TikTok’s Road to the Grammys: Viral Songs by Lizzo, Beyoncé, Sam Smith Compete in Major Categories

Right here’s a have a look at songs which have gone viral on TikTok and also will compete at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

LIZZO

After the success of her major-label, Grammy-winning debut album Cuz I Love You, Lizzo — the self-proclaimed “Queen of TikTok” — got here out with extra feel-good songs that resonated on TikTok, particularly “About Rattling Time” and its viral dance by creator duo @brookeandjessie. The track launched 4.1 million mixed creations on the platform, topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart and is nominated for 3 Grammys, together with track and document of the yr. “It was actually exhausting to sit down nonetheless,” mastering engineer Emerson Mancini, who’s nominated for 2 Grammys alongside Lizzo, admits to The Hollywood Reporter as he labored on the track. “I needed to simply sit there with a zipper over my mouth for some time till [the song] lastly got here out. I used to be like, ‘Ahh!’ You must rise up and dance. It’s so catchy.” Lizzo’s album, Particular, is up for 2 Grammys together with album of the yr, and album monitor “2 Be Beloved (Am I Prepared)” additionally had success on TikTok with its 115,000-plus creations.

BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé stopped chasing the charts a very long time in the past, however TikTok helped her launch a serious hit and not using a big-budget advertising plan. A dance to “Cuff It” created by @maycsteele and @ogpartyhardy26 pushed the non-single into the singles chart, and ultimately gave Beyonce one other High 10 hit. “Cuff It” scored 2.7 million-plus creations and is nominated for greatest R&B track on the Grammys. “Simply seeing [the song] organically climb the way in which it’s — these are the moments we work exhausting for,” Denisia “Blu June” Andrews, who co-wrote the track and is one-half of the artistic duo Nova Wav, tells THR. “We acquired the entire world dancing,” provides Nova Wav’s Brittany “Chi” Coney. “We’re bringing the world pleasure and that’s what means probably the most to us. We acquired folks smiling and unifying.”

ROSALÍA

Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI LIVE, which aired on TikTok LIVE final March, was a one-of-a-kind efficiency of the 14 tracks from the worldwide star’s third album. It drew practically 4 million distinctive viewers throughout 4 broadcasts. The video competed for greatest lengthy kind music video on the 2022 Latin Grammys and greatest lengthy kind video on the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards. Now it’s nominated on the Grammys, competing for greatest music movie. “The nominations from the Grammy Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards and MTV’s EMAs are a testomony not solely to Rosalía’s artistry, but in addition the function TikTok performs in providing countless alternatives for artists to precise themselves,” Marisa Jeffries, TikTok’s director of U.S. music partnerships, says in a press release. “We’re champions for artistic communities in all places and it’s an honor to have that work acknowledged by a few of the most revered establishments in music. TikTok will proceed to push the boundaries of how music is skilled and shared whereas fostering the unbelievable visions of artists on the platform.” Rosalía has practically 29 million TikTok followers and songs from her album — “BIZCOCHITO” (1.9M creations) and “SAOKO” (216.7k creations) — additionally had main success on the app, serving to MOTOMAMI earn a nomination for greatest Latin rock or various album.

ENCANTO

Technically you watched Encanto on Disney+, however in actuality the animated movie lived on TikTok. 5 songs from the film took off on the social media app, together with the worldwide hit “We Don’t Discuss About Bruno,” which had 754.8K creations, topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart for 5 weeks and is nominated for greatest track written for visible media on the Grammys. Different songs from the soundtrack — nominated for 2 extra Grammys — that resonated on TikTok embody “Floor Strain” (126.5K creations), “The Household Madrigal” (231.5K creations), “What Else Can I Do?” (89.1K creations), “Ready on a Miracle” (47.1K creations) and Oscar-nominated “Dos Oruguitas” (35.7K creations).

STEVE LACY

Steve Lacy’s “Dangerous Behavior” dominated the Billboard charts, changing into the primary monitor to high the Sizzling R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Sizzling R&B Songs, Sizzling Rock & Various Songs, Sizzling Rock Songs and Sizzling Various Songs charts, respectively. The track additionally helped Lacy rating 4 Grammy nominations, and TikTok ought to be in his “thanks” speech. “Dangerous Behavior” earned 705,000 creations and trended on the platform earlier this summer season and ultimately grew to become an inescapable No. 1 hit. “Static” (318,200 creations) — from the Lacy’s Gemini Rights nominated for greatest progressive R&B album — gave the singer one other licensed success on TikTok. The track and its lyrics “On the lookout for a bitch ‘trigger I’m over boys/Would you be my girlfriend child?” discovered a house inside TikTok’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood, with creators of all genders celebrating and figuring out with Lacy’s proud bisexuality. Consequently, “Static” grew to become an anthem for cuffing season as TikTok creators tried to discover a associate earlier than summer season ended. 

GAYLE

GAYLE’s multi-platinum hit “abcdefu” inspired followers to name out their exes who’ve executed them improper, however the track was additionally known as out on TikTok. Initially the F-U anthem was mentioned to be created after a fan requested GAYLE to “write a breakup track utilizing the alphabet.” However TikToker @danielswall identified that the “fan” was a advertising supervisor from the singer’s label, Atlantic Information. Whether or not or not it was an business advertising ploy, “abcdefu” resonated on the charts, streaming companies and TikTok, capturing 2.5M+ creations. It’s competing for track of the yr on the Grammys.

JACK HARLOW

TikTok is the brand new house for music previews: Jack Harlow gave a primary look to “First Class” on the app and it went viral earlier than its launch. The track that samples Fergie’s 2007 hit “Glamorous” ultimately earned 591,000 video creations, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 and is nominated for greatest melodic rap efficiency on the Grammys. His album, Come Residence The Children Miss You, will compete for greatest rap album.

SAM SMITH and KIM PETRAS

Talking of previews, Sam Smith and Kim Petras shared a snippet of “Unholy” on TikTok in August and so they by no means seemed again. The preview generated a whole bunch of hundreds of video creations, and the track skyrocketed to a No. 3 debut on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart in October. “Unholy,” with 2.5 million creations general, ultimately reached the No. 1 spot and is the front-runner in the most effective pop duo/group efficiency class on the Grammys, the place the duo will carry out the track reside.

MUNI LONG

After writing hits for Selena Gomez, Rihanna, Miranda Lambert, Fifth Concord and extra, Muni Lengthy used her songwriting superpowers on herself. “Hrs & Hrs” grew to become successful on TikTok, first gaining traction on the app in late 2021 and reaching new heights in 2022. From planning the right date evening to admiring their mother and father’ marriages, TikTok spent hours with the track, which launched 1.7 million creations. Lengthy’s track “Time Machine” additionally discovered success on the app and has over 466,700 creations because of a development the place creators want that they had a time machine to repair their previous errors. Now the singer is nominated for 3 Grammys, together with greatest new artist in addition to greatest R&B track and greatest R&B efficiency for “Hrs & Hrs.” 

OMAR APOLLO

Singer-songwriter Omar Apollo’s ballad “Evergreen (You Don’t Deserve Me At All)” had the TikTok world feeling emo AF, inspiring creators to share their relationship standing utilizing the text-on-screen characteristic and citing the lyrics, “ you actually made me hate myself/Needed to cease earlier than I break myself.” Creators shared the candy nothings from their former baes and documented their therapeutic journey after a breakup. “Evergreen” had 331,00-plus creations and Apollo even jumped on the development and shared his teenage to grownup transformation. The success helped Apollo land a pair “firsts”: “Evergreen” helped him debut on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart and he’s competing for the most effective new artist Grammy.

STRANGER THINGS

Kate Bush’s 1985 monitor “Working Up That Hill” had a second life because of Stranger Issues and TikTok. It dominated radio, streaming companies and captured 2.5 million-plus creations on the app. The track itself didn’t qualify for Grammys as a result of it’s too outdated, however Stranger Issues: Soundtrack from the Netflix Collection, Season 4 (Vol 2) is nominated for greatest compilation soundtrack for visible media. Metallica’s 1986 “Grasp of Puppets” was a giant a part of the present’s season finale and the monitor scored over 47,000 creations to this point on TikTok.

BAD BUNNY 

Is there a track from Dangerous Bunny’s best-selling album, Un Verano Sin Ti, that didn’t blow up on TikTok? “Me Porto Bonito” noticed 2.5 million-plus creations, whereas “Tití Me Preguntó” had 1.5 million creations. Different songs from the album — nominated for 3 Grammys together with album of the yr and greatest música urbana album — additionally trended closely on the app, together with “Taro” (1.1 million creations), “Ojitos Lindos” (639,000-plus creations) and “Efecto” (602,000-plus creations).

ANITTA

The attractive “Envolver Problem” put TikTok customers’ higher physique energy to work and helped Anitta land a greatest new artist nomination on the Grammys. “Envolver” went viral on the app, claiming 2.2 million creations. The Brazilian singer, who has practically 22 million followers on TikTok, joined in on the enjoyable and shared an in depth tutorial for the dance problem and duetted a few of her favourite creations.

MÅNESKIN 

Måneskin gained the 2021 Eurovision Music Contest however they’ve additionally gained over TikTok. The Italian rockers — nominated for greatest new artist on the Grammys — have 6.4 million TikTok followers, whereas their hit “Beggin’” has launched 8.5 million-plus creations. Extra of their songs have carried out nicely on the app, together with “MAMMAMIA” (432,200 creations), “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” (349,800 creations) and “GOSSIP” (284,100-plus creations).

GLORILLA

TiKTok helped Memphis rapper GloRilla mark a breakthrough because of the viral success of the bouncy anthem “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” which garnered 300,000 mixed creations as TikTokers embraced being single for the summer season. The track, a collaboration with producer Hitkidd, is nominated for greatest rap efficiency on the Grammys.