Best Songs That Became Viral Internet Hits
In short: Some went viral on release: Gangnam Style (the first YouTube video to a billion views), Old Town Road (a record 19 weeks at number one), Say So and Savage (TikTok dances). Others were revived years later: Never Gonna Give You Up (Rickrolling), Dreams (a skateboarder and some cranberry juice) and Running Up That Hill (Stranger Things).
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"Gangnam Style," PSY (2012). A satire of wealthy Seoul, carried around the world by its horse-riding dance. In December 2012 it became the first YouTube video to pass one billion views.
"Old Town Road," Lil Nas X (2019). A country-trap song he promoted with memes on TikTok. After Billboard removed it from the country chart, a Billy Ray Cyrus remix followed, and it spent a then-record 19 weeks at number one in the US.
"Say So," Doja Cat (2019). A TikTok dance created by Haley Sharpe made it huge, and a Nicki Minaj remix took it to number one.
"Savage," Megan Thee Stallion (2020). The "classy, bougie, ratchet" dance spread during lockdown; the Beyoncé remix reached number one.
Second lives
"Never Gonna Give You Up," Rick Astley (1987). A number-one hit in 1987, it became the internet's favourite bait-and-switch in the 2000s. Astley has embraced it.
"Dreams," Fleetwood Mac (1977). In 2020, Nathan Apodaca filmed himself skateboarding, sipping Ocean Spray and lip-syncing. The video went everywhere, and the song re-entered the charts more than 40 years after its release.
"Running Up That Hill," Kate Bush (1985). Used in a key scene of Stranger Things Season 4 in 2022, it reached number one in the UK for the first time, 37 years after release.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Fleetwood Mac's Dreams go viral in 2020? Nathan Apodaca posted a video of himself skateboarding to work, drinking cranberry juice and singing along. It sent the 1977 song back into the charts and streaming records.
What is Rickrolling? A prank in which someone shares a link that seems to lead to something else but actually plays Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." It began in the mid-2000s and the video passed a billion YouTube views in 2021.
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