Jeff Buckley has achieved his first US Hot 100 hit single, 29 years after his death, with 'Lover, You Should Have Come Over' entering the chart at No 97 this week. The posthumous success is attributed to TikTok virality, as a new generation of listeners discovers Buckley's romantic songwriting and pairs it with videos on the social media platform.
While TikTok videos themselves do not count towards US chart positions, viral trends drive listeners to streaming services, where plays are counted. 'Lover, You Should Have Come Over' is an acoustic ballad lamenting a broken relationship, featuring heartfelt lyrics such as 'All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter… she's the tear that hangs inside my soul for ever.'
The track appears on Buckley's sole studio album, 'Grace', released in 1994. The album peaked at No 82 in the US but became a touchstone for college students and hopeless romantics, eventually achieving platinum sales. Buckley died in 1997, accidentally drowning while swimming in the Mississippi River, leaving behind sketches for a second album later released as 'Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk'.
Buckley joins other 1990s alternative artists who have belatedly charted thanks to TikTok, including Radiohead, whose song 'Let Down' charted for the first time in 2025. TikTok's Year in Music report claimed that eight of the 10 US No 1 singles of 2025 had a viral moment on TikTok first, and all 13 UK No 1 singles went viral on the platform.
