Though she's written with Taylor Swift and had songs reimagined by the likes of Jason Derulo and Ariana Grande, this is Heap's first-ever entry on the chart
Imogen Heap‘s 2005 album Speak for Yourself has lived many lives over the last two decades. Singles like “Hide and Seek” and “Goodnight and Go” were beloved and well-received on their own, then later used on popular series like The O.C. and Saturday Night Live or reimagined by artists like Jason Derulo and Ariana Grande. Now, the song “Headlock” off that album is getting its own second life — thanks to TikTok.
Billboard reported that “Headlock” began taking off on the app. Fans of the thriller video game Mouthwashing have been using the song to soundtrack their gameplay compilations, which kicked off its popularity on the app. The song has now been used over 135,000 times on TikTok, which has since translated to real success. “Headlock” appears on this week’s Hot 100, charting right at Number 100. This marks Heap’s first-ever entry on the Hot 100.
Even though Heap herself has never had a solo hit on the chart, her songs have made waves here before. Jason Derulo sampled “Hide and Seek” on his 2009 single “Whatcha Say,” which was a Number One hit. Ariana Grande’s reimagined version of “Goodnight and Go” hit Number 87 on the chart in 2018. And Taylor Swift‘s “Clean,” which Heap co-wrote, debuted at Number 30 upon the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in 2023.
Though Heap has not released a full-length album since 2014, she has continued to tour and release music since then. She has most recently been working on a data-mining project, specifically an AI assistant she’s named Mogen. Mogen acts as a “living autobiography” for Heap, and fans can access the AI assistant through the artist’s app. She revealed to the Guardian that she is hoping Mogen will eventually become a collaborator, whom she can even improvise with on stage.