From TikTok to Billboard: 10 songs that went viral and made it to the official charts

It definitely is true that the impact of social networking services such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram on how fans perceive and interact with songs cannot be overlooked in recent times.

For instance, TikTok gives the artistes an avenue to post snippets of their songs, formulate challenges and encourage other fans to interact in the hope that the song goes viral. This social media platform has taken content marketing to a whole new level and artistes that can properly utilize the opportunities usually get rewarded in more streaming numbers for their songs.

Before a song is released, artistes can now test the waters with a few seconds samples of the song which would be shared on social media and if the reception is great, the song can be released eventually on all streaming platforms.

Let’s take a look at 10 songs that blew up on TikTok and eventually made it to the Billboard chart.

1. “Savage Love,” Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo

In 2020, 17-year-old producer Jawsh and Jason Derulo ultimately ruled TikTok with their viral hit song ‘Savage Love’. They ruled the Billboard Hot 100 too for a short while.

The song rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2020 and went viral for other reasons as well.

This song went viral so widely that it became a popular dance trend and when K-Pop stars, BTS, did a remix to the song, it went even above and beyond.

The song’s videos on YouTube also gathered massive streaming numbers. Jason Derulo posted two different versions and got over 236 million views for both while the official music video to the song posted on Jawsh 685’s page did over 9 million.

2. “Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyonce

Megan Thee Stallion had her moment in 2020 as well even as her song, ‘Savage’, was all over TikTok and even got the attention of the Queen Bee, Beyonce, who offered to collaborate with her for a remix.

As is the trend on TikTok, most songs that blow up like that usually have a dash or artistic originality about them– could be a dance move or a routine.

Speaking of Beyonce, “Savage” got to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there briefly for a week in May 2020 giving Megan quite the hot summer!

The song was also probably the most anticipated collaboration of 2020.

3. “What You Know Bout Love,” Pop Smoke

Pop Smoke was one of the painful tragedies of the hip hop world in 2020 but his posthumous album, ‘Shoot for The Stars Aim For The Moon’ was a reminder that even in death his voice continues to reverberate around the world as his music continues to dominate.

‘What You Know Bout Love’ was also a posthumous release but not only did it dominate on TikTok, it still went up the charts sitting pretty amongst the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Its video which was premiered on 22nd December 2020 also has over 38 million views on YouTube to date.

4. “Say So,” Doja Cat

Another song that dominated both worlds was Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’, released in 2020. The song blew up even further after rap goddess Nicki Minaj jumped on it.

It was also a groundbreaking moment for both acts but more interestingly Nicki Minaj who has never had a song top the Billboard Hot 100 charts as the remix rose and sat pretty at the top spot on the Billboard chart.

5. “WHATS POPPIN,” Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow was another revelation of 2020 all thanks to TikTok. His song ‘What’s Popping’ gained so much traction on TikTok in what can be called a pleasant accident.

Jack himself said he never wrote the song with TikTok at the back of his mind, however, he’s grateful one of the most powerful social networking platforms embraced his music. This is one of the top 10 songs that went viral on TikTok.

And with a DaBaby, Tory Lanez, Lil Wayne remix pushing it to its limit, the song eventually peaked at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2020.

6. “Roses (Imanbek Remix),” Imanbek, SAINt JHN

American rapper Saint Jhn, originally released ‘Roses’ on 22 July 2016, but the song only gained massive popularity after it was remixed by Kazakh producer Imanbek.

The new version was then released as a single on 18 September 2019 after it became a global TikTok hit.

That enabled it to go on a 23-week run at the summit of the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in 2020. The song also changed Zeikenov’s (aka Imanbek) life as he got a Grammy nod for best-remixed recording.

The song later peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at the number 4 spot in July 2020 and went on to also get over 161 million views on YouTube to date.

7. “Sunday Best,” Surfaces

American electro-pop duo of Forrest Frank and Colin Padalecki who are popularly known as Surfaces got their famous moment in 2020 as well.

Their song gained popularity late in February 2020 on the video-sharing platform TikTok before going on to peak in the top 40 in Australia, Canada, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as making it to the top 100 in Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden.

Peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at the number 19 spot in June 2020. It also gathered over 114 million views on YouTube.

8. “Tap In,” Saweetie

American diva and rapper, Saweetie, was not left out of the viral status as her song, ‘Tap In’, went all in and blew up in our faces on TikTok, ultimately making a stop on the Billboard charts as well.

It peaked on No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in September 2020 and even got certified platinum in the United States.

9. “Death Bed (Coffee for your Head),” Powfu ft. beabadoobee

Canadian musician Powfu and Filipino-British singer-songwriter Beabadoobee got their own moment of fame after the release of ‘Death Bed’ in 2020.

It’s since gotten multiple certifications across the globe including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, etc.

It also peaked at No. 23 in June 2020 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has over 348 million views on YouTube since it was published on the platform on 1 April 2020.

10. “Lets Link,” WhoHeem

A rather funny song that made the cut is WhoHeem’s ‘Let’s Link’ track that gained a lot of attention on TikTok and also made its way to No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2020.

WhoHeem also got fellow American rappers, Tyga and Lil Mosey, on the remix to his viral hit.

The song was so big it was used in over 630,000 videos and also went on to inspire the #SidePieceChallenge, a challenge that had girls ratting out men cheating on their girlfriends with them.

There you have 10 songs that went viral on TikTok! There are other songs that gained their fair share of popularity from the video-sharing platform that are not included in this list. Which song do you think should’ve made the list? Let us know in the comments below.