8.4.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of August 1st

Zach Bryan Continues His Rise to Country Stardom, Armani White Celebrates a TikTok Favorite, K. Michelle Inspires Fans to Let It All Out, and More TikTok Music Stories

The News:

Each week, the TikTok Treats newsletter gives a snapshot of the state of music on TikTok, touching on trending hits, emerging artists, superstar moves, ascendant memes, and much more. TikTok allows for a diverse ecosystem of music to thrive, hosting a community passionate about discovering music of all genres. In recent days, fans on TikTok helped elevate a country love song, an R&B tearjerker, and an amped-up rap banger to trending status. Check out the stories behind those songs and more trends that defined this week on TikTok:

A Navy veteran with a penchant for tugging on heartstrings, Zach Bryan has been one of the biggest breakout stars in Country music this year. His heart-wrenching single “Something In The Orange” reached a #30 peak on the Billboard Hot 100, aided in part by its success on TikTok (nearly 30k total video creations). Now, the Warner Records-signed artist is trending on TikTok once again, with his song “Oklahoma Smokeshow,” a song that inspires fans from all states to strut their stuff. The song has over 17k creations, many of which coming in the past week, including a humorous clip from Mason Ramsey. Meanwhile, Zach Bryan continues to make TikToks for his nearly 1 million followers. He shows off his performance chops, shares snippets of new songs, and creates comedy sketches about life on the road.
Rising Philadelphia rapper Armani White is having a major moment on TikTok with his high-energy track “BILLIE EILISH.” Named after acclaimed singer-songwriter and TikTok favorite Billie Eilish, the track has garnered over 147.7K creations and sparked a trend in which creators, including Armani himself, use video transitions to flaunt their style. Recently on the platform, the booming track has kicked off a new, more humorous trend in which creators use the “Face Ratio” filter to transform their face. While some creators barely see a change, others hilariously realize they may look like Pixar’s beloved Ice Age character Sid the Sloth. The energetic song has also been a go-to soundtrack for athletes and skaters to show off their skills. Armani White, who actively engages on the platform, teased the track earlier this year and, due to its success on the platform and beyond (33 million Spotify streams and counting), recently signed a deal with Def Jam Records.
Singer-songwriter Jax has built a reputation and a large following on TikTok with her humorous and relatable songs. This summer, she’s struck again with “Victoria’s Secret,” a clever song about body positivity and societal beauty standards. Since she shared the song on June 30, the song generated over 20k video creations, and Jax’s follower count has grown by over 450k. Last week, Jax organized a flash mob outside of a Victoria’s Secret store and posted the results on TikTok–the video of the flash mob has over 23 million views. This week, the song overtook Kate Bush to become the top song on the iTunes all-genre charts.
Though fans on TikTok show their love of music in many different ways, the TikTok community always has time for a fun dance trend. The newest one sweeping through the platform in recent weeks is soundtracked by a bouncy remix to Skaiwater’s “eyes” (276K+ creations). Blending emotional lyrics with a club instrumental, the remix inspires creators to put their best foot forward and try out the moves choreographed by creator @redwingnation. Creators are hitting the dance everywhere, from the living room and kitchen to a boat in the Miami waters,. Some creators tap into their inner dance teacher as they put all their energy into trying to teach their family the choreography.
Creators in the TikTok community often connect with one another through shared experiences, whether they’re good or bad. Drawing inspiration from K. Michelle’s soulful ballad “Cry” (24.4K+ creations), creators take a lighthearted approach as they share their perspectives on their worst IRL experiences. Using K. Michelle’s emphatic lines, “You gon’ suffer, I done took too much of this/You gon’ cry,” creators reflect on their poor dating experiences and wearing painful shoes in the name of fashion. In other recent videos, creators use the song to soundtrack their cooking processes, relationship videos, and workout routines.
SoundOn artist Katherine Li scored a trending hit on TikTok earlier this summer with her song “Never Had A Chance,” and now, with a new song making waves on the platform, she must be feeling déjà vu. The singer-songwriter started teasing her song “Happening Again” in Early June, with a voice-and-piano performance, telling a story about a recurring love that won’t seem to go away. Since then, the song has generated over 56k video creations, as users offer relationship advice, share ideas for wedding gifts, and update the community on their rescue pups. Katherine Li’s TikTok success is leading to off-platform results–each of her songs, including “Never Had A Chance” and “Happening Again,” have over 2 million streams on Spotify and she’s cultivated an audience of 1.2 million monthly listeners.
TikTok frequently breathes new life into nostalgic hits, as creators in the community discover and share catalog favorites. Recently, creators gave new context to former America’s Got Talent contestant Alexis Jordan’s 2010 breakout single, “Happiness.” Garnering over 176K+ total creations, the inspirational dance song inspires creators to share some of the things they’re sick of hearing from peers. In recent videos, creators share lists of things to never say to single people, express their distaste about commentary on their height, and reveal negative opinions from teachers about their hair color preferences. In other creations, the catchy song finds creators sharing their healthy salad recipes, documenting their hair journeys, and listing the reasons why they love being single.

Earlier this week, Ticketmaster announced an integration with TikTok that enables users to discover and purchase tickets to various live events–including concerts, sporting events, and comedy shows–directly from TikTok. Whether you’re an artist, sports team, venue or event organizer looking to create awareness of your events or a fan looking to enrich your content by promoting your favorite shows or match-ups, this new mini-app will allow creators to engage with their audience through a clickable ‘Get Tickets’ call-to-action on your videos. The Ticketmaster integration launches as a limited pilot, offered to a number of creators in the US and Canada. Though only those creators will be able to add links to their videos, the videos and the links will be viewable and clickable by TikTok users across the globe. Stay tuned to see how users utilize the new Ticketmaster integration!

Check TikTok’s newsroom for more noteworthy stories: newsroom.tiktok.com

For more info, please contact:
Michelle McDevitt, Annjie Houston, Destiny Riley, T’Keyah Hayes, Audible Treats
Leah Linder, TikTok

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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.

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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:

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“BILLIE EILISH,” Oklahoma Smokeshows, and K. Michelle Heat Up on TIkTok

8.4.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of August 1st

Zach Bryan Continues His Rise to Country Stardom, Armani White Celebrates a TikTok Favorite, K. Michelle Inspires Fans to Let It All Out, and More TikTok Music Stories

The News:

The Background:

Links: