TikTok Songs of the Summer 2025 revealed with surprising throwbacks
The track topping TikTok’s Songs of the Summer for this year barely belongs to this decade.
TikTok has proven its significance in the music discovery space, and every summer, TikTok becomes the global stage where music trends are made. From rediscovered classics to fresh viral anthems, the platform continues to fuel culture, charts, and careers. The Songs of the Summer 2025 list highlights just how wide TikTok’s influence has grown – and this year’s winner is a track first released ten years ago.
The biggest song of summer 2025 on TikTok, both globally and in the US, is Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand”. Originally released in 2015, the track has been given a new lease of life thanks to a wave of TikTok trends and its association with Jet2holidays adverts. According to TikTok, the song has been used in more than 9 million videos, generating over 80 billion views.
The song has been the soundtrack of travel videos, holiday mishaps, proposal interruptions and much more, with celebrities like Jeff Goldblum and Mariah Carey getting involved as well.
Expressing her delight, Glynne said, “I’m honestly buzzing that Hold My Hand has been named TikTok’s Song of the Summer! This track is so close to my heart, and seeing it take on a whole new life with you all on TikTok has been surreal.”
Continuing its focus on showcasing and highlighting songwriters, TikTok will be spotlighting the writers behind these viral musical moments.
Hold My Hand co-writer Jin Jin, known for working with stars like Raye, Burna Boy, and David Guetta, said, “I’m absolutely thrilled that Hold My Hand is the number 1 song of the summer on TikTok. It’s amazing to see the song take on a life of its own and it being known by millions all over the world. #SongwritersDream”
It wasn’t just Glynne’s track making a comeback. Black Eyed Peas’ 2010 hit “Rock That Body” ranked second on the global list, fuelled by creative dance routines. Meanwhile, Connie Francis’s “Pretty Little Baby“, first released in 1962, found new fame at number five, soundtracking countless family and pet videos before averaging over 600,000 daily creations.
Elsewhere, Radiohead’s “Let Down” (1997) became a surprise viral trend in the US, resonating with posts about relationships and personal challenges. Kesha’s “Your Love Is My Drug” (2010) also returned to prominence, with fans – and Kesha herself – joining in.
It wasn’t exclusively about throwbacks this summer on TikTok, however. TikTok’s summer list wasn’t only about throwbacks. PinkPantheress scored a viral moment with “Illegal“, sparking the popular “Is this illegal?” handshake trend and achieving millions of creations. Rising talents also had their moments; Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks after exploding on TikTok, while Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” and BunnaB’s “Mad Again” found massive audiences through trends.
Tracy Gardner, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development, summed up the impact: “TikTok’s Songs of the Summer list reflects the power of TikTok to drive music discovery among our global community, to fuel music culture worldwide and to elevate artists and songs to success both on and off the platform.”
The summer 2025 list proves that whether a track is brand new, a decade old, or a six-decade classic, TikTok has the power and influence to bring it back into the spotlight.