TikTok Treats, Week Of July 6th

A Weekly Roundup Of Interesting Music Stories From the World of TikTok; This Week, Some Songs That Have Caught Fire In The Past Weeks

• Perhaps nobody in the world of music has embraced TikTok quite like Jason Derulo. The hitmaking singer is known for executing creative concepts, dressing up in full costume, and showing off his sense of humor. The artist is on pace to have his biggest hit in years with "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)," a song that interpolates one of TikTok's most popular sounds. Created by Jawsh685, "Laxed (Siren Beat)" inspired more than 51 million videos on the platform, and now with Derulo's added vocals, the song is charting at #31 and rising on the Billboard Hot 100, recently topped the iTunes sales chart, is on track to top this week's Official Charts in the U.K. 
   
• Long a beloved cult figure in the Houston rap scene, BeatKing's recent single "Then Leave (ft. Queendome Come)" recently took off on the app, earning the veteran his first chart placement when it landed on the Rolling Stone 100. The song and its very NSFW lyrics inspired a dance craze, created by Boujee.Tay, but "Then Leave" also serves to soundtrack nail tutorials, family stories, and unexpected reveals.
   
• TikTok's gotten so popular that it can break a song that hasn't even be released yet. In late June, the country/pop group Avenue Beat shared a short snippet of their unreleased single "F2020" in an attempt to convince their manager to let them release the song. Perfectly capturing the unfortunately universal feeling that the year 2020 has um...underwhelmed expectations, "F2020" caught fire, racking up over 11 million views and 3 million likes. Last week, the group pleased clamoring fans when they announced that the full version of "F2020" will hit DSPs on July 10th.
   
• Another unexpectedly viral act? Indie pop group Wallows, whose recent single "Are You Bored Yet? ft. Clairo" provided the perfect avenue of expression for TikTok users stuck in the house during quarantine. Four days ago, after months of providing a backing track for tedious tasks, meticulous tasks, and precious father-daughter moments, the band finally joined TikTok, using the "Duet" feature to present a deadpan series of band member introductions.
   
• Rod Wave is one of 2020's biggest breakout stars, and he has another hit on his hands with "Rags2Riches," an inspirational rap ballad with an appearance from ATR Son Son and a perfect backing track for glow-ups (including the rapper/singer's own). Focusing on a defiant pre-chorus lyric leading into the triumphant chorus ('Cause that type of sh*t don't faze a player, uh/This type of sh*t is what make a hater"), the success of "Rags2Riches" on TikTok inspired the #ragstoriches hashtag, which racked up over 1.5 billion views. The song made its Hot 100 debut this week, coming in at #96.