Music is really the lifeblood that keeps TikTok moving. Whether it’s a new dance trend auditioning as a backup dancer for Adele or a joke that is being circulated among users, music is there sharing the limelight.
But over the years up and coming artists have turned to TikTok as a source of inspiration, a platform to reach new fans or both. The influence the platform has on the world around it cannot be denied, especially in 2021.
As part of its Music Report for 2021, TikTok revealed that 430 song surpassed one billion video views as TikTok sounds in 2021. The most popular song hit an incredible 20 billion views. If you think that this didn’t have an effect in the real world, over 175 of the top trending songs on TikTok hit the Billboard Hot 100.
“TikTok opens the door to new artists, new sounds, underground and DIY scenes as well as the classic hits, connecting them with a global audience and passionate music community like never before. 2021 has been a huge year for music and for TikTok and we’ve been humbled how the industry and so many artists have partnered with us to make this magic happen across so many different countries,” said global head of music at TikTok, Ole Obermann.
The top 10 tracks used around the world in 2021 were:
- Masked Wolf – “Astronaut In The Ocean”
- Måneskin – “Beggin”
- Pop Hunna – Adderall (Corvette Corvette)
- ElyOtto – SugarCrash!
- The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber – Stay
- Oliver Tree – Life Goes On
- Erica Banks – Buss It
- YungManny – Clap For ‘Em feat. Flo Milli and Sada Baby
- Megan Thee Stallion – Cognac Queen
- Cardi B – Up
Interestingly, Masked Wolf’s Astronaut in the Ocean was released in 2019 but only rose to popularity in 2021. We were also surprised to see Boney M in the Global Top 20 with their track Rasputin.
There are also many stories of artists getting their break on TikTok and then hitting the Billboard charts. Canadian singer-songwriter JESSIA recorded an idea for a song, uploaded it to TikTok and received a million views in just one day. The song I’m Not Pretty went on to hit the Billboard Emerging Artists chart and JESSIA is now signed to Republic Records.
You’ve likely come across parody artist Jax on TikTok. Her creations include an alternative perspective to Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl and a Yelp review of Hotel California. Jax has gone on to sign a record deal with Atlantic.
There are quite frankly too many artists to list here so we recommend heading to TikTok’s blog here to find some new artists.
Of course you could just go to TikTok, let the algorithm learn what you like and start discovering new music. We’re very much in love with RØRY’s UNCOMPLICATED at the moment because it’s nostalgia mixed with the pop-punk we grew up with.
