If the Weeknd鈥檚 fresh hit 鈥淒ie For You鈥� seems mighty familiar, it鈥檚 probably because it first soared up the radio charts five years ago.

The Toronto pop superstar鈥檚 moody and melodic track is scaling the upper ranks of the Billboard Hot 100 鈥� a chart where new singles reign supreme. This week, it rises to No. 6 from No. 8.

But it鈥檚 hardly a new song, having appeared three studio albums ago on the Weeknd鈥檚 smash 2016 record 鈥淪tarboy.鈥�

鈥淒ie For You鈥� is part of an increasingly frequent phenomenon in which an older song climbs the music charts after a gale force of social media attention makes it impossible to ignore.

It almost always involves TikTok, which doesn鈥檛 factor into a song鈥檚 Billboard chart position, and that momentum ricochets through other places that do affect the charts, such as streaming outlets and radio stations.

Most famously, Kate Bush鈥檚 1985 single 鈥淩unning Up That Hill鈥� got a surprise boost last summer when it appeared in Netflix鈥檚 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥� leading online creators to use it for TikTok videos, music lovers to stream the track, and radio DJs to add it to their rotation. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100.

Sia saw a similar boost last fall after her 2016 track 鈥淯nstoppable鈥� was played in a television commercial and subsequently landed in more TikToks. Radio stations then put it into heavier rotation.

Older songs becoming new chart sensations isn鈥檛 unprecedented, but it鈥檚 occurring faster and more often than ever, suggested Rudy Blair, a veteran music reporter and host of industry events.

鈥淚t can happen overnight,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omebody grabs the song, they put it in the right place at the right time, and then it just clicks.鈥�

Before TikTok, Hollywood movies were often the vehicle that returned classic tracks to the charts.

It happened after the Righteous Brothers鈥� 1955 ballad 鈥淯nchained Melody鈥� appeared in the pottery-making love scene of 1990鈥檚 鈥淕host.鈥� Its resurgence peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

And when Mike Myers and Dana Carvey headbanged to Queen鈥檚 1975 single 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥� nearly 20 years later in the comedy 鈥淲ayne鈥檚 World,鈥� the rock classic took off anew on a boom of radio play and record sales that pushed it to a high of No. 2.

The difference now is that social media has made those bursts of cultural relevance more sudden and unpredictable, especially as the influence of traditional record labels wanes and listener tastes take the lead, suggested manager Sarah Fenton.

She saw that firsthand when Mother Mother, the Vancouver rock band she helps manage, felt the TikTok bump in late 2020.

Seemingly out of nowhere, their 2008 song 鈥淗ayloft鈥� became a favourite on the app, and in the months that followed they scrambled to capitalize by making a new music video and follow-up song titled 鈥淗ayloft II.鈥�

Now another older Mother Mother song called 鈥淰erbatim鈥� is gaining attention online, she said, but this time the band is doing what it can to ride the song鈥檚 resurgence as it happens. Their team is making lyric videos in multiple languages, inspired by data pulled from the countries where the song has the most listeners.

Even if 鈥淰erbatim鈥� doesn鈥檛 soar up the Hot 100 charts as a Weeknd track would, there鈥檚 much potential in the attention, said Fenton, part of the team at Watchdog Management.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole new global audience that we have access to 鈥� each time we have a new trend on TikTok or other socials,鈥� she said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e smart, you just throw some gas on the fire and see what happens.鈥�

Promoting older songs might seem counterintuitive because 鈥渁rtists want to focus on what鈥檚 new and what鈥檚 next,鈥� Fenton added. But done properly, she said the renewed popularity can bridge the gap of silence between a musician鈥檚 last album and their next project in a saturated market.

That鈥檚 effectively what happened in late 2021 when the Weeknd鈥檚 team marked the five-year anniversary of his defining album 鈥淪tarboy.鈥�

Fans had already embraced 鈥淒ie For You鈥� as a lost favourite and so when the singer filmed a belated music video, the song was given a jolt of energy that extended through his North American concert tour. He included the song in his show鈥檚 setlist which was packed with his biggest singles.

When the Weeknd鈥檚 early 2022 album 鈥淒awn FM鈥� proved to be short on massive hits, a combination of TikTok velocity and radio support pushed 鈥淒ie For You鈥� up the charts.

Blair worries so many older tracks landing on the charts suggests a music industry failing to connect with its audience, which can leave even musicians themselves reacting to trends and not necessarily inspiring them.

Since it鈥檚 never been easier to access music online, both listeners and the industry are wading through a bottomless pit of content to draw on anything that resonates, he said.

鈥淪ongs that are good enough to be classics always rise to the top, and right now there鈥檚 a drought of new songs music listeners feel represent their experiences,鈥� he said.

鈥淎nd so everything old is new again. I don鈥檛 see that changing any time soon.鈥�

鈥擠avid Friend, The Canadian Press