MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Two old songs have debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in recent weeks. That is thanks to viral success on TikTok. As NPR's Stephen Thompson explains, it is never too late for a song to become a hit.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: If you're an up-and-coming artist and you want your song to hit the Billboard charts, you've got more competition than ever. It's not just that you're up against a constant flood of new music. More and more, you're also up against every old song that's ever been released.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GO AWAY")
WEEZER AND BEST COAST: (Singing) Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away.
THOMPSON: That's "Go Away" by Weezer. It's been on the Billboard Hot 100 for the last three weeks. It's the first Weezer song to hit the chart in almost eight years. But "Go Away" isn't new. It's from 2014. The song, which features the singer Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast, didn't chart until clips of it blew up on TikTok more than a decade later.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GO AWAY")
WEEZER AND BEST COAST: (Singing) And so I ask, what does she have that I don't have?
THOMPSON: The rise of "Go Away" has spawned yet another comeback for Weezer, but it's not the oldest song on the latest Billboard Hot 100. At No. 94, a song from 1979 enters this week's chart also thanks to TikTok popularity. It's called "Be Like A Woman" from the singer Chris Rainbow.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BE LIKE A WOMAN")
CHRIS RAINBOW: (Singing) Do what you want, but be like a woman to me.
THOMPSON: Chris Rainbow died in 2015. During his life, he played in bands like The Alan Parsons Project and released several solo albums. Rainbow's music sounded both ornate and breezy, which made "Be Like A Woman" ripe for rediscovery, especially given how often modern music echoes its sound.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BE LIKE A WOMAN")
RAINBOW: (Singing) If you hear a sound, it's just my heart breaking, yeah.
THOMPSON: The sudden success of old songs by Chris Rainbow and Weezer has produced yet more competition for artists releasing new songs in 2026, but they can take solace in one thing. If your new song isn't a hit, it's never too late for it to be rediscovered, years or even decades later. Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BE LIKE A WOMAN")
RAINBOW: (Singing) Be like a woman. (Vocalizing). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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