Forget about 2021 — Valley has us feeling "like it’s 1999"
Written by Mallory Thompson
Picture this: you’re scrolling on TikTok one day and come across a band writing a catchy song. Throughout the video, they tease some production and you hear the chorus. You re-watch it a couple of times, and then you’re hooked. But there’s just one problem now: you’ve fallen in love with a song that hasn’t been released. This is the reality for a lot of fans on TikTok. Artists have recently been teasing songs as a way to hype up their promotion for the initial release, and it’s been working well for them.
Toronto-based band Valley recently did this for their newest single “Like 1999.” On January 27th, the band released a teaser where lead singer Rob Laska sang the lyrics, “If you wanna come over, watch friends and then get high.” Then with the magic of production, the band played a 15-second snippet of the chorus of their newly released single. After just a few days, the video of the song had racked up over 700,000 views and over 100,000 likes. To increase the hype around the release, the band promised fans that once the clip hit 1 million views, they would release it, thus putting the power of the song into the fans — the more you love it, the faster we’ll release it. After that, the hype continued to grow and the band released the song. As of now, the original video has over 1.2 million views, and the song has become a hit for the band.
From creation to release, “Like 1999” illustrates the importance of connecting with fans. Like other artists on the platform, Valley saw an opportunity to get their new song into the hands of the viewers, which is a tactic that has started to drive traction on new songs and new artists. And although Valley isn’t new to the music scene, they’ve used the platform to discover new fans and keep them interested.
In addition to the song being extremely catchy, I think the best part of this song is how relatable it is. I can’t tell you how much I’m “2020 done.” Sometimes I wish a part of me could go back to another year and relive memories instead of being locked inside. This is the perfect quarantine song to help us all get through these surreal times. And although I was 2 in 1999, I can definitely relate to the excitement of going back to another time. “Like 1999” pays tributes to feel-good favourites, such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Friends. The lyrics address today’s uncertainty while also helping listeners remember better times.
It’s a song that makes you want to get up and dance with your friends, and TikTok has eaten it up. The song has quickly gotten almost 2 million streams since its initial February release, and I have a feeling it’ll continue going up from here. With every single Valley has put out, you can see how they keep growing. The band is constantly evolving their sound and trying new things. I don’t know about you, but I love where they’re headed and I can’t wait for more.