Hoobastank‘s 2003 single ‘The Reason’ has become the latest retro track to find a new surge of popularity on TikTok.
The song, which spent 38 weeks in the US singles chart, peaking at number two in 2004, has become the soundtrack of choice for a new trend for confessional videos.
Under the hashtag #NotAPerfectPerson, users have been revealing misconceptions, mistakes, hypocrisies and embarrassing moments from their past to the song’s opening lyrics ‘I’m not a perfect person’.
Popular posts include one user who admitted they misunderstood what hibernation means, and another recalling when they made fun of someone for checking the stock market only to find out they were checking their diabetes monitor.
@milan_dewan wait till people find out i have an iphone 😫😫 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #communism #socialism #comrade
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@ido_coke i just found this out like 3 months ago #fyp #xyzbca
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@alligatorbop ur lying if u say u cant relate to this
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@addisonivy @good.luckcharley thank u for informing me #fyp #fypシ #car #driverslicense #dixiedamelio
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@carolynthecatmom #notaperfectperson #cat #catsoftiktok #fyp
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
Hoobastank themselves joined in the trend, creating an account and posting a video of their own with the caption: “Realizing 20 years later that you named your band Hoobastank.”
@hoobastank #notaperfectperson #fyp #thereason #bandnames #badbandnames #radbandnames #hoobastank #chumbawamba #jamiroquai
♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
Hoobastank are by no means the first band to benefit from an unexpected TikTok trend. Glasgow indie band Life Without Buildings‘ 2000 single ‘The Leanover’ racked up an additional 3 million Spotify streams after Beabadoobee posted a short video lip-syncing to it.
Earlier this year, Oliver Nelson’s remix of The Wombats‘ 2015 song ‘Greek Tragedy’ became popular on the site, leading to its featuring in over 530,000 videos.
After Fleetwood Mac‘s 1977 track ‘Dreams’ went viral last year, Stevie Nicks said the trend had “blown my mind”. Elsewhere, the man behind TikTok’s recent craze for sea shanties has landed a record deal with Polydor.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, Universal Music Group and TikTok announced an “expanded global alliance” that will benefit both users of the app and artists signed to the label group.
