TikTok has become such an important part of people’s days. It is something we check more frequently than our emails or any other social media platform. Whether it is to find out news, fashion inspiration and trends, makeup tips, reviews, things to do or mindless entertainment, TikTok has become an enormous entertainment hub with short bursts of distraction and yet, has changed the way in which we consume and interact with media.
Not only has it changed the face of social media, but it has transformed other industries—such as music. Way back in the day, music was something we heard on the radio or saw on MuchMusic or Family Channel as we waited for music videos to drop. We finally had YouTube, which helped generate millions of views for artists all across the world. Now, we have many different avenues of streaming music – but algorithms have always pushed big, top-charting artists.
Not TikTok. TikTok’s algorithm is much different than any other social media platform and shows things that are exactly what a person is interested in and viewing based on their preferences, habits and tastes. Which is why everyone’s ‘For You’ page is drastically different.
This has helped many artists, especially smaller artists just starting out, be able to reach an audience. The app is not based on how many followers a person has, it has solely been reliant on a person’s unique interests, so smaller artists have been able to reach their desired audiences and gain attraction. All of these artists are brilliant, these are just a few that you should check out:
- Peter McPoland
Vermont singer, Peter McPoland, is one of my top indie-folk artists. Back in 2020, I found myself mindlessly scrolling on TikTok, and there he was. With hair styled in one of those 90s-inspired cuts, wearing a festive jumper, strumming his guitar singing what would be one of my new favourite songs. The song turned out to be “Eloise” and was a single he released a month later in January 2021. Since then, his music career has been slowly developing until recently, he opened for the band Twenty One Pilots on tour. With now over half a million followers on TikTok, he also signed with Columbia Records. Some songs I’d recommend checking out include “String Lights,” “Let Her Remember,” “News At 9,” and most importantly, “Romeo & Juliet.”
- LILYISTHATYOU
LilyIsThatYou is actually a Canadian. Growing up in Toronto, she draws much of her inspiration from Avril Lavigne. 21-year-old Lily Davies, known musically as LilyIsThatYou, became a musical sensation with the release of her song “FMRN” (F-CK Me Right Now), which racked up over a million views on TikTok in just under 24 hours. Despite the song being taken down from TikTok for a violation of guidelines, the exposure on the app has allowed her to grow an audience, which now consists of over 750,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. My favourite songs include “Gorgeous Gorgeous Girls,” “Moderation,” and “ALL ABOUT ME.”
- Paravi
Ohio-born Paravi Das absolutely bloomed on TikTok by posting covers, and she now has over 2.4 million followers on the app after going viral with her trend, “I hate all men, but when he loves me…” Since then, she has released full covers of the songs she sang including “Falling,” “Electric Love” and “Godspeed.” Other absolutely amazing covers of hers include “Cloud 9,” “Home” and “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes).” As well, she has released her own amazing music with her first single, “Angry.”
- The 502s
The 502s are an American indie folk band. The members of the band are all brothers. During the pandemic, they released a TikTok of them performing their song “Magdalene,” which received over 1 million views in two days. Although the band had an audience before, TikTok allowed them to reach hundreds of thousands of fans and generate over 240k followers on the social media platform. Similarly, in 2021, the band released a song titled “Just A Little While” which became a viral TikTok trend, curating over 10 million streams. Some of their other hits are “Hey Julia” and “Waves.”
- anees
Anees Mokhiber is a Palestinian-Lebanese rapper, and his fame is all due to TikTok. The indie-pop and hip-hop artist became famous on TikTok by posting snippets and POV videos that have allowed him to amass 1.3 million followers—and he has even been featured on Justin Bieber’s Instagram. On Spotify he currently has over two million monthly listeners, and some of my favourite songs include “Sun and Moon,” “Leave Me,” “Slip” and “Drunk On Myself.” Compared to the artists mentioned above, Anees is very different in terms of his flow and lyrics – and is definitely worth checking out.
Although there are many more, these are just five of my personal favourites — but I see this list changing as more artists flock to TikTok.