WTF?

Hoobastank’s “The Reason” is back. Thanks a lot, TikTok.

One of the most polarizing songs in the history of alt-rock radio was “The Reason,” the horribly sappy 2003 track by Hoobastank. Despite being so cringey, the song was massive hit, spending 38 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching as high as number two.

As a program director, I hate it. The music director hated it. And every single on-air announcer marched into the office one after another asking why the hell they had to keep playing such a terrible song.

“Look, I get it,” I said. “But every time we do audience research, the song comes back with some of the highest scores we’ve ever seen. Lots of people out there really, really like it.” So we kept playing it for months before it finally died out.

Gawd, I even hated cutting and pasting that video.

Now, though, Hoobstank and “The Reason” are back–and it’s all TikTok’s fault.

If you look for #NotAPerfectPerson (the first line of the song is “I’m not a perfect person”), you’ll see that it has more than 515 million views. “The Reason” appears in no fewer than 73,000 videos. Listening to the song has increased 1,737%.

Hoobastank is quite enjoying this. They now have their own TikTok account, posted some stuff, and now have more than two million views and close to 100,000 followers.

@hoobastank

##notaperfectperson ##fyp ##thereason ##bandnames ##badbandnames ##radbandnames ##hoobastank ##chumbawamba ##jamiroquai

♬ The Reason – Hoobastank

Here are some examples of the resurrection of “The Reason.”

@norbertojaimes

I miss you dad, I’ll try to come see you next year. ##dadtok ##mexico ##thereason @esmeraldajaimes2

♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@sethmcfarland69

yup

♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@justinyi_

im fine.

♬ The Reason – Hoobastank
@justme.rod

Excel? Never heard of her ##work ##millennial ##workfromhome ##office ##workdistractions

♬ The Reason – Hoobastank

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37984 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

4 thoughts on “Hoobastank’s “The Reason” is back. Thanks a lot, TikTok.

  • Damn. You probably hate “We Built This City” too.

    Reply
  • I feel validated by this article. I am literally the only person I know who hates this song, and boy, do I ever hate it. Thank you!

    Reply

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.