TikTok has revealed the most popular songs on the platform over the hot-weather months, and the 2026 Song of the Summer might surprise you. Then again, with 2000s nostalgia a big part of the platform, maybe it won’t.Either way, someone’s going to cringe at this, and it’s probably going to be Millennials. According to TikTok, the most popular song this summer was Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away”. Yes, from her 2010 album Teenage Dream.The song has found a new generation of listeners on the Gen Z-leaning platform. It has been used in more than 42 million videos, with more than 55 billion views. But “The One That Got Away” wasn’t just the Song of the Summer in the U.S.; it was a global sensation on TikTok. TikTok Takes It Back to 2010, for Better or Worse, by Making This 2010 Katy Perry Hit the Song of the SummerTikTok users have actually put “The One That Got Away” back on the charts. It appeared on the Billboard Global 200, where it’s been for 21 weeks. Additionally, it gained an increase in Spotify streams, now sitting at a cool 1.8 billion streams. Really, we have Gen Z nostalgia to thank for this Katy Perry resurrection. Videos using the song ranged from TV edits to personal reflections on “the one that got away”. It’s also possible that Perry’s own “the one that got away” video inspired others.Katy Perry and Josh Groban dated briefly in 2009, before Teenage Dream came out. When Groban announced his engagement in 2026, Perry posted an exaggerated tearful video featuring the 2010 track. Apparently, Josh Groban was her one that got away. But the two have remained friends, and the response was taken in jest. Perry also responded to the TikTok Song of the Summer honor in another video. She called this new response to the song “surreal,” noting, “you never really know where a song is going to end up, or when someone is going to find it.”As part of her Lifetimes Tour concert film, “The One That Got Away” features during a “choose your own adventure” segment. Perry noted that seeing fans gravitate toward that song “and make it part of their own stories has been really special to watch.” She added, “It’s nice to revisit an amazing chapter while watching another unfold.”Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImageThe post TikTok’s 2026 Song of the Summer Is a 2010 Throwback That Will Make Millennials Cringe appeared first on VICE.