R&B sensation Miguel has new music on the way, but he didn’t plan on his 2010 single, “Sure Thing,” going viral beforehand.
The sultry love song made waves and landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2011. Since TikTok became popular, songs from current, past, up-and-coming or underground artists have gone viral due to a dance created for the music or their use in a video that’s become a trending topic. TikTok can boost streams and help artists gain a new fanbase and receive accolades.
Now, 12 years later, “Sure Thing,” which peaked at No. 36 following its release, has reemerged on the chart and surpassed that pinnacle position at No. 28, Vibe reported, and the singer said he and his team were shocked.
“It was definitely a bit of seeing it on Instagram,” Miguel told Brooke Reese of Apple Music’s The Chart Show, according to Vibe. “It was a TikTok video and they reposted it. Eventually, my team was like, ‘it’s kind of going crazy right now.’ Then Mark Pitts, who’s the president of the label, called and he was like, ‘Wake up. I’m sending you snapshots of data. It is going crazy.'”
In January, the song became a trending sound on TikTok, allowing a new generation of teens, college students and young adults who set the tone for what’s hot to discover the track. The song is a sped-up mix of the initial version. Miguel celebrated by posting a video on TikTok with the caption, “YOU GUYS GOT ME CHARTIN BEORE I GET THIS NEW ONE OFF! APPRECIATE ALL THE LOVE FOR SURE THING!”
@miguelYOU GUYS GOT ME CHARTIN BEORE I GET THIS NEW ONE OFF! APPRECIATE ALL THE LOVE FOR SURE THING!♬ original sound – Miguel
He shared with Reese that he’s grateful his music can still be relevant over a decade later because it’s given him new fans that like and appreciate it in new ways.
“I’m just really excited to have new fans that are going to discover me in the midst of it,” the 37-year-old said during the interview. “I think it’s an opportunity for people to, hopefully for anyone who likes that song specifically, just get into the journey of it. I think there’s something dope about that, that we don’t really get to do, especially because my career started as social media began as well.”
He continued, “There’s enough information on the internet to be able to see the growth and to see the evolution. Whereas back growing up, my favorite artist from maybe 20 years prior, it wasn’t easy to find. Their journey was really through the music. There wasn’t so much media around them that you could find. You’d have to literally go to an Amoeba and go find the DVD of their tour of them live and in some country. So it’s cool.”
As his January caption confirmed, Miguel has new music on the way and is ready for fans to hear what he’s been cooking up.