Designed by: Liew Yi Xuan (21-E1)
$ilkmoney – My Potna Dem
$ilkmoney definitely rose to fame with his hit “My Potna Dem” that was used for a trend where people used sign language to mime out his lyrics. The chorus contains alphabets and numerals, like “DBSB 3272” and “GLOBEABB” to a consistent drum beat. Its popularity can be attributed to the challenge of the trend since hand-eye coordination is necessary to do the actions.
Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
The release of this undoubtedly catchy single in 2019 became an instant Tiktok anthem, generating 2.3 million videos with it to date. It is a pretty typical pop song that can latch on to listeners’ minds. The song itself sounds personal with specific details like how this girl named Roxanne behaves and feels, as well as the singer’s relationship with Roxanne. A fun song that is easy to dance to, this became ingrained in people’s minds and will probably be remembered for quite some time.
Masked Wolf – Astronaut in the Ocean
A hip-hop song with a catchy beat that people have danced to on YouTube soon became an internet meme especially on TikTok. While the song was gaining popularity, some creators have stepped out to say that the song was corny and “felt like what a 10 year old boy at the gym would listen to”. Soon after, the chorus was edited to become distorted which resulted in the song becoming a viral meme. There are obviously two teams here, with those vibing hard with its energetic, twangy notes at the start and those cringing at it. No matter what, the song still is successful for the previously unknown Australian rapper for topping charts especially in Eastern Europe.
Little Simz – Venom
The latest TikTok trend where this sound was used as a form of woman empowerment definitely made this song rise up the charts. The lyrics lament about how in a modern patriarchal society, men do not celebrate women’s successes. This message resided with many women who then took this opportunity to use the sound and empower themselves.
Dance Monkey was released on 10 May 2019 and topped music charts in numerous countries. The tune itself was award-laden and even peaked at fourth in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The genre of music was electropop, not only was the tune catchy, so was the lyrics. The song featured in a variety of Tiktok videos, but dance choreographies allowed the song to blow up on Tiktok. Recently, in one Korean Music Show, hip-hop singer Jessi sung a cover of the song and it blew up immediately, proving the song’s sustained popularity.
Peaches- Justin Bieber ft Daniel Caesar, Giveon
Of course! Another hit from Justin Bieber. A recent song released on 19 March 2021, topped charts all over the world. The lyrics aimed to pay tribute to his precious wife, Hailey and wishes for their long lasting romance. He even collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and Usher for a remix, with each verse changed. The music itself was indeed a lyrical masterpiece that took the tiktok platform by storm.
Someone You Loved- Lewis Capaldi
This single has held top charts in seven non-consecutive weeks and even gained popularity in the US from London. It held pole position in the Billboard Hot 100 in late October and November 2019. It talks about the heart wrenching breakup of his that captured the attention of audiences in UK and US. This heavy emotional content was what some people subscribed to. However, this song had no link with tiktok until remix was made, sounding similar to Hawaii beach music, allowing people to choreograph dance moves filled with heartbroken emotions, while becoming the staple dance of married couples.
Skechers- DripReport Prod. OUHBOY
Possibly classified as a meme song, this song invited many variations of dance and even relatable skits. The track was released in January 2020, and has gained over 1 billion streams on tiktok. It allowed the Skechers brand to advertise their shoes, and gave many tiktokers a platform to express their creativity with their own take on the music.
References:
- Australian rapper MASKED Wolf’s Depression SONG “Astronaut in the Ocean” is our Latest tiktok meme HIT, SOMEHOW. Stereogum. (2021, February 17). https://www.stereogum.com/2116514/australian-rapper-masked-wolfs-depression-song-astronaut-in-the-ocean-is-our-latest-tiktok-meme-hit-somehow/columns/status-aint-hood/.
- Perry, C. (2021, July 20). The 21 BEST Tik tok songs of all time. Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/best-tik-tok-songs.
- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57EG9lWmdn7HHofXuQVsow?si=v_Dy0QmbQmGfNOTYZ3Pr7g&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
The Origin* 