TikTokEven with most of us trading a trip to Ibiza with barefoot raves in our front room, summer 2020 has still served up some monster tunes - many of which come from emerging artists going viral on TikTok.
For the first time ever, we're releasing the top tracks and artists that have exploded on TikTok over the summer, with the TikTok community making them their own and creating viral trends and mash-ups to remember.
The most popular TikTok songs of 2020 listed below range in genre, style and approach reflecting the unmatched creativity and diversity of the community that turns these anthems into mash-ups, dance challenges and viral trends to remember.
Top 10 TikTok Songs 2020 in the UK by video views
- DaBaby, Roddy Ricch - ROCKSTAR (825m video views)
Emerging hip hop artist, Roddy Ricch, isn't new to TikTok fame, with his single 'The Box' going viral with its own dance challenge in 2019. In April 2020 he joined up with DaBaby, the 28-year-old rapper from North Carolina, to drop their huge track 'ROCKSTAR' which has had a meteoric rise on TikTok. Creators have transformed the catchy lyrics into a dance challenge, with 'ROCKSTAR' becoming the sound of the summer on TikTok. The track's popularity on the platform also led to a total of over 654,000 combined sales and streams over the summer- making it the Official Chart Company's best-selling song of the summer.
- Conkarah - Banana feat. Shaggy (767m video views)
Originally released in 2019, Conkarah's track 'Banana' featuring Shaggy got a new lease of life in 2020 with the #BananaDropChallenge. In this trend, TikTokers have been dropping sunglasses down from the top of their head all the way to their noses, all whilst dancing to this infectious bop.
- Puri - Coño (feat. Jhorrmountain x Adje) (766m video views)
Puri's 'Coño' underwent a massive revival on TikTok this year when it was used as the choice track for what is now one of TikTok's most iconic dance trends. Jason Derulo dialled up the heat in July 2020, re-releasing the song with a playful twist that paid homage to the dance trend that kicked it all off.
- Natalie Taylor - Surrender (672m video views)
Natalie Taylor's heartfelt and emotional tune 'Surrender' is a perfect example of how any genre or type of song can go viral on TikTok. While the track didn't have a specific trend attached to it, creators used the track in many original ways - from capturing heartwarming family moments through to incredible acts of kindness in a pandemic.
- Kbfr - Hood Baby (657m video views)
KBFR's Hood Baby dropped in April 2020 - a chilled summer bop that gave birth to the #HoodBabyShuffle and then got a revamp in June 2020 as a simple nod along in the #HoodBabyTrio
- StaySolidRocky - Party Girl (610m video views)
Party Girl was self-released by American rapper, StaySolidRocky, back in September 2019. It started soon started to go viral on TikTok, before exploding everywhere else online. It helped the rapper score a recording deal with Columbia Records with the track even getting a re-release in April this year. With its big bass drop and catchy hook, this modern homage to 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' continues to rumble on as one of the most popular tracks on TikTok.
- Monte Booker & Smino - Kolors (593m video views)
Monte Booker & Smino's collaboration on 'Kolors' has had a massive resurgence on TikTok in the summer, with a fun and simple dance challenge powering the track's popularity.
- Megan Thee Stallion - Savage (570m video views)
On 10 March 2020, TikTok user Keara Wilson decided to post an original dance to Megan Thee Stallion's song 'Savage' every single day on TikTok until it went viral. By day five, the 60-second-long dance had been copied by millions of other users. It skyrocketed 'Savage' from Megan Thee Stallion’s new album, Suga, landing it at No. 1 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap chart.
- Jawsh 685 - Laxed Siren Beat Loop (563m video views)
New Zealand-born, Joshua Nanai, who goes by the name Jawsh 685, originally posted the song Laxed (Siren Beat) in 2019 and sparked a viral dance craze, with users around the world dancing to the song and shouting out their own culture. Becoming known as the Culture Dance, the trend was hopped on by some of the biggest names on the platform and sees users transform mid-song into their traditional dress. The track also achieved huge chart success off the platform, ranking as the Official Charts Company's second biggest-selling song of the summer behind DaBaby's Rockstar with 566,000 sales and streams.
- Lil Darkie - Haha (519m video views)
Lil Darkie is a young emerging rapper, known for experimental music with heavy distorted bass and layers of voices. His track 'Haha' had an explosive rise on TikTok, with beauty creators using the song as a backing track for scary and surprising make-up transformations.
Breakout track
This year's breakout track of the summer on TikTok was Harry Styles with 'Watermelon Sugar', seeing a 1,400% increase in video views week-on-week since the beginning of the summer - purely driven by the TikTok community's love of watermelons.
Harry's not just breaking music records, but records in the fashion world too - single-handedly inspiring millions of people to learn how to knit and crochet. His JW Anderson cardigan went viral back in July with 18 million views of #harrystylescardigan.
Most popular TikTok music genres
Hip-Hop / Rap was the most popular music genre for content creation, with 23 million creations over the summer period. Pop and Dance/Electronic music follows with 10 million and 3 million creations respectively. Reggae has also been hugely popular, with more than 2 million creations over the summer.
Want to continue listening to these summer hits? Check out our music playlists like #OneSummerIn and play around with the green screen tool to recreate your favourite holiday abroad. The hashtag has over 74 million views so far!
New to TikTok and fancy using these popular TikTok songs for your own creations? Getting involved couldn't be easier, simply download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon.
