Iris: Retro Hits that Gen Z are discovering

Sometimes it’s hard not to be smug.

You come across a TikTok trend months late (perhaps on Facebook) where a retro hit is suddenly in the zeitgeist. Let’s be real – by the time you’ve come across it, it’s come and gone in popularity by Gen Z.

Sometimes a current artist releases a cover, use a sample or they interpolate a retro hit where it’s almost impossible not to blurt out, HEY THAT’S A RIPOFF!

We’re not here to do that – we’re here to celebrate the songs both in their original and in their new form. We’ll also not get into the politics of royalties, or legal complications because what’s the point dot com.

If not for all of us, who will champion these songs – their notoriety, their impact on future generations?

Matt Bailey did a bit of research into this, and there are some interesting charts and takeaways you can find on his site. A few highlights;

Songs from the 80s

Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” from Tears for Fears, and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” remain the most-streamed songs from the 80s on the U.S. Spotify 200. TOTO’s “Africa” and Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” also remain mainstays.

Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” returned for a month following his death.

However, most of the 80s songs that recently surged in streaming can all thank Stranger Things: ‘ After becoming a bigger hit in 2022 than it originally was in 1985, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” rejoined the Spotify 200 for seven weeks starting in late 2025 because of the show’s finale. The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” reached the Spotify 200 for the first time ever after the finale.

But the Stranger Things song that received the most interest was also the song that was the biggest hit in its time: Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

Songs from the 90s

The most-streamed 90s song is The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” a Pop smash from an (originally) Alternative band that’s become the trending go-to track to evoke 90s nostalgia. “Iris” is second only to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” as the most-streamed classic on Spotify.

Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” has become a standard for Tik Toks evoking sentimental, romantic, and heartbreak.

Alternative classics dominate the 1990 from Nirvana, Radiohead, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Surprisingly, none of the foundational Hip Hop songs from this decade have been “discovered” yet.

Bonus

The 1979 original single version of The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry” is now reaching the Spotify 200 thanks to Tik Tok memes and bolstered by the re-release of the 1986 version on vinyl.