Media coverage of TikTok often centers on parents being absolutely scared shitless of what their kids are doing on the app — from the Devious Licks trend, in which parents were warned that their children were destroying school property en masse, to National Shoot Up Your School Day, a baseless …
Read More »Jack Harlow's 'First Class' Goes Viral on TikTok Days Before it Drops
Fresh off performing at the Grammys over the weekend, Jack Harlow is gearing up to release his new single “First Class” on Friday. Three days before its release, the track is already getting a lot of love on TikTok, where it has gone viral. The new single from Rolling Stone‘s …
Read More »How Did Olivia Rodrigo's Sad Girl Anthem Become So Big on TikTok?
January came in the middle of our first real Covid winter: Vaccines may have been on the horizon, offering a small glimmer of hope, but many people had just spent the holidays separated from their loved ones. And after a year of disco bops ruling the charts, a song just …
Read More »24KGoldn's 'El Dorado' Is Sunny, Sad, and Engineered to Sound Great in the Supermarket
24KGoldn, the 20-year-old San Francisco rapper-singer born Golden Von Jones, has big Gen Z tween-idol energy. Maybe the biggest: What other cherubic, shortie-courting rising star can claim a TikTok-powered Billboard Hot 100 Number One? That would be “Mood,” featuring gloomy hip-popper Iann Dior (also adorable), which inspired a dance challenge …
Read More »Watch Miley Cyrus Headline Super Bowl LV Tailgate, Bring Out Billy Idol
Miley Cyrus tore through a set of her hits and covers and welcomed guests Billy Idol and Joan Jett while headlining the Super Bowl LV pregame on Sunday. Standing at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium, Cyrus — in cheerleader gear — kicked off the “TikTok Tailgate” with a take on …
Read More »When an Instagram Meme Gets You a Record Deal
Last year, aspiring rapper YNG Martyr was barely holding on to a job as “a web designer that didn’t know how to design websites.” “I was in a nine to five that was God-awful,” he remembers. “I hated it.” Faced with the prospect of wasting away at work, most people …
Read More »TikTok Is Blowing Up Rap Verses Before They're Even Songs
Before Championxiii released “BOO!” — a ticking, clapping, bottom-heavy record with the charmingly goofy refrain “bitch, I’m a ghost!” — in October, the 25-year-old rapper already knew it would be a hit. That’s because Championxiii, who grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts but now lives in Houston, tests all his demos …
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