00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 songs that experienced
00:10a huge surge in popularity after the death of the artist who performed them.
00:1810. Lucid Dreams — Juice WRLD
00:22The death of leading emo and SoundCloud rap star Juice WRLD left reverberations that are
00:27still being felt to this day.
00:34His overdose, at the age of just 21 years old, was one of the defining musical tragedies of
00:40the 2010s, cutting short a career that had barely started.
00:46In the wake of his passing, his 2018 track Lucid Dreams received a pretty major bump in popularity.
00:55Despite peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during its initial release cycle, the
01:00song eventually climbed back to number 8 in the aftermath of Juice WRLD's death.
01:06To his fans, it's regarded as one of his most poignant works.
01:129.
01:13I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me — Whitney Houston
01:17Following the pop balladry of her self-titled debut album, Whitney Houston made a full-on
01:21pivot into pop music with their sophomore efforts.
01:2410.
01:31I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me —
01:32Right at the forefront of this move was the standout single, I Wanna Dance With Somebody
01:36Who Loves Me — which went on to become a number one hit in several countries.
01:4310.
01:47When Houston passed away in 2012, the track, along with several of her biggest hits, returned
01:53to the charts.
01:5410.
01:55I wanna Dance With Somebody I wanna feel the heat with somebody
02:01The song climbed back to number 25 in the U.S. and number 20 in the U.K., making Houston
02:06one of the few artists to land in the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four decades.
02:1310.
02:13With Somebody Who Loves Me —
02:1610.
02:16Back to Black — Amy Winehouse — To this day, the impact and legacy of Amy Winehouse's
02:23career are still being felt.
02:2510.
02:25She left no time to regret
02:30In that short span of time, she arguably influenced more future artists than any other female singer
02:36in the U.K. during that period.
02:38The title track from her critically adored second album, Back to Black, was an instant hit with
02:42her fans, peaking at number 25 on the U.K. charts.
02:4610.
02:46And I had to read a troubled track
02:52Winehouse's declining health and her substance abuse disorder
02:55issues sadly deprived us of a third album, when she sadly passed at the age of 27.
03:04Back to Black — like several of her other songs — re-entered the charts at a new peak
03:08of number 8.
03:167.
03:17Voodoo Child — Slight Return — Jimi Hendrix
03:21Despite being released just two years prior in 1968, Voodoo Child — Slight Return by the
03:27Jimi Hendrix Experience — would only truly hit its commercial potential in 1970.
03:38The death of Jimi Hendrix was a true gut punch to the worlds of rock and roll and even many
03:44progressive genres.
03:52Voodoo Child — and Voodoo Child was without a question one of his most explosive moments
04:01on the guitar.
04:09It went on to be re-released by his label, becoming his only U.K. number one hit single
04:14in the process.
04:236.
04:24When Doves Cry — Prince and the Revolution
04:31The sheer number of albums that Prince released during his lifetime is astounding.
04:36The Purple One's work ethic was truly on another level, and the fact that he supposedly
04:41still has a vault full of unreleased music should come as no surprise.
04:47When Doves Cry — was Prince's first-ever chart-topping single in the U.S., becoming
04:51one of his signature compositions.
05:00When the legendary funk-and-pop superstar passed away in 2016, it shot back into the top 10,
05:06peaking at number eight.
05:07It's the type of track that has a timeless sound, making it as catchy and infectious today
05:12as it was in the 1980s.
05:14This is what it sounds like when Doves Cry —
05:19Number five.
05:20Thriller — Michael Jackson
05:22Out of the many hits that Michael Jackson scored over the years, there's just something
05:27special about Thriller.
05:28It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark.
05:35Whether it's the fact that MJ wasn't even convinced that releasing it as a single would
05:39be worthwhile, or the iconic video that eventually came with it.
05:42All in all, Thriller was a real cultural moment.
05:46You hear the door slam, realize there's nowhere left to run.
05:52It initially hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts while reaching number one in
05:56a host of other countries.
05:58So when Jackson's death in 2009 caused many of his old songs to re-chart, Thriller climbed
06:03up the Billboard Hot Digital Singles chart and peaked at number two.
06:07It also has a habit of returning to the charts every few years around Halloween, a testament to
06:12its enduring appeal.
06:13So let me hold the tide and share up, get up, get up, get up, get up.
06:18Number four.
06:19Heroes — David Bowie
06:21By the time David Bowie had outgrown his glam rock era and effectively kicked his addictions,
06:26he proved his continuing artistic growth when he wrote and released his seminal hit, Heroes.
06:32I, I wish I could swim.
06:36Despite its clear quality, though, the song was not an initial success commercially, failing
06:42to chart in the U.S. at all.
06:43Over the years, it would go on to be regarded by many as one of his greatest, if not his
06:48greatest
06:48songs.
06:49I wish I could swim.
06:56Following Bowie's death in 2016, it spent two weeks on Billboard's Hot Rock and Alternative
07:01chart in the U.S., peaking at number 11.
07:12It also hit number 12 on the U.K. singles chart.
07:15In the end, the track's commercial success did it justice.
07:25Number three.
07:27My Sweet Lord — George Harrison
07:29While most people were fixated on arguing over whether John Lennon or Paul McCartney would
07:34have the biggest post-Beatles commercial splash, nobody saw George Harrison coming.
07:44His All Things Must Pass album was adored by fans and critics alike when it came out, spawning
07:50several hits.
07:51In other words, the quiet Beatle had officially emerged from his shell.
08:01My Sweet Lord was a standout commercial performer, hitting the top spot on the Billboard charts
08:06in 1970.
08:11When Harrison passed away in 2001, the song began selling again, reaching the number one
08:16position on the U.K. single chart, regaining the position it had held three decades prior.
08:25Number two.
08:27Bohemian Rap City — Queen
08:34There might not be a more ambitious song that achieved as much mainstream success as Queen's
08:40Bohemian Rap City.
08:41Built using a small army of vocal overdubs and elaborate chord progressions, the song was
08:46a true mega-hit for the band, spending nine weeks atop the U.K. charts.
08:50It also peaked at number nine in the U.S.
08:59However, when Freddie Mercury's battle with AIDS culminated in his death in 1991, the song
09:04had a major resurgence, climbing back to number one in the U.K. and hitting number two in the
09:09U.S.
09:15It's a feat of bombastic rock and roll that has not been surpassed in the time since.
09:19In fact, something this huge in scope has rarely even been attempted.
09:25Nothing really matters to me.
09:32Number one.
09:33Imagine John Lennon.
09:35Imagine there's no heaven.
09:38When John Lennon was gunned down in 1980 by Mark David Chapman, the world truly came
09:44to a standstill.
09:45It was a senseless murder that brought everyone together in celebration of this man's job
09:49genius and the music he had left behind.
09:52You may say I'm a dreamer.
09:55Out of all the songs to hit the radio waves once more, none of his compositions felt quite
10:00as impactful as Imagine.
10:02It was already a huge hit when it initially came out, but the fact that it rose to number
10:06one in the U.K. singles chart posthumously in 1981 was a surprise to no one.
10:11Imagine all the people.
10:15It held that spot for four weeks as fans of the Beatles and Lennon's solo catalog mourned
10:20the loss of their hero.
10:22And the world will live as one.
10:27But what other songs do you remember that had a major resurgence in the wake of their singer's
10:32death?
10:33Let us know in the comments below.
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