The New England Patriots may have walked away with the Vince Lombardi trophy, but the runaway winner of this year’s Super Bowl was Spongebob Squarepants.

With the passing of Spongebob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenburg in November 2018, a petition via Change.org urging fans to rally behind a Super Bowl performance of the triumphant anthem “Sweet Victory” written by David Glen Eisley and Bob Kulick, initiated a groundswell of interest. Inspired by the rampant upswing of fan appreciation, Eisley and Kulick have re-recorded the song, as well as created an orchestral version, which was recently released via Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play/YouTube and other digital channels.

Originally featured in the 2001 episode “Band Geeks,” “Sweet Victory” garnered over 1.2 million signatures on the petition, in hopes that the song would be performed as a tribute to Hillenburg’s legacy. The excitement led Maroon 5 to include a Spongebob teaser in a halftime show promo clip on their Twitter feed.

Sadly, Maroon 5 did not play “Sweet Victory” at the SuperBowl, but the song nevertheless triumphed. According to Billboard, streams of the songs jumped 566% after the cameo. In the end, “Sweet Victory” is truly enjoying a victory all its own!

The new “Sweet Victory” single is available here.