What song did you “know” was going to be a hit the first time you heard it?

Submitted by debaser64 t3_zzdna2 in Music

I remember where I was when I heard Float On by Modest Mouse for the first time when it came out. I’d been a fan since Lonesome Crowded West and had seen them play in a tiny local VFW hall to maybe 100 college kids, and I remember being in my car when the chorus hit and saying out loud to no one “holy shit, they’re going to blow up now”.

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Lasercanoe t1_j2c0fjp wrote

Somebody That I Used To Know Gotye. Heard it a year ahead of it BLOWING UP and couldn't get the earworm out

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Certain_Yam_110 t1_j2b754j wrote

"Royals" by Lorde

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idontwantanamern t1_j2eh8lc wrote

I just posted the same thing. We knew Tennis Courts, but I heard Royals on college radio and legit pulled over and called someone to say "she has it"

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eN0Rm t1_j2b0xme wrote

Barbie girl, Aqua

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Title26 t1_j2b6m6f wrote

I Love It by Icona Pop. Imagine being the record exec listening to that for the first time and just getting dollar signs in your eyes.

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debaser64 OP t1_j2bo44w wrote

I forgot about that song. I’m pretty sure I saw them do it live at some festival like a year later.

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Vince_Clortho042 t1_j2ccfi3 wrote

I saw Icona Pop perform this with Charli XCX at a Rolling Stone showcase at SXSW (I was working their DIT assist) and I was immediately like “oh this is going to blow up”.

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JoeShoes84 t1_j2bfg7k wrote

I heard Mr. Brightside when I was working at circuit city the year that album came out on an XM radio in my department. The first time I heard it, I was obsessed, it was unlike anything I had heard.

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debaser64 OP t1_j2blwc5 wrote

Same album but Somebody Told Me grabbed my attention first, but MBS definitely has stood the test of time.

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tempetemple t1_j2bqclm wrote

Yellow, Cold Play. I heard it before it was distributed in USA and knew immediately.

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bop999 t1_j2c74ma wrote

Smells Like Teen Spirit, first on college radio (WPRB)

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AnswerGuy301 t1_j2cdbdv wrote

The first time I heard "Under the Bridge" on MTV I was like "This is going to make RHCP massive stars."

Supposedly they played a show with some record label folks in attendance, within a few weeks of _Blood Sugar Sex Magik_ coming out. Anthony Kiedis missed his cue and the vocals were off....but everyone in the place was singing along. The label guy heard that and was like "yeah, "Give It Away" is fine, but "Under the Bridge" is your next single."

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luvmedo64 t1_j2da7sz wrote

I Want To Hold Your Hand The Beatles ✌️❤️🎸

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bentcoin t1_j2azfos wrote

I'm going to go waaaay out on a limb from my high school days... "Bohemian Rhapsody". Could you just imagine hearing that song for the very first time without all of the stories behind it?

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mrmike5157 t1_j2b8l4r wrote

I’m in the same age group, think I was fourteen when I first heard that song and I was just floored by it. Queen was a huge part of my adolescence.

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bentcoin t1_j2ba55e wrote

I'm likely a year older than you. Grade 10. 15 at the time. Damned, I knew everything back then. Dunno what happened since... I prolly have adozen pictures of me at the time. I'm either wearing a Queen or a Supertramp t-shirt.

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AlQinn t1_j2c24kx wrote

I remember when Smells Like Teen Spirit came out. It was the first and only time in my life that you could talk to anyone at school about anything and have an instant connection — everyone was completely blown away by it and wanted to talk about it. Jocks, nerds, bimbos, bangers, stoners, everyone. Even at the time, there was an immediate sense that it was more than just a great song.

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Amadai t1_j2b2mvi wrote

Rehab by Amy Winehouse. They played it on a Portland radio station when it was first released.

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SLPERAS t1_j2b3n30 wrote

Levels- Avicii

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tellmemorenow t1_j2b6zmh wrote

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake was an immediate one followed by Blank Space Taylor Swift

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teeyodi t1_j2bbae1 wrote

Cannonball-the Breeders

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ModernDS t1_j2beukk wrote

Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty

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KODO5555 t1_j2bpug6 wrote

In 1995 I was living in London and heard the album “what’s the Story by Oasis. I said if they push this in the US it’s gonna explode.

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Vince_Clortho042 t1_j2ccug8 wrote

I saw alt-J perform Breezeblocks at a newcomers showcase at SXSW the summer before they blew up. The rest of their set was weird as hell but that song was such a banger that I knew it was going to be a hit.

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Weird-n-Gilly t1_j2cqecu wrote

Head like a hole- NIN. The raw emotion, edgy lyrics, immediately stood out compared to the crap that was on the radio at the end of the 80’s

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rawkombucharoy t1_j2dkn1e wrote

I actually had the opposite…

Listened to Uptown Funk with less than a million plays and was kinda like ehh.. didn’t think it was anything special.

After the second or third time I really appreciated it tho and when it went meteoric I was def excited that I heard it early on.

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cratecc t1_j2dq0w8 wrote

Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits

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Serenade314 t1_j2dqs6b wrote

Bohemian Rhapsody. Everyone was like: it’s too long, it’s all over the place… nothing even close like it

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ChipCob1 t1_j2b8gk4 wrote

Crazy - Gnarls Barkley

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debaser64 OP t1_j2bnmdt wrote

Yeah this one too! I remember making a friend listen and telling him it was “going to be huge” and like a year later he reminded me about it after it blew up.

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earthshiner85 t1_j2bbiyn wrote

One Step Closer by Linkin Park. Last Resort by Papa Roach was already a hit and when I heard LP for the first time I remember telling my friends that this is the band we'll be listening to for the next several years

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Corn_Palace t1_j2bkaou wrote

Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper

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bizobnstl t1_j2cib0d wrote

stargazing by the neighborhood

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Ok_Human_1375 t1_j2ckqjq wrote

Do you want to build a snowman?

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debaser64 OP t1_j2dj220 wrote

Oh yeah! Disney put clips of all of the Frozen songs on YouTube months before the movie came out and I would watch them with my then 3yo. We loved Let It Go but had no idea him that would blow up like it did.

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dripping_dream t1_j2cozqs wrote

Not necessarily one song because I don’t think you can narrow it down to one but Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City by Kendrick. One of my homies who was always ahead of things put it on when it dropped and as soon as I heard Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe I knew it was going to be fire, and then every song was just as good, with such a great mix of party songs with introspective tracks, great features and production, and the perfect album to live up to the hype Kendrick had been building for himself up to that point. I just had such a strong feeling that it was going to be a really big record for a lot of people for a long time. I heard that album and its singles played at every kickback, party, smoke session, hangout, pretty much every social gathering from fall 2012 through all of 2013. I still hear people play it all the time and it still slaps.

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djwixel t1_j2csnhx wrote

Ferrari by James Hype 💜💜💜

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Blinkth3dog t1_j2ddhh3 wrote

Not quite the same but in 1999 as a angry 17yo, me and my friend put slipknots ST album on the cd player, and when surfacing played we sat there open jawed, looked at each other, and said these guys are going to be huge.

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Ok_Pomelo8230 t1_j2dk368 wrote

Sound and Vision- David Bowie. I heard it in the 90's and thought it was new. I knew it was gonna be big.

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pieceofdebri t1_j2doqe4 wrote

Rolling in the Deep. Was walking out the door when I heard it in the background on vh1 and it stopped me dead in my tracks.

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Dry-Recognition-1504 t1_j2e2z3h wrote

Soulja boy - Crank that Flo Rida ft. Tpain - low Alicia keys - no one Adele - someone like you Carly Rae jempson - call me maybe Fetty wap - trap Queen Kodak Black- super gremlin

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18249m t1_j2e42xb wrote

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. It came out just after Breezeblocks by Alt-J and a friend and I argued over which artist/song would blow up the biggest.

I went with Blurred Lines which ultimately stayed atop that charts for 12 weeks in 2013. (Breezeblocks never topped the pop charts but was top ten on several Indie charts).

We're still friends. We were just having fun talking about music. I don't even particularly go for pop in general but that opening hook gets me every time.

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idontwantanamern t1_j2eh48g wrote

Royals by Lorde. I heard it on a college radio station, pulled over and called a friend.

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cake_piss_can t1_j2f4ept wrote

Get Lucky - Daft Punk.

The second I heard it I knew. It was pretty obvious. It’s just insanely catchy and likable. Sure enough a few weeks later it was everywhere.

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M0D3Z t1_j2f6sju wrote

Losing it by Chris Lake/Fisher

Just so simple it would appeal to the masses.

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yourmothersanicelady t1_j2fhkv6 wrote

Obvious one but i remember when Get Lucky by Daft Punk dropped thinking well I’ll be hearing this one at weddings, parties, bars, bar-mitzvahs etc. for the rest of my life.

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Historicalheight_16 t1_j2fpjcr wrote

Heat Waves - Glass Animals

Had this on repeat the summer of 2020 after discovering it on a Reddit thread lmao, immediately knew it had the potential to be massive the second I heard it.

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purpdrank2 t1_j2b3gci wrote

Only Love Can Save Me Now - The Pretty Reckless

The minute i heard that song I knew it was one of the best songs that Taylor Momsen had written and the band had made as a whole. Why it wasn’t a single prior to Death By Rock and Roll’s release blows my mind

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mintindie t1_j2bd2nb wrote

Megan Thee Stallion - Big Ol Freak

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brian0066600 t1_j2bkawq wrote

I have the exact opposite skill, every time I find a song or band I like, I know they are doomed to never be commercially successful.

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admire816 t1_j2blarp wrote

Last Resort by Papa Roach. I was watching MTV one night and it was the premier of the video. I told everyone about it the next day and told them all it was gonna blow up.

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debaser64 OP t1_j2boek4 wrote

Yeah remember when MTV was culturally relevant and these video premieres were a huge deal and literally made some bands.

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admire816 t1_j2boki4 wrote

I’m old enough to remember the video premier of Michael Jackson’s “Black or white” and it was so good they played it twice in a row.

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nebdarski t1_j2braxw wrote

“I hate everything about you” three days grace

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Viperzz3 t1_j2c1f4f wrote

It didn’t really blow up but it had a popular TikTok remix. more than a woman by the beegees

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bulcano1 t1_j2c9qp9 wrote

Lost on you by LP i was looking for vinyl and LPs info on YouTube and stumble across the song like a year before it became popular

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Seacarius t1_j2dtv1p wrote

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor

Take Me To the River - Talking Heads

Sunday, Bloody Sunday - U2

Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey - Paul McCartney and Wings

Shambala - Three Dog Night

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MTTMFR t1_j2fidj5 wrote

Every nocap song

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TechnicalHighlight29 t1_j2bumd3 wrote

Unfortunately most likely you heard it because it was a "banger" so many people here listed a top 10 song like it want willed into thier lives. Bad question.

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debaser64 OP t1_j2bzp3x wrote

Read the post. I listened because I was already a fan. It didn’t start getting radio play until the weeks/months after.

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