90s Sensation 4 Non Blondes are Back and Selling Out Shows

Photo Credit: Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes by Diego Vigueras / CC by 4.0

90s alt-rock group 4 Non Blondes are blowing up in a big way after a TikTok-based resurgence. Now they’re selling out shows scheduled for next month.

4 Non Blondes, the alt-rock sensation from the 1990s whose hit “What’s Up?” has been remixed with Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” for a TikTok trend, is set to take the stage in San Francisco next month. The hometown shows are their first in nearly 30 years—but the group is having a massive resurgence in popularity thanks to that remix on TikTok. All their upcoming shows have already sold out.

For a little backstory, a remix of 4 Non Blondes’ 1993 hit “What’s Up?” and Nicki Minaj’s 2012 hit “Beez in the Trap” debuted on TikTok earlier this year. The remix has started a trend, which sees people standing back-to-back and lip-synching the two songs, and even major celebrities have gotten in on the action.

Sabrina Carpenter recorded a version on “Saturday Night Live,” while Benson Boone and Queen’s Brian May made a version together, and Jimmy Fallon even roped Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai into doing one.

Now, 4 Non Blondes is preparing to embark on their first tour in three decades, after reuniting to play a few festivals earlier this year, including Napa’s BottleRock festival. The San Francisco group, which was originally all-female, formed in the late 1980s during the city’s budding punk scene.

The group’s lead singer, Linda Perry, says she was unaware that the band’s biggest hit was gaining newfound traction online. She was working with a young artist named Sophia Treadway, who clued her in to the viral sensation.

“She was like, ‘Linda, your sound is blowing up.’ And I’m like, ‘What the fuck are you talking about? What’s the sound? I don’t even know what that means,’” said Perry during an interview with SFGATE, noting she “barely uses social media.”

But then, some of Perry’s famous friends started contacting her. Jennifer Lopez, who has been friends with Perry for years, called her up to record a version of the trend with her. Their video amassed millions of views between TikTok and Instagram by Tuesday.

“I love Jennifer Lopez,” said Perry. “When people drag her down, I want to bonk them on the nose.”

Perry was surprised to see Madonna joining in on the trend, and she also shouted out Martin Scorsese, who recorded a version with his daughter on Halloween.

Unrelated to the trend, Cardi B and Lizzo also recorded a cover version for use in their song “What’s Goin’ On,” which Perry said she was delighted by.

“They sent me the version, you know, the recorded [song], and I was like, ‘Fuck yeah,’ because I love Cardi B. S I was just like, yes, yes, and yes, go for it,” said Perry.

Between the Cardi B single and the TikTok trend, the original song is back on the Billboard charts—just in time for the band’s first concerts since their festival reunion earlier this year.

4 Non Blondes are set to play at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on December 15 and 16, before playing at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall on December 17 and 18. All four shows have long been sold out.