20 songs that became hits years after they were released

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” was a fan favorite track from her 2019 album Lover. Four years later, Swift added the song to her set list while on her Eras Tour, and then the song became a viral sensation on social media. With all the buzz online, Swift decided to release the track as an official single and it topped several Billboard charts including Adult Contemporary and the Hot 100.

Sometimes a song can be even more successful when it’s covered by another artist. That’s the case with “Red Red Wine,” which was originally released by Neil Diamond in 1967 and saw moderate success. However, the song became even more popular in the ‘80s when UB40 covered the track. UB40’s version not only reached No. 1 in the UK in 1983, but in 1988 upon its rerelease, it reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. 

During the holidays, Brenda Lee’s 1958 single “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has always been a track in rotation every year. Some people might recall the song playing in an iconic scene during the 1990 film Home Alone. When the song first got popular in 1960, its highest peak on the Billboard Hot 100 reached No. 14. However, when Lee decided to release a music video in 2023, the song reached the top spot of the chart. 

Sometimes a song is already a hit upon its initial release and then sees a resurgence years later. That was the case for R&B singer Miguel who released his single “Sure Thing” back in 2010. While it reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it first dropped, social media made it even more popular over a decade later. In 2022, a sped-up version of the track started gaining buzz on TikTok, and the track reached it’s a highest peak at No. 11 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Pop Airplay chart, a first for the singer. 

Although Kate Bush’s single “Running Up That Hill” saw moderate success at reaching No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, when it was first released back in 1985, the track saw a resurgence nearly three decades later. In 2022, the song was featured in the Netflix series Stranger Things, and became a streaming success on Spotify in both the UK and the US, and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100. 

Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence” was originally an album track on the extended edition of his 2019 album Indigo. Three years later, the song saw new life on TikTok thanks to a dance challenge, causing Brown to officially release it as single. “Under the Influence” peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100, and No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Due to the song’s popularity, Brown even named his tour after the song. 

Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” was a fan favorite song on her 2011 sophomore album Born This Way. However, the song saw a spike in streams in 2022 after a sped-up version was used in TikTok videos as a viral dance craze depicting a dance from the Netflix series Wednesday. With this newfound resurgence, Gaga released the song as an official single and even posted her own TikTok recreating the Wednesday dance as well. The song peaked at No. 41 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Adult Top 40 chart. 

In 1997, rock band Radiohead released “Let Down” as a promotional single for their third album OK Computer. At the time, the single peaked at No. 29 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. However, in 2025, TikTok gave the song new life as it became popular on the platform. Thanks to this resurgence, it reached 91 on the Hot 100 and No. 10 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. 

In August 2024, R&B singer Leon Thomas released his single “Mutt,” which was also followed by a remix alongside rapper Freddie Gibbs. However, it wasn’t until early 2025 in which Thomas started seeing the song gain more traction. He performed the track on late-night talk shows as well as included it in his NPR Tiny Desk set, and he released a remix with Chris Brown. Between the remixes and the live performances, the song started climbing up the Hot 100, and eventually peaked at No. 6. 

Rock band Fleetwood Mac already had a No. 1 hit on their hands when they released “Dreams” as the second single from the 1977 album Rumours. Since then, the song has re-entered the charts on numerous occasions, including in 2020 when the song went viral on TikTok. Nathan Apodaca caused the resurgence when he posted his video on TikTok using the song as he skateboarded while drinking Ocean Spray juice. Due to his viral video, the song reached No. 12 on the Hot 100. 

Rock band Glass Animals released their song “Heat Waves” as a single from their third album Dreamland in 2020. However, the song didn’t become a true smash hit until two years later when it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the longest charting song on the chart of all time. 

R&B singer Justine Skye first released her single “Collide” back in 2014 to positive reviews. However, thanks to a TikTok challenge in 2022, the song started gaining new life, and fans began to notice. While the original version featured a verse from rapper Tyga, the song’s newfound success saw Skye rerelease a new compilation that featured the original, along with a solo version and a sped-up version. 

When rock band Nickelback initially released their single “Rockstar” in 2006, the song reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band decided to re-release the song with a music video almost a year later, which helped the song gain more traction on the charts. With the re-release, “Rockstar” reached a new peak at No. 6 on the Hot 100. 

In 2016, Frank Ocean released his album Blonde, which featured the song “Pink + White.” Although the song was never released as a single, it’s become quite the popular track across social media videos, and by 2025, it became Ocean’s most-streamed song on Spotify. 

“505” is the closing track on rock band Arctic Monkeys’ 2007 album Favourite Worst Nightmare, a track they also used as a finale in their live shows. In 2022, fans started using the track on TikTok videos, causing the song to surge on the music charts. Not only did “505” reach No. 91 on Billboard’s Global 200, but it peaked at No. 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. 

Lizzo originally released her hit song “Truth Hurts” back in 2017, but it didn’t see its massive success until two years later. In 2019, the song was featured in the Netflix film Someone Great and also became a viral sensation on TikTok. Lizzo then rereleased the song and added it to the deluxe version of her album Cuz I Love You. Not only did the song top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance. 

Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met” was a track originally on the band’s 2015 sophomore album Strange Tails. A couple years later, the song was added to a scene in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, causing the track to gain some traction with new fans. Due to the show’s inclusion of the track and the band releasing a new rendition alongside Phoebe Bridgers, the song peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart. 

Ellie Goulding first released her single “Lights” in March 2011, but it didn’t enter the Billboard Hot 100 until August of that year. Although the song continued to climb on the chart, it wasn’t until August 2012 that the song reached its highest peak at No. 2. The song also saw a resurgence in 2022 when the song became popular on social media. 

Although Louis Armstrong’s single “What a Wonderful World” topped the UK Singles chart in 1968, the song didn’t see much success in the US until years later. After the song was featured in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, the song was rereleased in 1988 and became a top 40 hit on the Hot 100. 

When rock band Aerosmith released their single “Dream On” in 1973, the song failed to crack the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was still widely successful on the radio in their hometown of Boston. Two years later, the band re-released the song and it reached the Hot 100’s top ten.