As TikTok reimagines social media and invents countless new trends, it has also created itself as a platform that encourages a mutual exchange of music. Younger generations have expanded their musical repertoire and artists have experienced immense success.
As videos and challenges go viral, the music within the videos becomes almost synonymous with the app and its partnered dances. K Camp’s song “Lottery (Renegade),” “Say So” by Doja Cat, “Savage” by Megan thee Stallion, Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey” and many more, have all received widespread recognition on the app and have resonated with millions of people. Besides being vastly popular, all of these songs embody the musical trends of today. The previously mentioned songs have also all been released since the app became active back in 2016. However, in addition to the rising success of current artists, past hits have seen their place on musical charts soar as new generations are discovering the music of the past.
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Recently, Nathan Apodaca, a 37-year-old father who worked at a potato warehouse in Idaho, went viral as he posted a TikTok of himself skateboarding while drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray’s Cran-Raspberry juice. His song of choice was “Dreams,” the 1977 hit by Fleetwood Mac. The video currently has 70.2 million views on his account alone, not including the millions of views and uploads it has received on YouTube and Twitter, along with other social media sites.
Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, even responded to Apodaca’s video with his own reenactment. As a result of the viral TikTok, “Dreams” was ranked number two on the Rolling Stones Top 100 Songs chart and has now been on the Top 100 Songs chart for six weeks. Currently, it is ranked at spot 27 however; this is largely due to the popularity surrounding Ariana Grande’s new album, Positions. During the song’s revitalization peak, it had hit over 1 million streams a day while through October 8th and 10th, the song was streamed over 2 million times a day.
Another throwback that resurfaced on TikTok, although more popular, is the alternative 2007 release “Verbatim” by Mother Mother. The album, O My Heart, was released in 2008 and has also gotten popular throughout the app and landed Mother Mother on the Rolling Stone Artist 500, as well as the Breakthrough 25 charts. Although on YouTube, the channel TwinsthenewTrend replicated a similar trend as the Williams twins, the creators of the channel, reacted to Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight.” It was posted on July 27, 2020, and on the Friday and Saturday after, 4,600 digital copies of the song were sold. Many celebrities posted about the twins’ reactions including Ava DuVernay.
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Whether on TikTok or YouTube, there is a definite trend as blasts from the past are incorporated into popular social media apps and challenges, which then result in a spike of sales, streams, and overall views for artists. In addition to acting as pop culture influencers, apps like these are recognizing and preserving past hits which then open the door for musical icons to interact with and collaborate with influencers of today in order to maintain their musical legacy.