'Hug Me' on TikTok: What to Know About the Popular Song From Despicable Me 3

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A track released five years ago is making a comeback.

It's late June 2017. The Justin Bieber-remixed version of Despacito rules radio stations, a meme depicting a distracted man and his angry girlfriend is weeks away from filling Twitter feeds and animated movie Despicable Me 3 is new to theaters. I don't go see it.

Now I know that was a huge loss. And not because I missed more minions and a first-time meeting between Gru and his twin brother Dru.

A song that plays in the credits of the kids movie has made its way to TikTok, and it's a catchy, infectious delight. Written and sung by South Park co-creator/Despicable Me 3 voice actor Trey Parker and Pharrell Williams (whose hit 2013 song Happy is also featured on an earlier Despicable Me soundtrack), Hug Me is a relentlessly high-energy 2 minute and 20 second bop. It's easy to crack a smile to. It may genuinely inspire you to wrap your arms around something nearby.

Just the chorus and a second of the pre-chorus have gone viral, though. "You're either with me or doomed... Hug Me, Bring it In. Would you loosen up, would ya."

So you may be wondering… why has a 5-year-old song from a kids film suddenly surfaced on TikTok? (Could also read: Where has this extraordinarily fun song been for the past several years). The answer is far less exhilarating than the track, but nonetheless, I will provide.

It looks like this all started when a user posted a sped-up version of Hug Me back in March. More than 450,000 videos have since used the sound. The song has taken off at regular speed too, accompanying about 300,000 videos as of this writing.

2022-06-19 19:34:42