Tik Tok has gained massive popularity here in the U.S., gluing thousands of people onto their screens for hours in a trance-like state. Those who know of Tik Tok know of its infamous trends, dances, and challenges. Individuals young and old come onto the platform and join in on the world-wide latest craze. These trending videos have had another unforeseen impact on another industry: the music industry. No dance video is complete without its accompanying signature song and no trending video challenge is complete without the lyrics that makes it hilarious. The artists of these songs can thank the power of Tik Tok for releasing their song into such a wide audience. It doesn’t even matter if the song is new or has been out for several years already, what the Tik Tok community deems popular is what will be trending. Songs that have been “rediscovered” by the Tik Tok community include Britney Spear’s “Criminal,” which is paired with the Mugshot Challenege; Drake’s “NonStop,” which is paired with the Flip the Switch Challenge; and Lil Kayla’s “Make His Pocket’s Hurt,” which is has become a meme. Newer songs have found themselves benefitting from their Tik Tok fame that has put them into the Billbpard Top 100.
Here are 7 songs that Tik Tok helped make famous:
“The Box” claimed a spot in the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks in a row. It has it’s own dance challenge on Tik Tok, which has done been done by many famous Tik Tokers such as Charli D’Amelio. Roddy Rich even made it to the 2020 BET Awards list as a result of his growing popularityy. He was nominated for Video of the Year and won Best New Artist.
The song that has been played virtually everywhere got it’s start to fame on Tik Tok just like Lil Nas X hoped that it would. This song went on to stay in the Billboard Hot 100 for 17 weeks and has had 4 remixes including the artists Billy Ray Cyrus, RM from BTS, Young Thug and Mason, and Diplo.
Newcomer artist Doja Cat got her first #1 on the Billboard Top 100 with this song. She was also helped by a remix of the song that she made with Nicki Minaj that propelled the song even higher up in the charts. Nicki Minaj was also able to claim her first #1 in the Billboard Top 100 for her collaboration with Doja Cat. This song is also paired with a Tik Tok dance challenge. Doja Cat also has another song that is popular on Tik Tok called “Boss Bitch”.
4. Blinding Lights by the Weeknd
The Weeknd secured his spot as #1 in the Billboard Hot R&B Songs for 21 weeks. Not only is the song played on the radio and streamed online, the song owes much of its popularity to the dance challenge it sparked on Tik Tok. It is a simple dance, which has made it a fan favorite of Tik Tok users of all ages.
This catchy tune of Drake’s has also created its own dance challenge on Tik Tok. The dancers simply have to follow the lyrics that instruct them on how to dance it. Drake was also able to secure a spot as #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 through this song.
6. Lottery (Renegade) by K Camp
This song and its accompanying dance have certainly gained massive popularity in the Tik Tok community. The dance became so well-known that creator of the dance Jalaiah Harmon was invited to perform the dance at an NBA game. The dance has been performed by many Tik Tok users since then and stands as one of the most iconic Tik Tok trends.
7. Love Story (Disco Lines Remix) by Taylor Swift
This Taylor Swift classic was brought back out into the lime-light with the help of Disco Lime who remixed the song. The song is ccompanied by a simple dance that involves thrusting your hips on beat. The most popular version also includes pushing ones camera back before you begin dancing. Disco Lines, who never anticipated his song would go viral, said, “This all came out of nowhere. It was totally unexpected and really amazing.” The influence of Tik Tok is really something else!