Ever wonder who’s behind some of these viral TikTok songs? Keep reading to find out!
TikTok is very quickly changing the music industry–starting with independent artists. Many singer-songwriters from humble beginnings have reached mainstream success from the platform, some even gaining professional record deals and studio time with Grammy-nominated producers in the process. Here are ten artists who have taken over our for-you pages in the past year.
Lizzy McAlpine
The 22-year-old singer-songwriter began writing music growing up in the Philadelphia area, and released her first full-length album, Give Me a Minute, while studying abroad in Spain as a student at Berklee College of Music, though she wound up dropping out of school shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic started. She then went on to release her 2021 EP When the World Stopped Moving, and has already released three singles in 2022. You may know her from her unreleased viral hit “You Ruined the 1975.” Since the casual clip of singing this song and strumming her guitar in her bathroom, she has collaborated with Grammy–nominated Jacob Collier, made her late night debut on Jimmy Kimmel, and appeared on the Ellen Show. Her style of intricate songwriting and soft melodies are a folk-pop dream.
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Ashe
If you’re a regular TikTok scroller, you’ve likely heard Ashe’s 2020 hit “Moral of the Story.” She wrote this song as she was going through a divorce, and it quickly gained traction on TikTok–so much that it started receiving radio play, and wound up featured in Netflix’s To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. The song inspired many of the app’s users to share their own breakup and divorce stories while lip synching along to the lyrics. Since her breakout hit, she’s collaborated with singer and producer Finneas, and former One Direction member Niall Horan. Her songwriting alternates between lighthearted dance-able pop and heartfelt emotional acoustics. Ashe’s latest song and video, “Another Man’s Jeans,” drops Thursday.
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Sam Fender
The 27-year-old Englishman garnered international success in 2021 when he released the single “Seventeen Going Under” off of his sophomore album of the same name. Fender was awarded Best British Alternative Rock Act at the 2022 Brit Awards, and was also nominated for British Album of the Year. Having grown up in North Shields, England, much of his songs reference his own tumultuous childhood, and the camaraderie of growing up in a working class community. Music has always gotten him through tough times, and his writing reflects that. His retro–rock style has many calling him the “British Bruce Springsteen”. His breakout track sparked a somber, yet important TikTok trend, in which survivors called out their sexual assaulters or adults who caused them trauma. The empowering rock anthem currently sits at about 160,000 videos on TikTok.
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Holly Humberstone
Humberstone’s pop-rock comes at the perfect time for the revival of pop-punk with artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Willow. As a matter of fact, she’ll be opening for Olivia on the second half of the SOUR tour. Humberstone signed with Interscope Records in late 2021 and subsequently released her debut EP, The Walls are Way Too Thin. In 2021, she was awarded the Brit award for Rising Star, which was presented to her by friend and collaborator Sam Fender. She made her late night debut back in October on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and will also be opening for Girl in Red on the Make it go Quiet Tour. Her viral TikTok track, “Falling Asleep at the Wheel”, has approximately 13,000 videos.
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Ricky Montgomery
The 28-year-old indie pop artist was just about to leave music behind, when suddenly, two singles off of his 2016 debut album went viral on TikTok. A core 2020 memory was certainly hearing “Mr Loverman” and “Line Without a Hook” on your for-you page. After a bidding war between labels, Montgomery decided to sign with Warner Records. He’s since released several singles with his new label: “Talk to You”, “Sorry for Me”, and “This December.”
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The Backseat Lovers
The band of Utah natives quickly became local celebrities in Provo after winning a battle of the bands competition in 2019, but it was their indie rock banger “Kilby Girl” from their 2019 album When We Were Friends going viral that really sealed the deal. In summer of 2021, the upbeat song became the soundtrack for summer adventures and 19-year-old girls everywhere (as per the lyrics of course: “I overheard that she was 19/got fake ID and a nose ring/those kinds of girls tend to know things/better than I do”) and still trends with TikTok creators now, currently at about 15,000 videos. The band’s newfound TikTok fame opened many doors for them outside of their native Utah, including an international tour and spots in this year’s Boston Calling Festival and Nashville’s Bonaroo Festival.
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Jensen McRae
The USC-Thornton graduate and singer-songwriter from Santa Monica has not only had several songs go TikTok viral, but regularly posts snippets of her songwriting process. She’s participated in several songwriting challenges, including writing songs about viewers’ names and birthdays. McRae’s specific lyrics have drawn comparisons to Phoebe Bidgers and Taylor Swift. But her uniqueness lies in her identity. McRae is half Black and half Jewish, and much of her work focuses on her personal identity, including “White Boy”and “Dead Girl Walking” from her 2021 EP Who Hurt You? Her debut album Are You Happy Now? drops March 22.
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Maude Latour
This rising indie-pop talent is also an Ivy League student at Columbia University. Her catchy, upbeat tracks chock full of poetic yet relatable lyrics appeal to college girls everywhere. Her song “Furniture” from her 2021 EP Strangers Forever cemented her spot on everyone’s indie pop playlist, and quickly grew in popularity on TikTok and Instagram. Her breakout track had many drawing comparisons to Lorde’s “Green Light”, as both artists explore life and love in early adulthood. Her colorful glitter aesthetic is the perfect complement to her energetic music. She most recently released a single called “Headphones” last month.
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Tate McRae
The Canadian singer-songwriter initially began as a dancer. McRae first gained recognition as the youngest contestant on So You Think You Can Dance? when she was only 13 years old. Even before this, she appeared on the Ellen Show with her dance troupe, and danced for Justin Bieber on his Purpose tour. She then went on to dance with the Alberta Ballet Company, all before branching into music. Her original song “One Day,” uploaded to YouTube in 2017, is what attracted RCA’s attention. In 2019, she released her debut EP, All The Things I Never Said, on which she collaborated with Billie Eilish and brother Finneas. You may recognize her from her 2020 viral hit “You Broke Me First,” from her second EP Too Young to Be Sad. The track rapidly became the breakup anthem for millions of TikTok users across the world. She has since made several late night night appearances and music festival performances, including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Gov Ball, Music Midtown, Lollapalooza and ACL. She was also nominated for two Juno Awards in her native Canada, for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year. Her debut full-length album is to be released this spring.
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Crawlers
The English rock band from Liverpool is all about taking your power back–and they even inspired their own TikTok trend. Their 2021 track “Come Over Again” inspired users across the platform to share stories of grief, coming out, and overcoming countless other obstacles. The track rapidly created a space for healing among many of its listeners. The band most recently dropped an acoustic version of the viral hit.
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The next time you scroll through TikTok, keep an eye out for these impactful artists–you just might find something that inspires you.
