9.21.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of September 19th

The Smashing Pumpkins Debut a New Video, BLACKPINK Causes a Frenzy With Their New Album, and New Trends From Rising Stars in Country, Dance, and More

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. Check out this week’s trends below:

Steve Lacy’s song “Bad Habit” is one of the biggest hits to spring from TikTok in 2022, trending on the platform earlier this summer and eventually skyrocketing to the #2 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, where it currently resides. Following in that song’s formidable wake, “Static,” another song from Lacy’s new album Gemini Rights, has started to catch fire on TikTok. Lacy’s provocative lyric “Looking for a b**** cause I’m over boys/Would you be my girlfriend baby?” has struck a chord within TikTok’s LGBTQ+ community, with creators of all genders celebrating and identifying with Lacy’s proud bisexuality. With over 44k video creations to date, the song has also become an anthem for cuffing season, as TikTok creators attempt to find a partner before summer ends. Steve Lacy first posted himself vibing to his own song in July, and though he knows he should continue to promote his music, he hasn’t been able to stop listening to the new album by Yeat.
Taylor Swift has TikTok in a frenzy of anticipation for her upcoming album Midnights. Since the clock struck September, Taylor has been doling out nuggets of info about the upcoming album, letting slip that the album will have four different vinyl designs, which combine to form a clock, and shared a montage of behind-the-scenes footage of the album’s creation (with notable cameos from Jack Antonoff and Taylor’s cat Benjamin Button). This week, Taylor introduced a new TikTok series called #MidnightsMayhemWithMe, where she will dole out even more cryptic info about the album. In the first #MidnightsMayhem video, Taylor used a “technologically advanced device” to reveal the name and track position of one song on Midnights. Taylor’s TikTok audience heard it first: the thirteenth and final track on Midnights is called “Mastermind.” Keep an eye on Taylor’s TikTok for more intriguing announcements and Midnights mayhem.
Superstar K-Pop girl group and TikTok fan favorite BLACKPINK is always making waves on the platform. Fresh off the success of their recent, chart-topping single “Pink Venom,” the beloved group is taking over TikTok again with their fierce new track “Shut Down.” Since teasing the song last week and officially releasing it this past Friday, “Shut Down” has racked up over 156K creations on the platform. Their choreography, once again, has the TikTok community in a trance as creators obsess over the moves from the music video and admit they can’t get the dance out of their head. The sound inspired captivating violin covers of the song, and sparked creations from dedicated fans who are feeling unstoppable after purchasing BLACKPINK’s new album Born Pink in the store. Fueled in part by the group’s TikTok success, Born Pink is on track for a massive debut week on the Billboard 200.
Despite all their rage, legendary rock luminaries The Smashing Pumpkins have cultivated a sizable audience on TikTok. The band is very active on the platform, posting throwback photos of lead singer Billy Corgan, testing fans’ knowledge of their lyrics, spotlighting the enthusiastic Pumpkins fandom of @thejacobgivens, and even reveal the true meaning behind their band name (turns out “smashing” is an adjective, not a verb). Most recently, the band debuted their new single “Beguiled” via a very special LIVE video, broadcast exclusively via the band’s TikTok account. The broadcast documented the live filming of the “Beguiled” video, offering fans on TikTok the first look of the new clip, which is now available to view on all platforms.
House music has grown in popularity on TikTok in the past year, with its fair share of trending songs such as ACRAZE’s remix of former rap group Cherish’s “Do It To It” (3M+ creations) and Disco Lines’ song “Baby Girl” (54.8K+ creations). Most recently, the TikTok community has been getting their groove on to UK singer/DJ duo Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal’s song “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of them All).” Garnering over 282K+ total creations, the upbeat dance track inspires a trend of creators dancing their way through everyday tasks, such as meal prep, choosing an outfit for the day, and getting glammed up for photos. Eliza Rose interacted with the song on her TikTok page, sharing her preparation process for a performance and sharing reactions from TikTok creators about the song. After receiving a boost from TikTok, “B.O.T.A.” earned a top ten spot on Spotify’s US Viral 50 chart this week.
Rising country stars have found a home on TikTok, with artists such as David Morris and Honey County inspiring trends on the platform in recent months. Singer Koe Wetzel has country music fans on TikTok in the mood for hilarious-yet-shady content with his song, “Cabo” (11.9K+ creations). Using Wetzel’s emphatic lyrics, the bubbling trend finds creators taking aim at their former partners and potential suitors, implying that they wouldn’t be financially stable enough to keep them. While some creators blame their spoiled upbringing for their high-maintenance preferences, others reminisce on the men they’ve dated in the past because of their nice trucks. On the opposite end of the spectrum, men on the platform share their experiences of tending to their girlfriends’ needs and yearn for a relationship so they could spoil their significant other. Koe Wetzel did his part to keep the song trending on TikTok, soundtracking footage of a fan proposing to his girlfriend at his meet and greet and reposting creators’ videos using the sound.
It can be quite fascinating to find out how we are perceived by those in our lives. Recently on TikTok, Woodkid’s 2012 chamber pop track “Run Boy Run” has sparked an intricate, lighthearted #IfIWas trend. The trend consists of creators asking people in their lives what they would be if they were a color, season, place, animal, or food. The result is a quick montage of photos that hint at the answers, before each answer is finally revealed to the beat of the song. With over 231K creations, the song soundtracks creations, including from those who realize how they are perceived by their significant other, how they appear to middle school students, how they perceive themselves, and how they perceive Harry Styles.

This weekend, TikTok will partner with Firefly Music Festival, the first partnership between TikTok and an AEG festival. Collaboratively developed to bring the magic of Firefly to TikTok’s global community of more than one billion, this unique partnership will give fans unparalleled access to the festival’s most exciting moments through a mix of live and on-demand in-app programming, including live-streamed artist performance and behind-the-scenes looks, interviews, and exclusive content from The Woodlands hosted by TikTok creators – all under the banner of TikTok’s new “Backstage Pass” programming initiative. There will even be an on-site studio for TikTok creators to film high-quality content on the festival grounds.

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

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.

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:

END

our work

clients

press releases

our team

BLACKPINK, Steve Lacy, and The Smashing Pumpkins Lead a Busy Week of Music on TikTok

9.21.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of September 19th

The Smashing Pumpkins Debut a New Video, BLACKPINK Causes a Frenzy With Their New Album, and New Trends From Rising Stars in Country, Dance, and More

The News:

The Background:

Links: