The Sound of Success: TikTok’s Musical Landscape

It’s no secret that TikTok has redefined how musical artists break and remain in the mainstream. With its unique blend of short-form content and algorithm-driven exposure, the app has amplified exposure for countless musicians, from chart-topping veterans to overnight sensations. We dive deep into the acoustic and lyrical trends of TikTok’s most popular artists and tracks, revealing the secret sonic sauce that keeps users playing on repeat. We also take a look at an artist (Doja Cat) whose career was cemented by a single viral hit.

The Sound of Success: TikTok’s Musical Landscape

It’s no secret that TikTok has redefined how musical artists break and remain in the mainstream. With its unique blend of short-form content and algorithm-driven exposure, the app has amplified exposure for countless musicians, from chart-topping veterans to overnight sensations. We dive deep into the acoustic and lyrical trends of TikTok’s most popular artists and tracks, revealing the secret sonic sauce that keeps users playing on repeat. We also take a look at an artist (Doja Cat) whose career was cemented by a single viral hit.

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…but Hip Hop/Rap and R&B are a dynamic duo

Artists like The Weeknd, Lil Nas X, and SZA prove TikTok’s power to amplify diverse sounds, blending high-energy beats with soulful melodies to create impactful content.

Who's ruling your timeline?

The Stars of TikTok

Doja Cat reigns supreme as the most popular artist on Tiktok from 2019-2023, with “Say So” leading the charge in 2019 and a string of viral hits (“Woman”, “You Right”)  keeping her at the top.


Let’s take a closer look at the reigning champ alongside her competitors and learn more about the musical landscape of TikTok as a whole!

 Pop Takes the Crown…

With six of the top 10 artists belonging to the Pop genre, TikTok continues to be a key platform for the genre’s ongoing success.

Pop Takes the Lead, Again

Pop continues to dominate TikTok’s rankings year after year, with artists like Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Olivia Rodrigo maintaining a strong presence.

Hip Hop’s Declining Presence

While Hip Hop/Rap artists like Lil Nas X and 24kGoldn were once extremely popular, recent years show a decline in their presence as Pop and R&B/Soul solidify their dominance on the platform in 2023.

R&B/Soul Finds Its Stars

SZA and The Weeknd shine bright as leading R&B/Soul artists, and their popularity on TikTok continues to increase.

A Resilient Comeback

Despite dips in popularity, artists like Drake and Justin Bieber repeatedly re-emerge on TikTok’s charts, demonstrating the lasting appeal of established stars.

 The Evolution of TikTok’s Musical Favorites

Dominant artists include those already well-established in the music industry (Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd) alongside more recent breakout artists (Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X). Viral trends launched the latter artists’ careers into stardom–dancing to “Say So,” lip-syncing to “Driver’s License,” and dress-up challenges with “Old Town Road” made them household names.

Doja’s Evolution

Doja Cat’s “Say So” going viral in 2019 made her top the TikTok charts and launched her rise to fame.

Songs like “Woman” and “Kiss Me More ft. SZA kept viewers dancing on repeat.

Leading the Wave, but Losing Steam

While Doja’s 2023 song “Paint the Town Red” inspired its own dance trend, its impact didn’t match the cultural moment of “Say So.” This, coupled with increased competition and shifting trends on TikTok, may explain her dip in popularity.


Doja’s Reign Meets Its Match

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

How Artists Amplify Their Reach

Top TikTok artists often collaborate, leveraging mutual exposure to maintain their visibility and extend their audience. These connections reveal a web of influence that shapes TikTok’s musical landscape.

Collaboration Fuels Longevity

Doja Cat, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande have the highest count of direct collaborations with other TikTok chart-toppers, possibly contributing to their lasting success on the app. 

 R&B as the Connector

SZA bridges genres and audiences, linking TikTok’s top Hip Hop and R&B artists like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Doja Cat, while solidifying her unique role in TikTok’s musical network.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Doja’s Strategic Partnerships

Doja Cat’s discography has been called “crossover-ready pop songs”, and collaborations with SZA, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, and Saweetie helped her tap into diverse audiences to amplify her reach.


Hip Hop is the most common genre Doja collaborates with.

Trends in Track Popularity and Major/Minor Key by Genre

Major-key pop songs dominate TikTok, with their popularity steadily rising over the years.

Over the past five years, these songs have continuously ranked highest in popularity across all genres.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Major Key = Major Hits

Across all genres, tracks written in a major key tend to perform better, particularly in Pop and Hip Hop/Rap, but this doesn’t stop minor-key songs from occasionally going viral.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Where Minor Keys Shine

Electronic/Dance and R&B/Soul feature more minor key tracks than Pop and Hip Hop, adding emotional depth and complexity to their sounds on TikTok.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Indie’s Waning Influence

Indie/Alternative thrived on TikTok in 2019-2020 but has never topped the charts. In recent years, fewer tracks from the genre appear. Its slower, acoustic style likely struggles to fit TikTok's viral dance and lip-sync trends that drive popularity.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Latin and Afrobeats Rising

Latin and Afrobeats genres are emerging as new favorites, reflecting TikTok’s expanding global influence and the platform’s ability to spotlight diverse sounds.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

The Fall of Soundtracks, Oldies, and Novelty

These genres have seen a steep decline in both presence and popularity; no songs from game, movie, or TV show soundtracks, old classics, or comedic songs were popular on TikTok beyond 2020.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

 The Forgotten Genres

Country, seasonal, and jazz remain the least popular genres on TikTok. The singular country song to go viral on the platform was Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”.

Doja Cat Track Popularity and Major/Minor

While “Say So” became a TikTok phenomenon and remained popular for 4 years, it isn’t Doja Cat’s most popular song. “Woman” claims the top spot, showcasing her ability to evolve and capture new trends.

Breaking the Major Key Rule

Doja had just two hits on TikTok in 2019, peaked from 2020–2022 with several hits, but saw a decline in 2023.

The Hits Keep Coming

After “Say So,” Doja continued to dominate TikTok with multiple viral hits and trend-setting tracks, solidifying her place as a platform favorite.

What makes a hit song?

Personal pronouns like “You,” “I,” and “Me” dominate TikTok song titles, making tracks feel personal and relatable.

Common nouns, such as “love” and “baby” highlight the romantic themes that resonate with the platform's audience.

It’s All About You (and Me)

"You" vs. "Me"

“You” saw a dip in popularity in 2020 but had a major comeback in 2022. In contrast, “me” has remained more consistent in popularity, perhaps reflecting TikTok’s focus on self-expression.

The Ever-Present Pronouns

“My”, “it”, and “your” appear consistently across all years but at a lower frequency.

Action Words Drive Engagement

Subtext: “Know” is the most common verb used in titles, followed by “say”.

Trends Come and Go

Conjunctions like “that” and “so,” along with prepositions like “like,” peaked in 2019 and 2020. Titles featuring “Mr.” also trended briefly but quickly fell out of favor.

"You" vs. "Me"

“You” saw a dip in popularity in 2020 but had a major comeback in 2022. In contrast, “me” has remained more consistent in popularity, perhaps reflecting TikTok’s focus on self-expression.

The Ever-Present Pronouns

“My”, “it”, and “your” appear consistently across all years but at a lower frequency.

Action Words Drive Engagement

Subtext: “Know” is the most common verb used in titles, followed by “say”.

Trends Come and Go

Conjunctions like “that” and “so,” along with prepositions like “like,” peaked in 2019 and 2020. Titles featuring “Mr.” also trended briefly but quickly fell out of favor.

"You" vs. "Me"

“You” saw a dip in popularity in 2020 but had a major comeback in 2022. In contrast, “me” has remained more consistent in popularity, perhaps reflecting TikTok’s focus on self-expression.

The Ever-Present Pronouns

“My”, “it”, and “your” appear consistently across all years but at a lower frequency.

Action Words Drive Engagement

Subtext: “Know” is the most common verb used in titles, followed by “say”.

Trends Come and Go

Conjunctions like “that” and “so,” along with prepositions like “like,” peaked in 2019 and 2020. Titles featuring “Mr.” also trended briefly but quickly fell out of favor.

"You" vs. "Me"

“You” saw a dip in popularity in 2020 but had a major comeback in 2022. In contrast, “me” has remained more consistent in popularity, perhaps reflecting TikTok’s focus on self-expression.

The Ever-Present Pronouns

“My”, “it”, and “your” appear consistently across all years but at a lower frequency.

Action Words Drive Engagement

Subtext: “Know” is the most common verb used in titles, followed by “say”.

Trends Come and Go

Conjunctions like “that” and “so,” along with prepositions like “like,” peaked in 2019 and 2020. Titles featuring “Mr.” also trended briefly but quickly fell out of favor.

"You" vs. "Me"

“You” saw a dip in popularity in 2020 but had a major comeback in 2022. In contrast, “me” has remained more consistent in popularity, perhaps reflecting TikTok’s focus on self-expression.

The Ever-Present Pronouns

“My”, “it”, and “your” appear consistently across all years but at a lower frequency.

Action Words Drive Engagement

Subtext: “Know” is the most common verb used in titles, followed by “say”.

Trends Come and Go

Conjunctions like “that” and “so,” along with prepositions like “like,” peaked in 2019 and 2020. Titles featuring “Mr.” also trended briefly but quickly fell out of favor.

Doja’s Titles Speak Volumes

Doja Cat’s hit titles, including “Say So,” “Need to Know,” and “You Right,” embody the most popular themes and word choices on TikTok, helping drive her success.

Love and Lust Top the Charts

Artists blur the lines between love and physical desires, often choosing to sing about their desires for an attractive individual

or their troubles with romance.

Love and Longing

The phrase “Love me better baby” is the top context for “love,” showing a recurring theme of dissatisfaction in romantic relationships across TikTok lyrics.

I Don’t Want…

From not wanting to sleep, go to school, or fall in love, TikTok lyrics showcase a wide range of relatable struggles—plus a nod to Mariah Carey’s timeless holiday classic.

What I need

The most popular “I need” phrases are “a bad bitch” and “to know,” reflecting TikTok’s mix of confidence, humor, and curiosity in viral songs.

Your Love, Your Eyes, Your Body, and Your Mama

Words following “your” often include romantic and physical themes like “love,” “eyes,” “heart,” and “body,” but also occasionally humor, as seen in the second most prominent “your mama.”

Love and Longing

The phrase “Love me better baby” is the top context for “love,” showing a recurring theme of dissatisfaction in romantic relationships across TikTok lyrics.

I Don’t Want…

From not wanting to sleep, go to school, or fall in love, TikTok lyrics showcase a wide range of relatable struggles—plus a nod to Mariah Carey’s timeless holiday classic.

What I need

The most popular “I need” phrases are “a bad bitch” and “to know,” reflecting TikTok’s mix of confidence, humor, and curiosity in viral songs.

Your Love, Your Eyes, Your Body, and Your Mama

Words following “your” often include romantic and physical themes like “love,” “eyes,” “heart,” and “body,” but also occasionally humor, as seen in the second most prominent “your mama.”

What Doja Wants

Doja Cat’s lyrics often focus on wanting “you” or “it,” keeping her desires both direct and intriguing.

Doja Cat masterfully blends love, lust, humor, and sensuality, exploring the emotional depth of modern relationships with a bold, playful edge.

Doja’s Lyricism

What Doja Loves

From “the taste” to “when you get freaky on camera,” Doja’s lyrics embrace a mix of sensuality and boldness that resonates with TikTok’s audience.

Artists Lean Towards Happier Tones

Artists blur the lines between love and physical desires, often choosing to sing about their desires for an attractive individual

or their troubles with romance.

Artists Lean Towards Happier Tones

Artists blur the lines between love and physical desires, often choosing to sing about their desires for an attractive individual

or their troubles with romance.

The Crowd Favorite

C is the most popular key overall, used in both major and minor songs. For major tracks, C#/Db and G#/Ab lead the way, while minor tracks favor A#/Bb, B, and C#/Db

Distinct Key Preferences

Artists show clear preferences for certain keys—major dominates tracks in D and G#/Ab, while minor takes the lead in B.

The Crowd Favorite

C is the most popular key overall, used in both major and minor songs. For major tracks, C#/Db and G#/Ab lead the way, while minor tracks favor A#/Bb, B, and C#/Db

Distinct Key Preferences

Artists show clear preferences for certain keys—major dominates tracks in D and G#/Ab, while minor takes the lead in B.

Similar to other pop artists, Doja favors the major key and most commonly uses G#/Ab, suggesting a style with brighter, energetic tones in her music. When she uses the minor key, she favors B.

Major/minor key popularity for Doja

 Doja Cat’s Sonic Evolution

Doja Cat’s high valence, energy, and tempo reflect her punchy style, which blends fast rap with soft vocals to uplift as she sings about wanting to get freaky.

A Comeback and Stabilization

In 2022, she made a strong comeback with hit songs like (insert here), landing at a more moderate level of popularity by 2023.

Doja Amps up the Energy

Doja Cat’s songs lean towards high energy, with “Boss Bitch” standing out as her most intense and dynamic track.

The Tempo Sweet Spot

Most of Doja’s songs fall within the 100-130 bpm range, balancing energy and groove. “Juicy” breaks the mold at 170 bpm, making it her fastest track.

From Acoustic to Synthesized

A noticeable decline in acousticness and loudness in recent years aligns with Doja’s shift toward experimenting with more synthesized and layered tones.

Short and Sweet

The majority of Doja Cat’s tracks hover around the 3-minute mark, delivering concise, impactful songs that fit TikTok’s short-form content preferences.

Danceability Meets Energy

Tracks with high danceability often pair with high energy, creating a core cluster for many artists. Doja Cat’s consistently vibrant and club-friendly tracks shine in this space, unlike Drake or Taylor Swift, whose tracks vary more across these metrics.

Doja vs. the World

Rap’s Spoken Edge

Speech-heavy tracks, like rap, often don’t align with high energy or danceability. While Doja Cat keeps her speechiness balanced, Megan Thee Stallion leans into rap-heavy styles with much higher speechiness scores.

How do you explain, concretely, how Doja Cat and Taylor Swift approach music?

The top panels display song lists (sorted descending by popularity) for the selected artists, while the bottom panels visualize key acoustic attributes. By selecting individual tracks from both the artists, explore how they approach music production in terms of acoustic elements. Do they hit the same range of speechiness but have drastically contrasting acoustic elements otherwise? Or are they similar?

How do you explain, concretely, how Doja Cat and Taylor Swift approach music?

The top panels display song lists (sorted descending by popularity) for the selected artists, while the bottom panels visualize key acoustic attributes. By selecting individual tracks from both the artists, explore how they approach music production in terms of acoustic elements. Do they hit the same range of speechiness but have drastically contrasting acoustic elements otherwise? Or are they similar?

Now, Compare Your Favorite Tracks!

Explore how individual songs or entire catalogs differ in terms of sound profiles for your favorite artists!

The Music Composer’s Sandbox

So you want to compose a song similar to “Say So” or “Levitating”--where do you start? Play with the dashboard to pull up the songs you are looking for. Check out our handy guide to the attributes and start experimenting!

Measures the presence of spoken words in a track, with values closer to 1.0 indicating speech-heavy recordings like podcasts or audiobooks. Most songs fall within the 0.1 to 0.4 range, as this measure also accounts for non-musical content like audiobooks and podcasts.

Describes how well a track fits dancing, based on tempo, rhythm stability, beat strength, and regularity. Scores range from 0.0 (least danceable) to 1.0 (most danceable), with higher values indicating tracks that are more rhythmically suited for dancing.

Represents the intensity and activity level of a track on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0. High-energy tracks feel fast, loud, and dynamic (e.g., death metal), while low-energy tracks are softer and more subdued (e.g., a Bach prelude). Factors include loudness, dynamic range, and onset rate.

Measures the emotional tone of a track, ranging from 0.0 (negative, e.g., sad or angry) to 1.0 (positive, e.g., happy or euphoric). High-valence tracks feel cheerful and upbeat, while low-valence tracks convey darker or more somber emotions.

Measures the overall volume of a track in decibels (dB), averaged across its entirety. Loudness typically ranges from -60 to 0 dB and helps compare how “loud” one track feels relative to another. Higher values indicate greater sound amplitude and intensity.

Represents the likelihood of a track uses real instruments rather than computer-generated sounds. A score closer to 1.0 suggests strong confidence that the track relies on acoustic instruments and lacks electronic or synthesized elements.

Indicates the probability of a track having no vocals, with values approaching 1.0 reflecting a higher likelihood of being purely instrumental. Tracks with scores above 0.5 are likely instrumental, while tracks with vocalizations (including "oohs" and "aahs") score lower.

Detects whether a track was recorded live, with values closer to 1.0 indicating a higher likelihood of an audience being present. A score above 0.8 strongly suggests a live performance, making this value useful for identifying live-recorded tracks.

Speechiness

Energy

Danceability

Valence

Loudness

Acousticness

Instrumentalness

Liveness