Songs you can tell an artist wanted to go viral on TikTok?
Idk if this even happens as often since I’m not on TikTok anymore, but from 2020 to 2024, sometimes you could just feel an artist wanted their song to be used for a TikTok trend. This would either be through some type of dance instruction in the lyrics, such as the “right foot up, left foot slide” bit in Drake’s “Toosie Slide’” or a part of the song that conveniently cuts out the music for a spoken word bit that’s basically screaming “please do your transition here.”
Olivia Rodrigo is guilty of the second one at least two times for me, both in the songs “Bad idea right?” And “Obsessed.” I’d also throw in Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” for the part “Me and my truth we sit in silence………..baby girl it’s just and you.”
Also the spoken word pre chorus in Troye Sivan’s “One of Your Girls.”
Except “Toosie” slide, I like all the songs I’ve listed, but I also know that for a time a TikTok hit was a guaranteed chart topper. Also think it’s funny how all of these were seemingly seeking TikTok virality, didn’t get them, but something like “Apple” by Charli XCX does. Perhaps these artists weren’t even doing this on purpose, but because they’re also on TikTok their brains just did it subconsciously, after all nobody just fell out of a coconut tree🥥, we exist in the context.
Also isn’t it crazy how people used to get paid to make TikTok dances for songs in attempt to make them go viral💀💀?? I just now remembered this.