Image Credit: TikTok

TikTok’s ‘Music 2020’ report details the short-video platform’s biggest, trending and emerging songs, artists and genres.

The already sawing social media platform only grew faster as stay-at-home orders came into effect in March last year.

Music is such an important aspect of the short-video sharing app. In 2020, “over 176 different songs surpassed 1 billion video views as TikTok sounds.” In December, TikTok published their Top 100. With it, they announced the platform’s top 10 most significant songs in 2020. Together, these ten songs reached over 50 billion across the 125 million videos they were featured in, five of which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Nearly 90 songs that trended on TikTok last year featured on the Top 100 charts in the US, fifteen of these reached number one. TikTok has helped drive so many indie artists into the mainstream. In 2020, over 70 artists that have broken on the platform have received major label deals including Claire Rosinkranz, Dixie D’Amelio, Powfu, Priscilla Block and Tai Verdes, with dozens more charting on Rolling Stone’s Breakthrough 25.

Music shaped the year on TikTok and TikTok shaped the year in music. Unlike radio stations or streaming platform’s playlists, trending music on TikTok is not dictated by the platform but rather the community itself. To celebrate these big moments, TikTok recently published their first-ever U.S. music report, with music that mattered on TikTok last year as well as the communities favourite genres, biggest stars, emerging artists, classics songs that found new audiences and meme-worthy songs.

We at TikTok share our community’s passion for music and we’re dedicated to providing a platform where artists and fans can interact and thrive. It has been inspiring to watch our community bring new talent to the forefront, help send songs up the charts, and use music to create an oasis of joy during a trying time. We will continue to work hard to make TikTok a platform that supports artists and encourages musical engagement and discovery.

Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music, TikTok

Find your personalised Year on TikTok here.


Real Quick: The Fastest Songs To A Billion
Real Quick

All the songs to hit one billion views last year found different ways to the milestone. The top hit Toosie Slide reached a billion views in just three days, followed by WAP which took two weeks. Many of the fastest rising songs were from long established major artists, while others were from unexpected artists such as Sada Baby, BeatKing, Popp Hunna and WhoHeem who before their breakout viral moment earlier last year, were largely unknown by the masses.

1. “Toosie Slide” – Drake
2. “WAP” (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) – Cardi B
3. “Therefore I Am” – Billie Eilish
4. “Lets Link” – WhoHeem
5. “Say I Yi Yi” – Ying Yang Twins
6. “Where Is The Love?” – The Black Eyed Peas
7. “Whole Lotta Choppas” – Sada Baby
8. “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)” – Popp Hunna
9. “Mood Swings” – Pop Smoke
10. “THICK” – DJ Chose & Beatking