It started with a neon-soaked synth riff that sounded like a Casio keyboard having a mid-life crisis. Then came the clapping. If you were anywhere near a MySpace profile or a Hot Topic in 2007, you didn't just hear Metro Station Shake It—you lived it. It was the peak of the "neon pop" era, a time when hair was flat-ironed into submission and side-swept bangs were a legal requirement for suburban teenagers. Honestly, it’s easy to dismiss the track as a relic of a very specific, very cringey moment in time, but that ignores the weirdly persistent staying power of the song.
The song didn't just chart. It became a cultural footprint. Even now, twenty years later, that opening "1, 2, 3, 4" triggers a Pavlovian response in millennials.
The Unlikely Birth of a MySpace Juggernaut
Metro Station wasn't exactly a group of seasoned studio musicians. They were kids. Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso met on the set of Hannah Montana because their younger siblings—Miley Cyrus and Mitchel Musso—were the stars of the show. That’s the kind of Hollywood serendipity that usually results in a flash-in-the-pan vanity project. But Metro Station Shake It had something else. It had an infectious, frantic energy that matched the DIY digital landscape of the mid-2000s.
They weren't signed to a major label when they started. They were a MySpace band. Back then, "Top 8" friends and profile songs were the primary currency of cool. The band's self-titled debut album, released through Columbia Records’ Red Ink imprint, was basically built on the back of this one single.
People forget how massive it was. It hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went double platinum. For a band that looked like they’d spent the afternoon raid-shopping a Claire’s, those are serious numbers. The track worked because it bridged the gap between the angst of the emo scene and the mindless fun of dance-pop. It was safe enough for Radio Disney but looked "edgy" enough for the Vans Warped Tour crowd.
Why the Production Still Slaps (Sorta)
If you strip away the nostalgia, the song is a masterclass in simplicity. The drum machine is loud. The lyrics are essentially a series of instructions on how to move your body in a crowded room. It’s not deep. It’s not trying to be The Dark Side of the Moon.
The production, handled by Joshua "Josh" Cain and Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack, gave it just enough "indie" credibility to separate it from the manufactured pop of the era. You can hear the synth-pop influences of the 80s, but processed through a 2007 filter of digital clipping and heavy compression. It sounds thin on high-end speakers today, but through a pair of wired iPod earbuds? It was perfect.
The Trace Cyrus Factor and the "Scene" Aesthetic
You can't talk about Metro Station Shake It without talking about the visual. The music video is a chaotic time capsule. It’s set in an underground dance club where everyone looks like they haven't slept in three days and own a lifetime supply of eyeliner. Trace Cyrus, with his lanky frame and growing collection of tattoos, became the poster child for the "scene king" archetype.
This was the height of the "Cyrus Dynasty" era. While Miley was breaking out of the Disney mold, Trace was providing the alternative counterpoint. It was a weird family synergy that worked. The song benefited from the Cyrus name, sure, but it also suffered from it. Critics were quick to write them off as a "nepotism band," a label that Trace has spoken about with some frustration in later years.
But the fans didn't care. They were too busy learning the "Shake It" dance or trying to figure out how to get their hair to stand up like that without using an entire bottle of Got2b Glued hairspray.
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Breaking Down the Viral Success Before "Viral" Was a Thing
Long before TikTok challenges, there were YouTube dance covers. Metro Station Shake It was one of the first songs to really exploit the "reproducible" nature of digital fame. It was easy to dance to. It was easy to lip-sync.
- It peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- It reached the top ten in over ten countries, including the UK and Australia.
- The music video has racked up hundreds of millions of views across various uploads.
There's a specific kind of magic in a song that everyone claims to hate but everyone knows the words to. It’s the "Friday" of its generation, but with actual musical competence and a hook that refuses to leave your brain for forty-eight hours after hearing it.
Misconceptions About the Band’s "One-Hit Wonder" Status
People love to call Metro Station a one-hit wonder. Technically, that’s not entirely true. "Seventeen Forever" did okay, and "Kelsey" has its die-hard defenders. But compared to the nuclear blast of Metro Station Shake It, everything else felt like a sparkler.
The band actually broke up in 2010. Tensions between Cyrus and Musso were high. They were young, thrust into a global spotlight, and playing the same three songs every night. They eventually reunited in 2014 and released more music, including the album Savior, but the lightning didn't strike twice. The "scene" had died. The world had moved on to EDM and the rise of Drake.
The reality is that Metro Station wasn't just a band; they were a moment. When that moment passed, the music felt like an artifact. But artifacts have value. They tell us where we were.
The 2020s Revival: TikTok and Irony
Fast forward to the 2020s. Everything old is new again. The "Indie Sleaze" aesthetic and "2014 Tumblr" vibes have come back into fashion, bringing the 2007 neon-pop era with them. Metro Station Shake It has seen a massive resurgence on platforms like TikTok.
Gen Z discovered the song not as a serious piece of art, but as a high-energy "vibe." It’s used in transition videos, "get ready with me" clips, and nostalgic deep dives. There is zero irony in how well that chorus works for a 15-second clip. It’s built for it. The song’s structure—the build-up, the drop into the chorus—is essentially the blueprint for modern viral audio.
What We Can Actually Learn from the "Shake It" Era
Looking back at the impact of the song, it’s clear that Metro Station understood something about the internet before the industry did. They understood that image is just as important as the audio. They understood that being accessible—looking like the kids in the audience—was the key to loyalty.
If you’re a creator or a musician today, the Metro Station Shake It playbook is still relevant.
- Hooks over everything. If people can't hum it after one listen, you've lost.
- Aesthetic as a brand. The band didn't just play music; they looked like the music sounded.
- Capitalize on the platform. For them, it was MySpace. Today, it’s TikTok. The platform changes, but the behavior doesn't.
- Embrace the polarizing. Half the people loved it, half the people hated it. Both groups talked about it.
Moving Forward: How to Experience the Nostalgia Properly
If you're looking to revisit this era, don't just put the song on a random playlist. Context is everything. To truly understand why Metro Station Shake It mattered, you have to look at the surrounding culture.
Start by watching the original music video. Look at the fashion—the shutter shades, the layered vests, the skinny jeans that look like they were painted on. Then, check out some of the live performances from that era. They were often messy, loud, and slightly out of tune, which was exactly the point. It was raw, youthful energy that didn't care about "perfection" in the way modern pop does.
Finally, recognize that it's okay to like "disposable" pop. Not every song has to change the world. Some songs are just there to make you shake it for three minutes while you forget about your math homework or your shitty retail job. That’s the legacy of Metro Station. They gave a generation a reason to dance, even if it was just for a second.
To get the most out of your 2000s nostalgia trip:
- Listen to the full Metro Station (2007) album to hear the evolution from "Shake It" to their more synth-heavy tracks like "Control."
- Compare the track to other "neon-pop" contemporaries like The Ready Set or Cobra Starship to see how the genre defined the late-2000s sound.
- Watch recent interviews with Trace Cyrus; he’s surprisingly candid about the highs and lows of that level of fame and the reality of being a "MySpace celebrity."
The song isn't going anywhere. As long as there are dance floors and people who remember the smell of burnt hair straighteners, Metro Station Shake It will be there, waiting for the count to four.