Back to the Future: How Miguel’s ‘Sure Thing’ Became a Hit for a Second Time

variety.com:

Mike Wass Viral revivals are a hallmark of the streaming era, with songs regularly springing back to life years — sometimes decades — after they were first released.

Miguel’s “Sure Thing” is an aberration. Rolled out as a single in 2011, the romantic ballad cracked Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and crowned the R&B chart.

It then quietly soundtracked weddings, proposals and anniversaries — until the TikTok gods resurrected it last year. And that’s just the latest twist in the song’s unorthodox journey.

To begin, “Sure Thing” was almost given to another superstar. “Miguel’s manager sent it to me, and I wanted it for Usher,” remembers Mark Pitts, RCA president and the song’s original A&R. “But I started to fall in love with it.” He wanted to hear more and got his hands on another Miguel tune, “Quickie.” “I was like, ‘This motherfucker is crazy!