Katy Perry‘s The One That Got Away has been named TikTok‘s Global Song of the Summer for 2026.
The song, which is 15 years old, was initially released as a single from Perry’s Teenage Dream album in 2011.
It also tops TikTok‘s US Songs of the Summer list, which the platform published on Tuesday (September 1).
“It’s surreal to see The One That Got Away having this moment, all these years later,” said Katy Perry. “The thing about music is that you never really know where a song is going to end up, or when someone is going to find it.
“From seeing it being chosen in the ‘choose your own adventure’ section of my Lifetimes Tour concert film to seeing people discover it on TikTok and make it part of their own stories has been really special to watch. It’s nice to revisit an amazing chapter while watching another unfold.”
It is no secret that catalog music has been taking streaming market share from newer releases – on TikTok, the same thing is now happening.
Luminate defines catalog as any track older than 18 months at the point it is streamed.
MBW calculated in July 2025, using Luminate figures, that catalog tracks accounted for 75.8% of total US audio streams in the first half of that year.
By that measure, the entire top four of TikTok‘s US Songs of the Summer list is catalog.
Mac Miller‘s Cinderella, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, is at No.2. It appeared on his album The Divine Feminine in September 2016.
Lenny Kravitz‘s It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over, released in 1991, takes No.3.
Malcolm Todd‘s Earrings is at No.4. It came out in April 2024, on his debut mixtape Sweet Boy.
According to TikTok, The One That Got Away soundtracked more than 42 million videos on the platform this summer, drawing over 55 billion views.
The company says the track has spent the past 21 weeks on the Billboard Global 200, and has now passed 1.8 billion streams on Spotify.
“TikTok’s Songs of the Summer once again show how our community embraces music in all its forms,” said Tracy Gardner, Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, “from emerging artists finding a global audience to much-loved catalogue tracks being discovered by a whole new generation for the first time.
“From new fans discovering Katy Perry‘s ‘The One That Got Away’ 15 years after its release and sending it back into charts around the world, to Zara Larsson finding incredible new momentum and defining ‘Pop Girl Summer’, TikTok is where music culture is shaped and fandom grows, connecting artists and songs with new audiences and turning discovery into momentum that reaches far beyond the platform.”
This is not the first time an older track has topped one of TikTok‘s lists.
TikTok‘s Global Song of the Year for 2025 was Pretty Little Baby by Connie Francis, first released in 1962.
TikTok‘s UK Song of the Summer for 2026 is Do You Mind by Kyla and DJ Paleface, which dates back to 2008.
The track was later sampled on Drake‘s One Dance.
TikTok says the song generated more than 543 million video views from 644,000 creations in the UK over the summer.
“‘Do You Mind’ has been the gift that keeps on giving, so seeing a whole new generation connect with it has been incredible,” said Kyla. “UK garage / funky house has always had this amazing energy and community around it, and TikTok has opened that up to people who might be hearing the sound for the first time.
“Seeing people put their own spin on the track, and then watching it come back into the charts nearly two decades later, has been a really special full-circle moment.”
Five of the ten tracks on TikTok‘s UK list were first released before 2010.
Oasis take two of those slots, with Wonderwall at No.2 and Champagne Supernova at No.6. Both come from 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
TikTok says crowd singalongs during England’s World Cup run drove a 6,800% rise in searches for Wonderwall on the platform since the tournament began.
Chris Rainbow‘s Be Like a Woman, from his 1979 album White Trails, sits at No.5. The Scottish singer died in 2015.
Bonnie Tyler‘s 1983 single Total Eclipse of the Heart is at No.8. The Welsh singer died on July 8, 2026, aged 75.
Carlyle-backed Litmus Music bought Perry’s stake in the master royalty income, plus her publishing rights, across five albums including Teenage Dream in September 2023.
Industry sources suggested at the time that the deal was worth around $225 million. Universal Music Group continues to own and/or control the master rights to the Capitol Records albums.Music Business Worldwide