11.22.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of November 21st

Rihanna’s Chadwick Boseman Tribute Inspires Cheers and Tears, Ozuna & Feid’s Reggaeton Rave-Up Starts a New Dance, Hemlocke Springs Rises With 2022’s Boldest Bridge, and More From Music On TikTok

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:

After a six-year music hiatus, Rihanna has officially returned with a new song and the TikTok community is fully embracing it. “Lift Me Up,” a beautiful tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman from the soundtrack to the new box office smash Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is seeing success from TikTok to Billboard, garnering over 206K creations and debuting at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The ballad is the inspiration for heartwarming and powerful creations, including footage from the Wakanda Forever premiere, “Wakanda Forever” chants in the movie theater at the end of the film, and creators’ emotional reactions to the film. “Lift Me Up” even soundtracked a heartfelt moment between Rihanna and Chadwick Boseman’s wife Simone Boseman captured on the premiere’s purple carpet in a video that garnered over 4 million views on TikTok.
Latin music continues to thrive on TikTok, this time with Ozuna and Feid’s recent single “Hey Mor” (415K+ creations) sparking a new dance trend. Choreographed by @samxvazquez, the fun dance is making its rounds with those ready to try out their best moves at the beach, at the mall with their besties, and all dolled up at their quinceañera. Ozuna and Feid are having fun with the dance challenge on TikTok, as well: while Ozuna hilariously admits he had to practice the dance many times, Feid seemingly hits the moves with a tad more ease.
TikTok has helped usher Jersey and Philly club music into the mainstream in 2022, inspiring artists like Lil Uzi Vert (“Just Wanna Rock,” 489.4K total creations) and Drake (“Sticky,” 99.3K+ creations) to put their own spin on the music. Joining forces with Philly riser 2RARE, NLE Choppa is the latest to ride the club wave, getting creators in the mood to cut a rug with the new song “Do It Again.” Garnering over 122.5K creations, the club-inspired track finds the TikTok community recreating a dance by creator @theylovemhonaleeza. Recent videos find creators joining forces with their besties, gym partners, and younger siblings to do their own versions of the dance. NLE Choppa also joined in on the fun, reacting to creators’ videos and dancing to the track with the help of some club kids, who showed off their sturdy footwork. Thanks in part to its boost from TikTok, “Do It Again” has earned over 15 million Spotify streams to date.
One of the remarkable things about TikTok is how it can highlight amazing moments in songs that otherwise might not get attention. Creator and artist Hemlocke Springs used this to her advantage when promoting her new song “girlfriend,” a futuristic and harmonically complex R&B bop. In late October, Hemlocke Springs uploaded a video that highlighted the song’s enchanting middle 8, teasing “do u wanna hear the weirdest bridge you’ve ever heard in your entire life?” and performing some eccentric dance moves that perfectly fit the music. Boosted by the video, which racked up over 5 million views, the bridge helped “girlfriend” quickly pick up steam in the app, generating over 52k video creations, and propelling the song to over 6 million streams on Spotify. On TikTok, the song has become the go-to soundtrack for any creator looking to express their innermost self, whether they’re modeling fresh new looks, sketching whimsical characters, or in the case of R&B phenom Khalid, dancing like nobody’s watching. Meanwhile, Hemlocke Springs jokingly laments how she teased the chorus for weeks only for the bridge to launch the song to trending status.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Bickett is very active on TIkTok, telling the stories behind her songs and performing them with her acoustic guitar for her 272k followers. In recent weeks, Bickett had her biggest hit yet with “QUARTER LIFE CRISIS,” a heartfelt ballad about growing from a young adult to, well, an adult adult. Taylor first teased the song in September, revealing the first verse and chorus, which express a relatable sentiment for anyone worried that they’re not growing up fast enough. By the time “QUARTER LIFE CRISIS” earned official release one month later, the song earned nearly 12,000 pre-saves and generated over 11k video creations on the audio. The song was buoyed by a trend that encouraged creators to show #glowup or #thenandnow pictures of themselves at 16 and in the present. The trend launched the song to over 148k video creations, including videos by Drew Barrymore and Lauren Spencer-Smith. Meanwhile, Bickett continues to promote the song, including a with her own version of the trend, as the song racks up over 4 million streams on Spotify alone.
Respected Detroit rapper Peezy’s hit song “2 Million Up” (68.2K+ total creations) is inspiring creators on TikTok to double down on their loyalty to their families and friends. Using Peezy’s emphatic line, “If we locked in, ain’t no switching up,” creators explain why they’re still friends with an ex, reveal how long they’ve been in a relationship, and buy flowers for their girlfriends despite cold weather conditions. In other videos, TikTok users hilariously reveal that they defend their best friends, even when they’re lying. Peezy also engaged with the sound on his TikTok, reposting creators’ videos and encouraging fans to keep using the sound and tagging him.

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

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TikTok Turkey Day Trends: Rihanna, Ozuna, and More

11.22.2022

TikTok Treats, Week of November 21st

Rihanna’s Chadwick Boseman Tribute Inspires Cheers and Tears, Ozuna & Feid’s Reggaeton Rave-Up Starts a New Dance, Hemlocke Springs Rises With 2022’s Boldest Bridge, and More From Music On TikTok

The News:

The Background:

Links: