Kid Cudi Celebrates ‘Maui Wowie’ Debuting on the Hot 100 17 Years After Release: ‘A True Example of Timeless Music’
A viral TikTok trend helped power the breezy track back into the mainstream.
Kid Cudi attends Netflix's "Happy Gilmore 2" New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 21, 2025 in New York City.
A trip to Honolulu might be in store for Kid Cudi, as 2008’s “Maui Wowie” debuted on the latest Billboard Hot 100 (for the week of Oct. 25) at No. 71, which comes 17 years after its initial arrival.
A viral TikTok trend has sparked renewed interest in the A Kid Named Cudi standout, which has thousands of fans hanging from street crosswalk signs, singing along to the breezy cut.
Kid Cudi celebrated the track’s revival and chart entry on Tuesday (Oct. 21) with a post to social media.
“This is MEGA!!! Debuting #71 on the @billboard charts 17 years later,” he penned to Instagram. “This is a true example of timeless music. To all the fans who made this happen, I LOVE YOU!! Lets keep it going yall!!!”
Last week, Cudi himself joined in on the trend while dangling from a crosswalk sign in front of Progressive Field in his hometown of Cleveland. “Goin’ back to Honolulu just to get that/ That Maui Wowie, that Maui Wowie,” he crooned.
A TikTok user by the name of @aaronxbrownn has widely been credited with sparking the trend in September. “Yeeaaaaaaaaa Thank u to everyone for posting my song and havin fun and showing love!!! 17 years old and timeless,” Cudi captioned the clip of himself getting in on the viral trend, which has over 22 million views.
Last week, the track debuted at No. 24 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and hit No. 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.
This is a welcome surprise for Cudi and his fans, as the Ohio native explained he’d be stepping away from music to pursue other creative endeavors for the immediate future. “It’s gonna be a while between now and the next Kid Cudi album,” he said in September. “So I wanted to leave you with a little something that could motivate you, uplift you… I made it earlier this year, just f—ing around in the studio.”
Listen to “Maui Wowie” below.
