Topline
Billboard announced a new partnership with popular social media app TikTok on Thursday, creating a new top 50 weekly chart to track the most popular songs on the app, with “SkeeYee” by Sexyy Red taking the first top spot on the newly formed chart.
The new chart is the first official chart to track songs on TikTok.
Key Facts
The most popular songs on TikTok will be determined using the number of videos made with the track, their views and the amount of user engagement with those videos, Billboard said.
Billboard and TikTok will only track trending songs in the U.S. and updated chart numbers will be released every Thursday morning.
Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” and Taylor Swift’s “August” hold the number two and three spots respectively on the inaugural TikTok Billboard Top 50.
Key Background
TikTok’s popularity has caused numerous new artists and their music to take off. The song “Supalonley” blew up in 2020 after TikTok users posted dance videos to the song. That catapulted Benee, who sings the song, to perform sold-out arena shows and be nominated for new artist of 2020 at the People’s Choice Awards. The app’s popularity has also brought some older songs back into the mainstream. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” made it to Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2022 some 37 years after the song was released after it went viral on TikTok last year. “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse, initially released in 1970, returned to Billboard’s top 200 songs last year after TikTok users began using the track in their videos.
Tangent
In addition to tracking songs used on TikTok, Billboard also ranks the most-discussed tracks on X, formerly known as Twitter, on a chart called the Hot Trending Songs chart. Currently, songs by pop star Olivia Rodrigo hold the top three spots on the chart. Years ago, Billboard tracked popular songs on MySpace.
Further Reading
How TikTok Revives Old Songs And Turns Them Into New Hits (Business Insider)
