19 throwback singles we can’t believe are already turning 10 in 2019

“Fireflies” – Owl City

Speaking of wholesome, let’s take a look back at one song that has stood the test of time, from an inescapable hit to a meme in the span of a decade, which helped it garner almost 300 million views on YouTube.

“Fireflies” was the debut single from the electronic music project Owl City, fronted by Adam Young. Owl City first found a following on MySpace — remember when that was a thing? — before getting signed to a record label in 2008. “Fireflies” became a sensation, and has apparently lasted the test of time, but maybe not in the way that Owl City had hoped.

The song is often mocked lovingly for its simple and somewhat ridiculous lyrics like “I get a thousand hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs,” and that was why the song became a meme years later in 2017. People on sites like Twitter started taking the lyric “You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies” and swapping it out for a different rhyme to get hilarious results. That was just the tip of the meme iceberg.

Meme or not, there is still such an innocent goodness about “Fireflies” even after 10 years. You can’t help but smile when you listen to it, even if it’s just because you’re trying not to laugh at it.