You can thank TikTok for Spotify's most popular 'throwback' songs of the year
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Palmer Haasch
Dec 3, 2021, 23:14 IST
Three out of five of Spotify's most-streamed throwback hits of the year were the subject of TikTok trends.Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Spotify released its annual Wrapped report, which shows its most-streamed music of the year.
It listed the most-streamed "throwback" songs, including Coldplay, Nirvana, and Fleetwood Mac.
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Three out of the five songs Spotify identified as "throwback" hits in its annual Wrapped report went majorly viral on TikTok in 2021, something that may have contributed to their streaming success on the platform.
That included tracking the popularity of "throwback songs," which the platform defined as tracks that were released over 20 years ago. The five most-streamed in the category were "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, "Yellow" by Coldplay, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana, and "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
All of these songs have massive staying power in their own right — "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has landed in the top 10 of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" lists in 2004 and 2012 and "Bohemian Rhapsody" is considered to be one of the greatest songs ever written, Insider previously reported.
But TikTok may also have played an important role in bringing these hits to new generations.
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'Dreams' went hugely viral on TikTok following a video posted in September 2020
"Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, was Spotify's most-streamed "throwback" of the year.
In September 2020, Nathan Apodaca (also known by his TikTok handle @420doggface208) posted a video showing himself longboarding down a highway, jug of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice in hand, recording himself lip-syncing to the 1977 song. The video, to date, has amassed 12.9 million likes on TikTok alone, and 82.8 million views.
'Yellow' sparked a popular trend where TikTokers played homage to their favorite things
Coldplay's wistful 2000 track "Yellow," which stood at number three on Spotify's list, sparked a trend on TikTok in which people referred to their most beloved people, pets, or things that brought about happiness as "my yellow," In The Know reported in October 2020.
The original version of "Yellow" has been used in 194,200 videos on the platform. While many of them don't adhere to a specific trend, the song is typically used in heartwarming or emotional content.
A different upload of the song was used in 97,900 videos and circulated on TikTok in June and July. It was similarly associated with the "whatever, never mind" trend, as well as another comparing celebrities' appearances to that of the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
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