10.15.20

TikTok Treats, Week of October 12th

This Week on TikTok Brings ‘00s Nostalgia, #1 Hits, and Sweet, Sweet “Dreams”

The News:

TikTok’s greatest strength lies in creating a community that feels close-knit despite being massive in size. A meme, trend, or song created on TikTok can quickly morph from an in-joke between close friends to a worldwide phenomenon. TikTok phenomena have had more and more of an effect on the real world, impacting the Billboard charts, or materially affecting product sales. Below, check out some of the weird ways that TikTok interacts with the real world:

TikTok hits are having a massive week on the Billboard charts, headlined by “Savage Love” (BTS Remix) by Jason Derulo & Jawsh 685 ft. BTS. “Savage Love” came to life when Jason Derulo added heartfelt R&B vocals to “Laxed – Siren Beat,” a song by Jawsh 685 that became a massively popular TikTok sound (55 million video creations), spawning a worldwide hit that reached the #1 spot in several countries. A new remix featuring BTS helped the song climb seven spots and reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The new number one is another milestone for TikTok, marking the latest TikTok hit to top the charts.
Another unlikely TikTok hit skated its way into the Billboard Top 25 this week: Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” which recently returned to the Billboard Hot 100 after a 43-year absence, propelled by Nathan Apodaca, aka @420doggface208, whose cranberry juice-fueled TikTok using the song racked up nearly 50 million video views. Inspiring a legion of imitators, including FM co-founder Mick Fleetwood, and introducing the song to millions of new fans, “Dreams” climbed to #21 on the chart after Apodaca’s video boosted streams and sales of the song by more than 7000%. The song also sits at #7 on Spotify’s U.S. Top 50 chart, sandwiched between songs by 21 Savage and Pop Smoke. The “Dreams” resurgence on TikTik and beyond shows no signs of slowing down: just yesterday, rock icon and Fleetwood’s bandmate Stevie Nicks, the original writer and singer of “Dreams,” joined TikTok, commenting on the trend with her first-ever TikTok video.
A flex-heavy song with a hypnotic piano beat and a nursery rhyme hook, L.A. rapper Kenndog has a major TikTok hit on his hands with “Drip Like ME.” With over 537k video creations after exponential growth in recent days, “Drip Like ME” currently sits as the #2 song on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50, propelled by two distinct TikTok trends. The first trend that uses “Drip Like ME” is to show off their fashion sense (or admiring the drip of venerable British character actresses), producing results that can be equal parts fly and embarrassing. The second trend involves the “Rice Purity Test,” a survey that evaluates the taker’s experience with various illicit activities. Using the hashtag #ricepuritytest (48 million views), TikTok users try to guess the scores of their friends and family members and marvel at the results.
Have TikTok users been experiencing some ‘00s nostalgia? Two mid-decade #1 hits have found new life on the platform. The first is Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” (250k videos), a risqué duet with Timbaland, which is inspiring TikTok users to show off their wild sides (or just their astrology-themed iOS 14 home screens). The second ’00s video to experience an unlikely rebound in TikTok relevance is “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne’s defiant pop-punk jam (406k views). The song started trending as the soundtrack to a trend where TikTok users flip their hair from a side profile, the song has gone on to soundtrack controversial Harry Potter takes, dedicated workouts, and air band jam sessions.
Appropriate for the tail end of Latinx Heritage Month, one of TikTok’s biggest recent hits comes from the legendary Gloria Estefan. The trending song in question is “Conga,” one of her earliest crossover smashes, a relentlessly upbeat and compulsively danceable track. The song started to trend in response to a dance craze created by @b1ondebimbo, but it quickly found a life of its own. Spurred on by an endless parade of emoji-filled comments, “Conga” inspired uncontrollable fits of dancing in users showing off their crazy halloween costumes, their elliptical workouts, or their pet hamsters. Most intriguingly, “Conga” has become a major meme in the world of Among Us, a PC/phone game that is massively popular on TikTok (13B views on #AmongUs).
Flint, Michigan rapper YN Jay has found unexpected popularity on TikTok, his raunchy rhymes and self-bestowed “Coochie Man” nickname becoming an inside joke among the platform’s users. The legend of “Coochie Man” kicked off with user @Nuhchez, who asked a simple question–what if “Coochie Man” were a superhero like Batman or Spider-Man? @Nuhchez created an entire comedic universe around the character with comedy skits and TikTok filters, using edited versions of songs like Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” and BØRNS’ “Electric Love” to soundtrack his heroic exploits. In recent days, YN Jay scored another viral sound, built around an expressive groan from the beginning of his song “Coochie Land.” YN Jay’s expressive groan soundtracks quick changes in mood, whether your kid makes a decision you don’t approve of, you accidentally upset a baby, or you get caught in the act.

Whether it is reviving old hits or creating collaborations of its own, the impact of TikTok on the culture is reaching new heights every week. When artists of all genres make TikTok integral parts of their release plans, they’re trying to harness the sense of community and buzzing zeitgeist that the platform creates. The stories of Jason Derulo, @420doggface208, and others just hammers home the increasing connection between TikTok culture and the world at large.

This week, Alt-Rocktober continues with special TikTok LIVE streams from Third Eye Blind and legendary drummer Tommy Lee. Check out Tommy Lee’s stream on his @TommyLee account on October 16th at 3pm ET/12pm PT, and check back Third Eye Blind’s live stream on @ThirdEyeBlind the same day at 4pm ET/12pm PT.

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