Earlier this month Daryl Braithwaite played a gig for a Monash Uni crowd that, by his estimation, was aged almost exclusively between 18 and 22.

They sang along, texted, took pictures on their phones and generally had a great time.

"They were lovely because you look at them and they laugh, and I laugh, and we wonder what we're laughing at but it's fine," Braithwaite told News Breakfast.

This wasn't a one-off event.

If you're over the age of 30 you might think of Braithwaite as the crooner behind classics like The Horses and the 1990 album Rise.

But for today's millennials — who weren't even born when The Horses was released — the song has become an unofficial anthem in the past year, and they have helped catapult Braithwaite back into the limelight.

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On Tuesday night, the 68-year-old will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame — a fitting nod to a career that started in 1970 — and he's been booked for a string of high-profile gigs and festivals, including the Falls Festival on New Year's Eve.

Braithwaite is no stranger to riding the highs and lows of the industry, but even he is bemused and a little surprised by the way The Horses has captured the imagination of today's youth.

"It's just something within that younger group," he said.

"It's been smouldering I think for the last 10 years that I've noticed it, but there's no rhyme or reason as to why, I don't know."

"None of us have had face lifts or anything, we're not getting any younger."

The reasons may remain obscure, but the trends are undeniable.

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A look at Google's data shows there have been more people searching Braithwaite's name in the past year than any 12-month period back to 2004.

And there have been gushing headlines recently, skewing to a younger crowd, with at least half a dozen articles specifically about The Horses.

"Daryl Braithwaite Sang 'The Horses' At Parliament House And Oh Boy, The MPs Had A Sick One," Junkee reported in March.

"Dillon Francis Legit Dropped 'Horses' Mid-Set And Yep, We'll Claim This One," wrote Pedestrian.

Dillon Francis is an American DJ who helped push The Horses along by playing the song — unedited — at the Metro Theatre in Sydney in May and then again at the Groovin' The Moo festival a week later.

Both times the millennial-dominated crowds went wild, phones raised high to capture and share the moment.

Sorry, this video has expired Sydney club sings along to Daryl Braithwaite's Horses

When it was announced in August he would join the Falls Festival line-up there was warm reception on social media.

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Buzzfeed this month followed up with a quiz on how well people knew the lyrics to The Horses — actually a cover of a Rickie Lee Jones song — while Braithwaite's version remains popular on the wedding circuit.

Braithwaite is taking the attention in his stride, choosing to enjoy it even if he can't explain it.

"I'm going to have to get fit and learn some of the young people's terminology, because I don't use very many hip words," he said.

"No, no, I am joking. I think [Falls Festival] will be good. We'll do what we do and hopefully they'll like it, but we are looking forward to it."

As for the ARIA's Hall of Fame, it is the second time he has been inducted, after his band Sherbet was first included in 1990.

This time, it's a more personal honour.

"Over the last couple of days we've had a chance to reflect on it and it's quite a substantial amount of things that I've done and been involved with since 1970," he said.

"I'm just flabbergasted that here it is 47 years later, or nearly 48, and we're still doing it.

"It's quite extraordinary, to say the least."