09.2.20
TikTok Treats, Week Of August 31st
BTS Hits Number One, Kendrick Lamar Returns With an Oldie, Soulja Boy Cranks Another Trend, and More Interesting Music Stories From the World of TikTok
The News:
Each week in the fast-moving world of TikTok digs up new trends to attempt, new faces to know, and new sounds that won’t leave your head. As a chaotic summer winds down, TikTok provides an oasis of joy, buoyed by the endless creativity of the app’s community. Below, take a look at the established and up-and-coming artists making noise on the platform.
- Inspiring a slavishly devoted social media following that crosses all platforms, it’s no surprise that BTS is one of the biggest musical acts on TikTok. The group treats their 18 million followers to behind-the-scenes clips that preview new performances and show off the group’s personalities. The septet resurfaced on TikTok in late August to promote their new song “Dynamite,” their first single sung fully in English, and they quickly spurred a flurry of activity. Two behind-the-scenes videos of “Dynamite” rehearsals earned more than 130 million views combined in just two weeks, the song inspired more than 500k video creations, and the new hashtag “#Dance_Dynamite” has over 200 million video views. Most recently, BTS rapper J-Hope celebrated the song’s ascent to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, thanking the TikTok branch of the BTS Army for their service.
- Kendrick Lamar might be conspicuously absent from the music scene in 2020, but he’s thriving on TikTok. The community has re-discovered Kendrick’s “Money Trees,” a beloved album cut from his 2012 debut good kid m.A.A.d. city. With over 1 million video creations, many of which came in the past two weeks, “Money Trees” got a boost from TikTok user @king.science, who brought the song’s bridge (and the associated vocal from Anna Wise) to life with an atmospheric animation. With a viral dance challenge and a glow-up challenge making waves on the platform, the TikTok community is sending a clear message to Kendrick–we’re ready for new music.
- Country superstar Luke Combs shared a snippet of his new song “Forever After All” on his TikTok account, and even though it hasn’t yet been shared in full, his fans are already calling it one of his best yet. The song has over 13K video creations in just 5 days, with even the most stone-faced country music lovers tearing up at the romantic message. The song soundtracks users’ most romantic dreams and moments, including a pandemic proposal, midnight dances in a new home, and unexpected dad-dog friendships. “Forever After All” doesn’t officially come out until October, but TikTok and its community are set to propel it to a massive debut.
- In 2007, Soulja Boy became one of the first rappers to score a major hit with a viral dance, inspiring a chart-topping phenomenon with “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” and its accompanying routine. Thirteen years later, Soulja Boy is inspiring viral trends once again, this time set to his motor-mouthed 2014 trap track “Pow.” The new “Pow” trend is a front-facing camera transition trend, the rapper’s percussive “pows” providing an opportunity to transition between “faces I can’t stop making,” pet poses, or even “kiss marry kill.” The sound has generated over 140k video creations, with over 100k in the past week.
- The hottest TikTok song of the moment? It’s “Let’s Link,” an elastic-voiced come-on by charismatic rising rapper and San Bernardino native WhoHeem. Racking up over 270 million video views on over 250k video creations in the past week, “Let’s Link” gives TikTok users the opportunity to tell their crushes how they really feel, whether or not said crush is already in a relationship. The song recently reached the ears of viral sensation ppcocaine, who floated the possibility of remixing the song on a recent TIkTok (8 million views). WhoHeem’s TikTok success quickly translated to IRL numbers: “Let’s Link” has more than 2 million Spotify streams since its August 20th release.
- Rising R&B singer Ayzha Nyree is an expert on using TikTok to boost her following. When the singer’s recent remix of Chris Brown’s “No Guidance” started to become a viral sound on TikTok, thanks to a dance craze created by @mayakaylaaa, Ayzha went on a charm offensive on her profile, plugging the song every chance she got, including recording a Duet with @mayakaylaaa. The upstate New York native took her followers with her on her journey to viral stardom, using TikTok’s green screen feature to celebrate when “No Guidance” (Remix) reached 1 million plays on SoundCloud, and crying tears of joy when it reached 5 million views on YouTube. Last week, Ayzha reached new milestones, notching her 1 millionth follower on TikTok as “No Guidance” (Remix) reached the Billboard charts…without an official release! Though the “No Guidance (Remix)” isn’t on streaming services, Ayzha’s engagement around the song has driven streams on her other songs, including her new single “Holy Class,” which has over 325k streams on Spotify.
- TikTok’s presence was felt at last weekend’s MTV VMAs, as TikTok favorites like BTS, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and The Weeknd took home major awards for songs that blew up on TikTok. Read more about TikTok’s VMA success at the TikTok newsroom.
The diverse array of artists and songs that take off on TikTok might feel random, but the most enduring TikTok trends are usually not hard to explain–A superstar artist motivates their legion of fans to start a trend, or an up-and-coming artists puts in the legwork to create a viral hit. Whether TikTok creators respond to a lyrical hook, a song’s sonic element, or a combination of both, TikTok hits are distinct enough to inspire a communal mood, but malleable enough to allow for authentic self-expression. The songs above, like the most enduring TikTok hits and trends, expertly thread that needle.
Check TikTok’s newsroom for more noteworthy stories: newsroom.tiktok.com
For more info, please contact:
Michelle McDevitt, Andrea Higgins, Erin Treat, Audible Treats
Leah Linder, TikTok
The Background:
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Their mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.
TikTok has global offices including Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Click here to read TikTok’s progress report on supporting Black communities and promoting diversity & inclusion: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/progress-report-how-were-supporting-black-communities-and-promoting-diversity-and-inclusion
Links:
TikTok’s Newsroom: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us
Check out previous editions of TikTok Treats, a weekly newsletter about the most interesting music happenings on TikTok:
Dua Lipa Levitates, J. Cole Soundtracks Glow-Ups and More TikTok Stories
TikTok: The “WAP” Dance Challenge, Folklore, La Roux, and More Provide Joy and Catharsis
Charlie Puth, Pop Smoke, and More Trending TikTok Stories
Artists Unite to Say #SaveTikTok
How TikTok Users Use the App to Boost Their Musical Careers
TikTok Doesn’t Just Mint New Hits…It Revives Old Ones
These International TikTok Artists and Hits Eliminate Language Barriers
Who’s Hot on TikTok? Jason DeRulo, Rod Wave, and More
TikTok Success = Chart Success and the Hot 100 Proves It
TikTok Users and Artists Celebrate #MyPride Through Music
TikTok Promotes a Vibrant Artistic Community with #BlackMusicMonth
