6.23.21

TikTok Treats, Week of June 21st

Lorde’s “Solar Power” Fuels The Critical Discourse, Rising Rapper Kali Repeats Her TikTok Success, and Kool & The Gang Makes Us Ponder Our Place in the Universe

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. This week, TikTok’s taste in music reflects an eagerness for summer to get underway, with sunshine-friendly songs new and old trending on the app. From summer madness to June weddings, check out what music is heating up on TikTok:

Longer days, shorter nights, and warmer weather means only one thing on TikTok: Lorde season is approaching. The 24-year-old pop star’s new single “Solar Power” has started vigorous conversation around the app, with over 25k video creations across two sounds. The song and its “Can you reach me?/No you can’t” lyric has inspired a trend for TikTok users who just want to be alone (whether at home or in a new country), but it has also sparked serious critical conversation. Some users don’t love the song, including long time fans who wish we could return to Pure Heroine days or others that have argued that it sounds like music from a hygiene commercial. These criticisms have prompted a wealth of defenses and responses, pointing out that many users just don’t respond well to upbeat music. Other fans have decided to take a deep dive into the song, including creator @melodramatic09, who posted a multi-part series analyzing every aspect of the song and the symbolism in its music video.
Known for their bottomless arsenal of hits and their memorable appearances in Quentin Tarantino films, Kool & The Gang’s music has the kind of cinematic quality ideal for soundtracking expressive TikTok videos. Their 1974 classic “Summer Madness” is at the center of a new TikTok trend, highlighting the song’s cascading crescendos of synths. In the context of the song, the crescendo represents the sun on a hot summer’s day, but in the hands of TikTok creators, those sirenic synths represent dramatic epiphanies about cosmic realities. With over 21k video creations since @jazzyfizzle_ started the trend on June 6th, “Summer Madness” has been used to grapple with the vastness of the universe, reckon with the inevitability of aging, and marvel at a partner’s glacially slow eating habits.
Rising rapper Kali is building on her recent viral TikTok success with her new single “MMM MMM MMM.” Similar to the release strategy behind her viral hit “Do A B*tch” (351.3K+ creations), Kali has been teasing the new song before its official release, and it’s already ablaze on TikTok, garnering over 320.5K+ creations so far. The lowkey baddie anthem has spawned multiple trends, each using the “mmmm” and “mmhmm” sounds in the track as inspiration for yes and no head nods. One of the trends is a makeover challenge, a popular vehicle for viral songs, displaying the breathtaking skills of TikTok b eauticians. The second trend takes a more comedic approach, as users display the funny habits of their dogs and their confusion about mean attitudes.
Bilingual tracks like Kali Uchi’s “telepatía” (1.8M+ creations) have seen major success on TikTok and beyond, and now Arizona native Trinidad Cardona has brought a new bilingual banger “Dinero” to the app. Creators have been using the catchy, upbeat Spanish-English song to soundtrack fun Texas tubing adventures, their smooth dancing skills, and their versatile appearances. Trinidad Cardona recently expressed his excitement for the song trending #1 on TikTok. The song’s success on TikTok has translated to Spotify, as “Dinero” has reached #6 on the Viral 50 chart.
A “dream wedding” trend is making its rounds on TikTok and liana flores’ folk track “rises the moon” (61.3K+ creations) is serving as the inspiration. The calming, therapeutic instrumental makes the track perfect for a rainy day, but in this case, it’s perfect for partners planning their dream wedding together. The TikTok community loves to see partners compare their wedding aesthetics with “rises the moon” soundtracking them all, from partners who have completely different aesthetic preferences to partners who can’t get the other partner to stop joking and take the planning seriously.

Last week, TikTok highlighted five Black LGBT artists on TikTok that deserve attention for their activities on and off the app. Check out the newsroom to learn more about Kidd Kenn, Fousheé, Dizzy Fae, Marzz, and MK xyz: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/black-music-month-x-pride-celebrating-tiktoks-black-lgbtq-music-creators

Tomorrow, TikTok finishes off Pride month with a bang, as it hosts its first-ever Global Pride Finale. On June 24 at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET, join artists, creators and the TikTok community for 12 hours of LIVE programming from around the world—featuring musical performances, makeup tutorials, Q&As, and more. The event kicks off with a performance from GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Kesha, and includes a performance from Tinashe and appearances from 2021’s LGBTQ+ TikTok Trailblazers. Read the full scoop on TikTok’s newsroom: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/join-us-at-the-first-ever-global-tiktok-pride-finale

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

For more info, please contact:
Michelle McDevitt, Andrea Higgins, Erin Ryan, 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:

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TikTok Summer Madness: Lorde Leads a Pack of New Trending Songs