A Killer Soundtrack

This piece originally appeared on October 10, 2024 in Sound Signal, our biweekly newsletter that identifies emerging artists, scenes, and trending tracks, crafted by the world's best writers and curators. Sign up here to never miss our take on what's next in music.

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Suddenly, it is 1989 again. That year, German pop group Milli Vanilli had three No. 1 records on Billboard’s Hot 100. It was also the same year Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home. One look on TikTok and you’ll see that both ill-fated duos are having a pretty huge comeback. What’s even more peculiar is that they are trending in tandem: Ryan Murphy’s Netflix miniseries Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (released Sept. 19) prominently featured three Milli Vanilli songs. With the premiere of a separate Netflix documentary, The Menendez Brothers (released Oct. 7), the case is seeing renewed interest. Both programs discuss the murders of Kitty and José Menendez, laying out accusations of sexual abuse the brothers claim they experienced from their father. The case has captured the attention among Gen Z audiences, many of whom believe the brothers should be free.

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The song selection throughout Monsters isn’t exactly a coincidence. When it comes to television syncs for time period pieces, music is often used as an anchor—as a way to ground the viewer into the world around the characters. Monsters not only uses the music as a vehicle to paint a picture of the ‘80s, but it uses the brothers’ actual fandom of the group to introduce context to the murders. During the first episode, (which is named after the group’s 1989 hit “Blame It On The Rain”) 21-year-old Lyle requests that Milli Vanilli’s “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” be played at his parents’ funeral. It’s the type of detail that feels too satirical to be true, although PEOPLE confirms the German duo’s music was played at the memorial service.

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The Menendez brother’s popularity on TikTok is complicated: A majority of the videos are using archival footage of the trial to discuss whether Erik and Lyle would be found guilty today. Others are less concerned about justice, fetishizing the brothers against the backdrop of Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away.” Since the show’s premiere, “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” has been used in 165.8K TikToks, while “Blame It On The Rain,” the song the on-screen brothers sang on their way to buy shotguns, has been featured in 68.4K videos on TikTok. Given that the discourse around the Menendez brothers on the app is largely positive, using either song feels like a dark, almost subtle, way of showing support.

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In the wake of this newfound fanfare, Milli Vanilli’s official TikTok page is capitalizing on the connection. Since Sept. 19, the page has oscillated between archival footage of the duo performing both songs, a video of "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" receiving as many as 3.9M views along with the words, “This song is my roman empire.” In the past month, the group’s profile has increased significantly: As of now, they have 4.1M Spotify monthly listeners, 607M YouTube channel views, and 2.7M TikTok likes. The irony that a group who faced a lip syncing scandal is having a resurgence on an app where lip syncing is so popular couldn’t have been written any better.

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As the Menendez brothers and Milli Vanilli reemerge into pop culture, it's worth exploring why audiences are captivated by both stories. Both narratives run parallel to each other: brotherhood marred by scandal and tragedy. Gen Z’s infatuation with this case, and the singers who are now associated with it, test the limits of redemption.