Connie Francis' 'Pretty Little Baby' becomes Tiktok hit after 63 years

Connie Francis was a giant of 1950s and '60s sugary-sweet pop, notching more than a dozen hits. In the months leading up to her death, announced Thursday, she experienced one more in “Pretty Little Baby,” which has become a viral hit on TikTok six decades after its release.

- By ASSOCIATED PRESS

As of July 17, more than 22.5 million TikTok videos have been created using the sound, often partnering videos of baby animals, toddlers, makeup tutorials and retro fashions. According to TikTok, those videos have amassed more than 45.5 billion views, globally. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and North West have used it, too, with West lip-syncing along to the track.

Hooky, feelgood pop songs tend to do well on TikTok, and 1962’s “Pretty Little Baby” is an exemplar of that phenomenon. Users gravitated toward the song’s wholesome simplicity, sweet vocals, delicate organ and upstroke riffs. “You can ask the flowers / I sit for hours / Telling all the bluebirds / The bill and coo birds / Pretty little baby, I’m so in love with you,” Francis swoons on the verse that has picked up steam on the platform.

And all of this has transpired in mere months: According to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, “Pretty Little Baby” was earning just over 17,000 on-demand audio streams in the U.S. during the week ending April 10. A month later, that number had climbed to 2.4 million. That’s a growth of over 7,000%. The song has earned over 29 million streams this year so far.