10 Best Songs That Got Their Success From TikTok
Long gone are the days when a music artist needed an A&R representative to discover their talent. Today, artists have the power to share their talent with the world at their fingertips. For a time, TikTok collaborated with Billboard to create a TikTok-exclusive chart that tracked the success of songs on the app. TikTok content is largely centered around trending sounds and songs that have the ability to spread a song far and wide.
Dances, challenges, and GRWM ("get ready with me") videos are accompanied by the sounds of songs rising in the charts as internet users become more and more acquainted with the songs. TikTok's grip on the music industry is fascinating. The millions of users on TikTok have organically democratized popular music. All it takes to have a hit song on TikTok is to create a song that resonates with listeners enough to inspire them to attach it to their content, spreading the song to a new audience with each post.
Hit songs on the app are not just mainstream pop songs produced by the biggest artists at the top of the charts, but folk songs, nostalgia hits, and the strangest of all sea shanties. These ten songs are some of the greatest songs to be picked up by the TikTok algorithm. Each song shows the power that the platform has to introduce audiences to a fresh face, launch a massive pop career, or expand the horizons of young music fans.
10 Here With Me - D4vd
A Heart-Melting Slow Jam
D4vd is a homemade artist through and through. His path towards creation is as funny as it is inspiring. David Burke, the artist behind the stage name D4vd, had creative ambitions that initially manifested in the form of video editing. As a gamer and an artist, he started to make Fortnite compilations, but found that the videos were plagued with copyright strikes.
To combat this, he decided to start making his own music. His music has an old-school romantic charm. His low-pass-filtered vocals have a melancholy nostalgia that feels like listening to a song on the car ride home with your family.
His low-pass-filtered vocals have a melancholy nostalgia that feels like listening to a song on the car ride home with your family.
Choosing between "Here With Me" and "Romantic Homicide" for this list was a tough call, but the former displays how far the artist has come since he first signed with Interscope. His music sounds dreamy and distant, like a far off memory. The compressed vintage guitar tones really drive the ambiance home and compliment his warm vocals perfectly. "Here With Me" peaked at number 34 on the UK charts and 60 in the US.
9 Champagne Cost - Blood Orange
An Epic 2010s Resurgence
Many songs are popular on TikTok for their lyrical content. Lyrics can lend themselves to jokes or shared experiences, but this song blew up because of its infectious instrumental licks. If you have only heard this song on your For You page, you have likely heard its summery staccato guitar lines and none of its lyrics.
Dev Hynes, the artist behind Blood Orange, has a unique style. His choppy guitar playing pairs well with the reverb he puts over his riffs. His echoing vocals float over his delicate melodies and ambient synths. "Champagne Coast" was included on his 2011 album Coastal Grooves. The internet hit is easily the catchiest song on the album.
Blood Orange was the opener for Harry Styles during his New York residency at Madison Square Garden on Styles' Love On Tour in 2022.
The percussion makes this track fun and danceable. The vocal delivery is strange, but alluring. I find myself coming back to this track on late summer drives. At one time, "Champagne Coast" was the number one song on the TikTok Billboard chart.
I highly recommend that all fans of this song check out Blood Orange's entire discography. The artist only improved with each album he put out. "Uncle ACE" from Cupid Deluxe is easily my favorite Blood Orange song. It is a fusion of funk, jazz, R&B, and the chill lo-fi vibe that underlies the entire discography. I love the layered percussion Hynes uses to create texture variation and highlight his syncopated guitar plucking.
8 Old Town Road - Lil Nas X
The Quintessential TikTok Hit
This list could not be complete without the inescapable "Old Town Road." In 2018, Lil Nas X dropped the song that would change his life forever. "Old Town Road" was first released to SoundCloud, and the rapper advertised it on social media non-stop. At the time, country rap wasn't extremely mainstream, and the song was able to thrive in its novelty.
The song was attached to a trend called the Yeehaw Challenge in which people would transition into their best cowboy outfit as the song's beat dropped. While the song was often used in jest, the strength of the song is undeniable, as it can easily get stuck in your head for days. Montero Lamar Hill, Lil Nas X's real name, has a deep and rich vocal tone. His singing voice is as smooth as his rap delivery.
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Although Lil Nas X did not produce this track, he made it entirely his own. According to ABC News, the original creator did not intend for the beat to be a country beat, but Lil Nas X had a unique vision for the track. The beat that cost Lil Nas X $30 dollarsonline brought him the career of his dreams.
7 Sailor Song - Gigi Perez
Indie Folk Is Beloved On TikTok
Gigi Perez has been a staple of the TikTok music scene since the release of her song "Celene" in 2021. The song is a beautiful tribute to her sister, who brought millions of ears to her thoughtful lyricism. In the years since, she has been able to cultivate an audience around her songwriting.
The chorus of this song is powerful and unforgettable; you can feel, taste, and see each line.
"Sailor Song" is her biggest hit yet, and for good reason. Her deep and rich vocals add power to this queer love song. The deep devotion that Perez has to her lover is laid bare in her raw lyrics that are as romantic as they are devastating.
The chorus of this song is powerful and unforgettable; you can feel, taste, and see each line. The vivid lyricism is able to shine through due to the simplicity of the accompanying guitar. The song is her very first number one hit in the UK charts (Music Week) and reached 25 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the US (105.7 The Point).
6 Please Please Please - Sabrina Carpenter
TikTok Has Good Judgement
Sabrina Carpenter is one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now. The Short n' Sweet Tour is taking the world by storm, with fans desperately waiting to see what "Juno" pose Carpenter is going to do every night. While Carpenter has been a celebrity actress and pop star for years, she didn't become a household name until her songs and comedic personality became huge on TikTok.
Her "Nonsense" outros on tour established Carpenter as a scandalous and hilarious performer with her tongue-in-cheek city-based sexual innuendos. These outros blew up on TikTok and set the stage for her huge summer hits "Espresso" and "Please Please Please." While her caffeine-fueled single is a wonderful song in its own right, "Please Please Please" is the better of the two. The arpeggiated synth melody is ridiculously catchy, and her falsetto vocal performance in the chorus is perfect for the song's soft pleads.
This song was released at the perfect time. The music video featured herself and her boyfriend at the time, Barry Keoghan, who the song was allegedly written about. Everyone was talking about the two at the time, and the song was used to underscore videos about the two. The track lent itself to dance trends, makeup transitions, and comedic videos about users' relationship experiences. The song reached the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 in the US only a week after its release.
5 Girlfriend - Hemlocke Springs
This Song Exceeds Expectations
Hemlocke Springs is a delightfully wacky artist. Isimeme "Naomi" Udu began posting her self-produced music online in 2021 and quickly gained an audience around her silly, awkward lyrics that were perfectly complimented by her playful tracks. Udu almost had a very different life. Her music blew up on the internet while she was enrolled at Dartmouth studying medicine at the graduate level. Her first TikTok hit was "Gimme All Ur Luv," but "Girlfriend" takes the cake.
Hemlocke Springs' vocals are endlessly charming. Her voice can range from a Kristen Schaal-esque high nasally pitch to a deep gravelly pitch. The high-energy bedroom pop track is colorful, and Springs' vocals are never boring. The bridge is the highlight of the track, featuring unrestrained squeaky vocals juxtaposed against lines delivered with a chill, rich monotone voice. Her sugary-sweet pop is '80s-inspired and yet completely fresh.
Her sugary-sweet pop is '80s-inspired and yet completely fresh.
"Girlfriend" was used in over 60,000 videos on TikTok. The success of the sound on the app brought attention to what is now her biggest song. The internet hit has brought in over 50 million streams ever since.
4 Boy's A Liar - PinkPatheress
Better Than Good Enough
PinkPatheress is the Y2K princess of the 2020s music scene. The singer-producer creates quick yet memorable synth pop songs that sound like they are meant to be listened to on a Hello Kitty MP3 player. Victoria Walker started recording music in her dorm room at University of the Arts London, making beats for her friends and uploading songs to SoundCloud. It wasn't until Walker started to post her songs on TikTok that her loyal fan base started to form.
Of all of PinkPantheress' hits, "Boy's A Liar" is her best. The song was co-produced by PinkPantheress and Mara Mursa. The dance-pop track sounds straight out of a '90s video game with its analog synth layers. Despite sounding so sweet and upbeat, the song's lyrics speak to the fear of not measuring up to a judgmental partner's expectations in a relationship.
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The song's reliability and cute Y2K nostalgia made this song a hit with TikTok users. The song got so popular that PinkPantheress had to drop "Boy's A Liar Pt. 2" featuring TikTok's ginger-haired darling, Ice Spice. The remix debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
3 Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan
The Beginning Of The Midwest Princess' Rise
Chappell Roan's quick rise to super stardom started with the release of "Good Luck, Babe!" and has not slowed down since. In 2023, Chappell Roan released her stellar album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,which is filled top to bottom with pop perfection. Slow ballads, cheer-leading chants, club hits, and breakup songs can all be found on this album without losing any cohesion.
The album received critical praise, ranking number 12 on Rolling Stone's best albums of 2023, and was beloved by her fans, but Roan was not on the top of the charts. At the time, her small but loyal fan base of largely young queer women were dressing up in themed outfits for her small shows across the US. On April 5th, everything changed for Chappell Roan.
That day, as the clock struck midnight, I was patiently waiting to hear a song I would quickly become addicted to. If you can believe it, I streamed "Good Luck, Babe!" 607 times in 2024. The queer anthem speaks to the pain of being left in the dust of a lover that can't stop chasing heteronormativity. Roan masterfully conveys the whirlwind of emotions associated with heartbreak: love, despair, anger, loneliness, and vindication shine through in her lyricism.
The queer anthem speaks to the pain of being left in the dust of a lover that can't stop chasing heteronormativity.
Although this song is steeped in longing, it can liven up a dance floor. Roan has an '80s sound that has been likened to legends like Kate Bush and Cyndi Lauper, but the Midwest Princess brings her own intoxicating flare to each track she releases. The range of Chappell Roan's ethereal falsetto on the chorus is almost as impressive as her belted adlibs over the song's conclusion.
This single would take Roan's career to unimaginable heights. "Good Luck, Babe!" is Roan's first number one single (Billboard), but the song introduced new listeners to her 2023 album, leading to the massive success of her earlier releases. Before releasing the song, Roan would promote the song on TikTok with a simple dance trend that users across the app couldn't resist.
2 Savage - Megan Thee Stallion
Tik Tok's Most Popular Dance Trend
Megan Thee Stallion is one of the best rappers of the decade. Before Meg's songs were inescapable across the airwaves, the "Savage" dance was inescapable on For You pages. The dance was choreographed by TikTok user Kiara Wilson and popularized by one of the platform's biggest stars, Charli D'Amelio. If you only know how to do one TikTok dance, the chances are very high that it is this one.
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"Savage" wasn't huge purely because of the dance trend; this song is solid. The bold syncopated seventh chords lay the groundwork for Megan Thee Stallion's polished flow. This song is hip-hop gold. Meg is able to take the repetitive beat and make it sound fresh with each new verse and chorus as her flow recontextualizes the rhythm and harmonies of the sample. The song's remix with the one and only Beyoncé shot this iconic track to the number one spot on the BillboardHot 100 in 2020.
1 We'll Never Have Sex - Leith Ross
TikTok's Ultimate Love Song
In under two minutes, this love song by Leith Ross is able to bring tears to my eyes. This indie folk song is so simple, as it is only played on only three guitar strings, yet it is so hauntingly beautiful that it captivated millions of listeners on TikTok. A snippet of the song posted to Ross's TikTok account in 2021 brought together millions of users for a peaceful minute of contemplative listening.
"We'll Never Have Sex" isn't your classic internet pop song or belted emotional ballad. It strives in its simplicity and purity. The song expresses the beauty of a love without expectation that has the capacity to smooth the edges of one's most undesirable qualities.
Ross has an incredible ear for melodic lines. Throughout their body of work, you will find that their guitar sings and their melodies nestle into your subconscious. Ross's poetic command of language allows them to make small changes to repeated lines that re-frame their meaning entirely, bringing the song full circle.
This soft hit has been used in just under 100,000 videos on TikTok. Although the song didn't climb the charts like others on this list, its impact is enduring. As an example, one fan shared this comment, reposted by Ross: "this was one of our wedding songs and I'm not sure there would have BEEN a wedding without the perspective shift it gave me, thanks for everything."
