Scroll through social media for five minutes right now and you’ll hear it. A sweeping mandolin intro, immediately recognizable, coming from back in 1998. The Goo Goo Dolls‘ ‘Iris’ has gone viral again, and this time it’s brought Hollywood along with it.
Drew Barrymore posted a string of grainy, never-before-seen photos from the Never Been Kissed era, timed to the song’s chorus. Kevin Bacon went a different direction, leaning into self-deprecating humor with a then-and-now career montage. Both posts racked up millions of likes and set off a wave of Gen X and Millennial nostalgia in the comments sections that followed. Fan accounts dedicated to ’90s pop culture have seen their follower counts jump overnight, and the clip of Bacon’s video has been reshared across platforms well beyond its original audience.
The song’s hold on people was never a mystery. Written for the City of Angels soundtrack, ‘Iris’ spent 18 weeks at number one on the Billboard Radio Songs chart, a record at the time. It was inescapable in 1998, and apparently still is. As of this week it has climbed back into the UK Top 50 and is surging across Spotify’s viral charts. Streams are up across every major platform, and playlist adds have spiked in markets as far apart as Brazil, South Korea, and Germany, suggesting this isn’t a purely American wave of nostalgia but something broader.
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John Rzeznik appeared on Todayrecently and seemed genuinely caught off guard by the whole thing. He called the trend a ‘blast’ and said the song’s central theme (the desire to simply be seen) still seems to connect with people. A 2026 remix from DJ Steve Aoki has added some fuel, though it’s the original recording that’s driving most of the streams.
Brooke Shields and Cameron Mathison have both posted throwback content set to the track. The pattern is consistent: people pairing the song with old photos, old footage, old feelings. In a media environment that moves fast and discards faster, there’s something notable about a 28-year-old power ballad demanding people slow down for four minutes. The lyrics were always nakedly emotional and that directness, which might have felt dated a decade ago, feels great today.
The Goo Goo Dolls are reportedly planning an anniversary tour later this year. Whether that materializes or not, the moment is already real. The song is charting, the celebrities are posting, and surely people are hearing a classic for the first time.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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