator who shows off his outfits in unusual ways, often involving conflict of some kind. His posts have even been endorsed by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, who recently leaned into the trend.
Buy Weezer’s Blue Album on vinyl now.
Reputedly inspired by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, Neil Diamond’s highly-acclaimed 1972 hit “Song Sung Blue” became his second U.S. No.1 success, following 1970’s “Cracklin’ Rosie” to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Now widely-regarded as a classic pop standard, the song has gone on to be covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra and Altered Images and it’s now trending thanks to the imminent arrival of a new biographical musical film (also called Song Sung Blue) starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. The film is set for release in U.S. cinemas this Christmas Day, having premiered at the AFI Film Festival in October.
Buy Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” on vinyl now.
First released on November 23, 1973, Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart in the US. This seemingly ubiquitous hit has been a part of the festive season ever since and it was recently certified platinum in the U.S. for sales of over 1 million certified units. In fact, it seems there’s no end to the popularity of this legendary Yuletide smash, for it’s now trending again after featuring in Elton John’s own TikTok posts, several of which have gone viral.
Buy “Step Into Christmas” on vinyl now.
With its acclaimed fourth series attracting upwards of 60 million viewers, Stranger Things is widely cited as the most-watched original series Netflix has screened to date. This enormously popular mystery drama series is set in rural Indiana during the 1980s, so it’s not hard to figure why classics from that decade figure prominently in its soundtrack. Currently streaming, the first four episodes from the fifth and final series continue in the same vein, with Tiffany’s Billboard chart-topping cover of Tommy James & The Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” from 1987 surging in popularity after a placement in the third episode “The Turnbow Trap.”
Co-written by Chic duo Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, Diana Ross’ classy “Upside Down” was originally released as the lead single from the former Supremes star’s eleventh studio album Diana in the fall of 1980. Nominated for a Grammy, the track spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 on release and has long been accepted as one of Ms. Ross’ signature songs. It’s now enjoying additional kudos thanks to its prominent placing (and reprisal during the end credits) in “The Crawl” – the first episode of Stranger Things’ fifth series.
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” famously enjoyed a whole new lease of life following its inclusion in a key episode of Stranger Things’ fourth series. It will likely spike once more as it again turns up in the fifth series’ second episode “The Vanishing Of Holly Wheeler.” Perhaps more significantly, ABBA’s evergreen Mexican-flavored smash “Fernando” from 1976 also features prominently during the same episode and it’s already enjoying a significant resurgence as a result.
Widely accepted of one of jazz’s most groundbreaking albums, John Coltrane’s timeless A Love Supreme from 1965 is also regarded by most fans and critics as his masterpiece. While you don’t hear the music of this classic album (yet) in Stranger Things, it nonetheless gets a shout-out in the first batch of episodes from the fifth season.