TOP TIKTOK VIRAL HITS, WEEK OF 5/7
by J. Simpson
5/6/21
Image by Harry Cunningham on Unsplash
How goes, Guardians? Enjoying the springtime? Weather is gorgeous here on the West Coast and spirits are high as we get closer and closer to the end of quarantine.
With an end in sight, it makes sense that people are starting to lose it a little bit. Thirstiness is on the rise now that there's a hope we can all leave the house this summer. And of course there's the ever-present silliness and surrealism.
From a pineapple/flamingo dance party to Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" to the love letter to the charming gents with Charli XCX's "Boys," here are this week's top TikTok viral hits!
CICO P - TAMPA
Sometimes you just need a soundtrack for being badass. Landing a kickflip? Fist fighting a honey badger?
This week, people on TikTok are using "Tampa" by Cico P to show off people being ridiculously tough. Like a group of black cowboys entering a store on their horses. Of course, many are using the theme to make funny videos, as we do. Make sure to check out @onlyeion's hilarious series of burglar videos!
SIMPLE MIND - I'M JUST A KID
When we say FOR LIFE we mean it. Bad Boys came out 26 years ago today! @martinlawrence
Life is strange. It's hard to wrap your mind around the infinite complexity that makes this moment possible - all of the twists and turns, the decisions and revisions before the taking of toast and tea.
Sometimes we just want to go back, to find a familiar time and place to make sense of all that's happened since.
This week, people on TikTok are using "I'm Just A Kid" to recreate photos from when they were younger. Will Smith may've helped kick off the trend, as he's been recreating iconic photos from throughout his career. Others are using "I'm Just A Kid" to recreate their baby pictures. It's a little sweet, a little funny, a little sad - it's a little of everything, much like life itself.
MEGAN THEE STALLION - FREAK NASTY
On my way to hottie booty camp
It's looking like things will have improved enough that many of us will actually be able to leave the house this summer. After being locked in our houses for over a year, many are already planning on making up for lost times. 2021 will be a "hoe summer" for many.
It's only fitting that the person responsible for "Hot Girl Summer" would help kick it off. This week, Megan Thee Stallion's "Freak Nasty" is the official soundtrack of booty shaking. Summer 2021 is going to be wiiild.
CHARLI XCX - BOYS
Boys @libardoisaza @jashlem @orsonpadilla63 @ralf
Guys are awesome! Funny, stylish, goofy, sweet, tough… guys got so much great stuff goin' on. They don't always know it, though… some guys will remember a compliment on their shirt or shoes for a decade. Even if it came from their Mom.
This week, TikTokkers are using Charli XCX's "Boys" to show their appreciation of the guys in their lives, in all their dreaminess. Nice to see the blokes getting some love!
BILLIE EILISH - YOUR POWER
Billie Eilish has announced the release date for her next album, Happier Than Ever, and people are beginning to lose their stuff. On top of that, Eilish's iconic new platinum look has been virtually everywhere. Of course any new single from Billie Eilish is going to immediately go viral pretty much everywhere.
This last week, Eilish released a TikTok for "Your Power," with its haunting, wordless keening soundtracking Billie Eilish adorned with a giant boa constrictor. It's like something straight out of Paradise Lost. Of course, when a single's big enough, the original context doesn't matter much. "Your Power" is being used to show off everything from pizza to playing Uno. It automatically makes whatever it touches seem more dramatic and haunting.
JILLIAN ROSSI - FEVER DREAM
I wrote this song!! PRE-SAVE LINK IN BIO!! Blow this up and I will release it! ##originalsong ##songwriter ##singer ##newmusic ##sadsong
Love makes everything more intense, larger than life. Sometimes you need a soundtrack to sum up all those huge feelings - the roller coaster highs and Grand Canyon bellydrops. "Fever Dream" by Jillian Rossi has you covered.
"Fever Dream" has that epic, larger-than-life quality of early Lady Gaga, with the pipes to go with it. Jillian Rossi is the real deal, the whole package. "I wrote this song for you to scream in your song when you're sad," she shared on the original video. Many will be screaming along in the months to come, take our word for it!
SAM SMITH - STAY WITH ME
One good thing about TikTok is it encourages realness in a way that other social media networks don't. It's not all selfie filters and toxic positivity. People share some raw and vulnerable stuff, even if it is sometimes paired with sarcasm.
This week, TikTokkers have been showcasing their worst fears using Sam Smith's heartbreaking "Stay With Me." Heartbreak, loss, negative self-talk, sometimes pathos, there's a lot going on in 15 seconds or under.
NICKI MINAJ - ANACONDA
ahhahahahahahhaha ##foryou don’t let this flop ##everythingisahoop
Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" is like some bug you just can't shake. Every once in a while, Nicki Minaj's crazy laughter comes back around, as people use "Anaconda" to show their appreciation for… something. Usually big booties. But it could be anything.
You've not lived until you've seen a flamingo having a dance party with a pineapple to "Anaconda".
DONNA MISSAL - SEX IS GOOD (BUT HAVE YOU TRIED)
If there's one thing we've learned in this last year, it's that there's more to life than sex. We've all had to find other ways to fill our times with hookups off the table. Many have been discovering that there are many things in life that are better than sex.
This could be living on your own, spending a morning with someone you love. Even just going to a concert could be better than a mediocre fling. Those who say that sex is like pizza, even when it's bad it's still good, have clearly never had bad sex or bad pizza. A clean apartment or a good show are infinitely preferable!
That about does it for another week of TikTok viral hits! Make sure to follow We Are: The Guard on TikTok for behind-the-scenes glimpses with We Are: The Guard artists!
J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.