TikTok, an app known for catapulting obscure artists onto the Billboard charts, had a turbulent start in 2024.
At the end of January, Universal Music Group (UMG) pulled its catalog — including massive artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Drake — from the platform after negotiations dissolved between the music giant and TikTok. In February, UMG removed even more music from the platform, this time coming for all songs controlled by Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), which included any song a UMG artist wrote or co-wrote. TikTok estimated that UMG owned 20 to 30 percent of the music on the platform.
In April, ahead of the release of Swift’s newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, the singer’s music returned to TikTok. By the beginning of May, TikTok and UMG reached a deal to usher its catalog back onto the app.
During the nearly four-month dry spell, Djo’s “End of Beginning” soared in popularity, soundtracking nearly every video on our FYPs. But over the past two months, TikTok has reclaimed its title as a hub for music discovery.
Here are some of the best and most viral songs on the platform in 2024.
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish
Eilish’s music returned to TikTok just in time to bolster the success of her latest album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. While “LUNCH” is the album’s single, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is the runaway hit on social media. Eilish’s plea to stick together became the go-to song to soundtrack TikTok videos about friendship and romance, boasting over 254,000 videos less than a month after its release.
“End of Beginning” by Djo
The year’s runaway hit actually came out in 2022, but the song jumped in popularity on TikTok from a mere 18,000 videos in February to 2.2 million videos in March. The cinematic dream-pop song lends itself to yearn-posting for a city you’ve since moved away from, fan edits of The Bear, and it has the added bonus of being written by someone the platform already loves, Joe Keery — the actor who plays fan-favorite Steve Harrington on Stranger Things.
“Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
Rising to prominence after being Olivia Rodrigo‘s “blonde girl” and Swift’s opener for the Latin America leg of the Eras Tour, Carpenter gripped the internet with four little words, “That’s that me espresso.”
Her sun-drenched hit is not only impossibly catchy but endlessly quotable. “That’s that me espresso” and “workin’ late cuz I’m a singerrrr” inspired countless memes. Between the original and the “Double Shot Version,” it’s soundtracked over 117,000 videos on the app. If TikTok and Twitter are any indication, “Espresso” is poised to be the song of the summer.
“Nasty” by Tinashe
“Is somebody gonna match my freak” is to Tinashe as “That’s that me espresso” is to Carpenter.
Released back in April, “Nasty” rose to virality thanks to a freaky white boy’s dance moves on TikTok. A genius X user reposted a brief clip of a dancer, Nate — who posts under the handle @nates.vibes — impressively gyrating his hips, biting his finger, and sticking out his tongue. His moves are at odds with his nerdy appearance, making it immediate meme fodder.
In the original video, posted in February 2023, he dances to “Bind” by Hey Choppi, but the viral version replaces the audio with “Nasty.” The video garnered more than 10 million views on X and spurred nearly 500,000 TikToks, including Tinashe herself mimicking Nate’s moves.
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
From March to May, Kendrick Lamar and Drake went head to head in a vicious rap battle instigated by “Like That” from Future, Metro Boomin, and Lamar.
Over the course of 10 songs, Lamar and Drake launched diss after diss at each other, setting the internet ablaze with analysis and speculation. But it’s back-to-back heaters “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us” that seemingly declared Lamar the winner. With accusation-laded, highly charged bars like “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles” and “Tryna strike a chord, and it’s probably A-minor,” “Not Like Us” has produced 684,000 TikToks and counting.
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyoncé
Beyoncé inspired a good old-fashioned TikTok dance with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” Choreographed by users Dexter Mayfield (@dexrated) and Matt McCall (@matt8mccall), their original dance video received a whopping 43.5 million views and 4.2 million likes. The song has since been used in over a million videos.
“The von dutch remix with addison rae and a.g. cook” by Charli xcx
Back before brat turned the internet lime green and everyone was so Julia, TikTokker Addison Rae got on the remix of Charli xcx’s single “Von Dutch.” There’s really nothing more to say other than everyone loved it. The video of Rae doing her screaming ad-libs racked up 30.7 million views and 3.6 million likes. TikTok jumped because A.G. made it!
“Too Sweet” by Hozier
In an unlikely turn of events, Hozier’s song “Too Sweet” led to a horny, photo-based TikTok trend. His sultry vocals inspired users to post before-and-after photos of themselves or their favorite celebrity to the lyrics, “I’d rather take my whiskey neat.”
