TikTok is making a name for itself as the primary social media platform to influence the music industry, even with songs released over 10 years ago! Here are our top 5 songs from past decades that TikTok has made relevant again!
TikTok is a social media platform that continues to gain popularity amongst users and is only growing bigger. Between learning tips, viral dance videos, overall funny content, etc. – TikTok seems to offer something for everyone who creates an account. Underneath the creative content behind these viral trends, the sounds that users choose to accompany their videos are a part of the platform that does more beyond the app.
TikTok is infamous for bringing viral trends to life and having users from across the world participate. Music is the backbone for most of these trends, and they aren’t always new releases.
Besides the songs that are stuck in your head that you have to listen to on a “Popular TikTok Songs” playlist on Spotify, TikTok also does a lot for the music industry by recognizing songs that were released several years ago. Here are the top 5 songs that TikTok has brought back to popularity (and some of the trends that are featured with them)!
Please Don’t Go – Mike Posner (2010)
This song became viral on the app in the early summer, featuring a trend where the user would play the song in the background as they faced away from the camera in a moving car with sunglasses and a head bandana on. Honestly… This trend was easier seen than explained and I hope the description did it enough justice.
The trend gained popularity through witty captions, bringing animals into the trend with the same attire, and overall having a good, summer vibe to each video. Mike Posner himself even created a TikTok referencing that it’s a good day when “the song made around 10 years ago becomes popular again overnight.”
Picture to Burn – Taylor Swift (2006)
Taylor Swift and her music have gone viral several times on TikTok, especially with songs featured from her Folklore and Evermore albums that were released in 2020. With the recent re-release of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) which came out at the beginning of 2021, it makes sense that Swiftie fans would be creating several trends with songs that were released in her earlier albums. Most of Taylor Swift’s music that went viral on TikTok this year were videos of users playing the song while in the rain or reminiscing about a breakup.
The trend featuring “A Picture to Burn” was more upbeat. The sound gained popularity on the app with the 15-second takeaway of Taylor singing “I’m obsessive and crazy…” and users would give insight into their relationships, friendships, or past decisions in a way that ‘made fun of themselves. The song also underwent multiple edits on the app, but the underlying tune of Taylor was still there, causing the song to gain more recognition.
My Mom – Eminem (2009)
One of the most recent Eminem song trends that went viral this summer features the chorus of his 2009 song, “My Mom”. This trend features users typing out a story (usually outrageous) involving their mom, followed by them lip-syncing to the chorus in the background of “My mom, there’s nobody else quite like my mom.”
This trend continues to be viral for over two weeks and the sound is still one of the most used on TikTok. This sound also has undergone edits, with some users even changing the “Mom” in the song to the word “Dad”. Either way, the trend has brought some interesting stories up from the viral videos and the song, once again, is popular on the charts. Thank you, Eminem, there is nobody else quite like you.
Sk8er Boi – Avril Lavigne (2002)
This trend featured the iconic song by Miss Lavigne herself playing over the video, and users would add text to each TikTok describing their own “situationship” that they were thinking about. For example, “He was a gamer, she was impatient” and ending the video by lip-syncing “Can I make it any more obvious?”
These viral videos were to all poke fun at relationships, friendships, or just situations users found themselves in. Like Avril Lavigne laid out in the song, this trend focused on the aspect of describing a simple story. With a catchy tune and punk-rock feel of the early 2000s, it’s no surprise that “Sk8er Boi” made a comeback and became popular all over again.
Boyfriend – Big Time Rush (2010)
This song trend was spurred back to the charts with the addition of the Big Time Rush series on Netflix. The hashtag, #BigTimeRush, was trending on TikTok, even with videos that had nothing to do with the boyband or their music. Songs from BTR were popular on the app after the release, some having nothing to do with the video itself but users took to having the sound for a chance to get on other people’s FYP.
The song “Boyfriend” became popular with users who would do trends featuring celebrities or even pictures of text messages with the sound over them to instigate “I want them” or “Be my Boyfriend”. At least, that’s what most people assumed the trend meant. Either way, Big Time Rush had a very successful year of being brought back to the charts, both from their series release on Netflix and TikTok’s work of making their songs well-liked once again.
As the summer continues, there are bound to be more trends that could possibly bring back previously popular songs. As TikTok continues to grow, so does its influence on the music industry and what songs will be sought after!
