Chuck Comeau sounds like a man still blinking in disbelief. Not because I’m Just a Kid became a hit—again—but because the second time around, it wasn’t radio or MTV doing the heavy lifting. It was TikTok. Specifically, a challenge involving people recreating their awkward childhood photos. And just like that, a 20-year-old song written by five angsty Canadians became the unofficial soundtrack to pandemic-fueled family bonding and forced introspection.
“I would love to take credit for this thing,” Comeau laughs, “but we had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
In 2020, Simple Plan’s debut single reentered the cultural bloodstream, not with a new remix or reunion tour, but with 4 million fan-made videos and over 4 billion views. “We started getting texts from friends like, ‘Do you guys know what’s happening on TikTok?’” Comeau says. “Other bands were calling us to tell us. And we were like, ‘What? No! What is happening?’”
What was happening, it turns out, was the kind of organic resurgence that every band dreams about but can’t manufacture. I’m Just a Kid had never really left—it had been a live staple for years, the song that launched their career, the one that fans screamed back every night like it was still 2002—but suddenly, it had become something bigger. Something different.
“It was a song about being a teenager when we were teenagers,” Comeau says. “We wrote it about feeling out of place, about trying to be in a band, about the usual stuff. And somehow that translated into this sweet, nostalgic moment for a completely new generation.”
It’s ironic, almost poetic. A song originally about teen angst becomes a tribute to childhood itself—set to grainy photo recreations, goofy sibling costumes, and suddenly-very-grown-up faces. “It’s kind of like stumbling on an old picture of yourself with an ex, or an old friend,” Comeau says. “You go, ‘Oh man, I forgot what that felt like.’ And suddenly it all rushes back.”
If nostalgia was already baked into I’m Just a Kid, TikTok just turned up the oven.
“It makes the song feel more timeless,” he says. “Now when we play it live, it’s going to have a whole new meaning—not just for the fans, but for us, too.”
And that timelessness seems to be spilling over into the band's next chapter. After releasing “Where I Belong” in late 2019 (a collab with State Champs and We the Kings), Simple Plan wrapped up an entirely new album—just weeks before pandemic lockdowns shuttered everything. The timing was uncanny, and not in the fun way.
“The record was done right before everything shut down,” Comeau says. “We had no idea what was coming, and suddenly we couldn’t tour, couldn’t promote it. So now we’re just sitting on it, figuring out how and when to release it.”
But for those wondering whether the TikTok moment influenced their direction—rest assured, this next batch of songs was already heading back to pop-punk basics.
“It’s definitely high energy,” Comeau confirms. “We went back to our roots, that classic Simple Plan sound people love, but we tried some new stuff too. It’s diverse, but it still feels like us.”
Twenty years in, they’re still writing about alienation, identity, and finding a place in the world. The only difference is now, the fans singing along might also be explaining to their own kids why dad still crowd surfs.
“You grow up, yeah,” Comeau says. “But you also kind of don’t. There’s still a part of me that feels like I’m just a kid trying to make it.”
And now, apparently, there’s a global audience of TikTokers who feel exactly the same way.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below.
