One of the biggest viral songs of 2025 is an obscure and long forgotten B-side from my favorite octogenarian and yours, Connie Francis. Yet, this bygone 1962 love song is now the soundtrack to 15 million sentimental videos, proving once again the audience has a better ear than industry A&Rs.
Her track Pretty Little Baby is currently out-streaming songs with million-dollar marketing plans and strategic syncs, and it’s all thanks to a section of social media you’ll find deep into a doom scroll: romantic TikTokers, lovey-dovey bluebirds, and those folks that buy old Victrola’s at garage sales. Proving that if your song hits the right forlorn nerve, it doesn’t matter how big your budget.
From B-Side to A-Lot Of Streams
TikTok users discovered the song’s swoony lyrics and began using it to soundtrack filtered montages of babies, pets, and cute moments that could make even Herman Long catch feelings (look it up).
Let’s Talk Pretty Metrics
- TikTok Viral 50 and Top 50: No. 1
- Shazam’s Viral Chart: No. 1
- Total TikTok Clips: 15 million with 600,000 new uses per day
- Streaming Surge: From just 146,000 streams the first week of April to 4.9 million so far this week.
Great Grandma just dropped the hottest track of the summer. And she did it without using a Spotify canvas, mysteriously wiping out her IG, or crafting a cryptic post. The only rollout plan here was…existing.
Even Connie Francis didn’t know what was happening until a friend tipped her off. Now she’s calling the phenomenon “a new lease on life,” or an 87-year old’s way of saying “ya’ll better recognize.”
The Kardashian Multiplier
At some point, the Kardashians — because of course — got involved. Both Kim and Kylie posted content using the track, and when the Kardashians endorse a song, candidate, or product it never just skims by.
From Retro To Revenue
“Pretty Little Baby” like many songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s have found new relevance in the digital age and – until it gets used in a diaper commercial – it’s still the song of the moment.
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac (1977): This classic experienced a massive resurgence in 2020 after a viral TikTok video featuring a skateboarding garbageman (who might have been treating a UTI?)
“Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush (1985): The song soared back on the global charts in 2022 following its feature in Stranger Things (#JusticeForBarb)
“Africa” by Toto (1982): This song’s revival began around 2010 through internet memes and has now become an official millennial wedding must-have (I’m just as sad having to write that as you are to read it).
In a world full of chaos and content overload, Pretty Little Baby is soft, and it’s sweet. That’s exactly why it works. No drama. No drop. No producer tag. Just an uncomplicated lullaby from a time before soft launches and hard pivots.
It’s the anti-trend trend: a reminder that in a time where enragement equals engagement, sincerity might just be the most disruptive sound of all. Social Media is more than a platform, it’s a time machine. And the past? It’s got better hooks than most of your New Music Friday playlist.
By Phil Becker