Quarantine has made us all super nostalgic for the good old days, with the revival of childhood memories like Avatar, baking and Animal Crossing — it’s only expected that we’d return to music to make everything a bit easier, from POV videos of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” to the iconic “Spooky Scary Skeletons” dance. 

Thinking of all these throwbacks, I couldn’t help but remember my summertime TikTok obsession and all the insanely popular trends on the app. I’m slightly obsessed with music (and no, getting AirPods did not help with that), so, just because I can, here’s a list, in no particular order, of my top 10 popular TikTok songs over the past few years. Feel free to check ‘em out and chill out during the single most stressful year of our lives so far.

1. Obsessed – Mariah Carey
   • “Why you so obsessed with me?” Great question. Why were we so obsessed with this song? The dance was super popular but I honestly don’t know the lyrics beyond the part on TikTok. This song always gave me confusing vibes – how am i supposed to connect wholesome Christmas Mariah to weed and sex Mariah? It definitely threw me off when I realized they were the same person. Needless to say, I love it.

1. Runway – Stunna Girl
   • Honestly, I forgot about this song, but whenever I listen to it, the need to dress up like an e-boy and throw a pair of boots on top of a gold mantlepiece while threateningly eating an apple (basically just looking like a cool Maleficent) always overcomes me. Iconic, really. I want to be as cool as the people in all these TikTok videos.
2. Big Fun – Heathers (the musical)
   • As an absolute Heathers stan, I gotta say when i first heard the “Martha dumptruck in the flesh” audio I thought I had finally made it onto musical TikTok but nope. Everyone was obsessed with the dance (which was like… bopping our hands around). I wish I had two more friends to film this with but they might be put off by me yelling “shut up Heather!” at them. Alas, the struggles of trying to be the dangest diggity that has ever danged.
3. Something for your mind – superorganism
   • Ok for some reason, my only thought when I hear this song is coffee. Not sure if that’s a universal experience but I just want to drink caffeine and wake up somewhere in europe and just kinda … float around in a cotton candy cloud. The song is just the auditory embodiment of the word “vibe,” there’s really no other way to describe it.
4. Lose Control – Becky Hill, Goodboys, and Meduza
   • I don’t know why, but this song reminds me of really long road trips in the summer, and for some reason, the Grand Canyon? There is absolutely no rhyme or reason for this correlation. The dance is a fun lil thing but the freestyle at the end … some people actually dance while others just kinda jazz hands it (I am both of these people).
5. Sofia the First theme song – Sofia the First
   • This was definitely one of the more random throwback songs on TikTok, but I loved it. I think the scariest thing was after years of not remembering that this show even existed, I still knew the lyrics to the entire theme song (I didn’t just know it, I bopped to it, it’s a whole jam). Still upset no one is playing this on the radio. Bless the person who started this trend, it brings back a lot of nostalgia.
6. Stunnin’ – Curtis Waters
   • These videos are just always so aesthetic. I don’t know what to do with myself. I like to think that my aesthetic is warm blankets and coffee cups and tall windows, but these just keep reminding me I’m actually just a high school student stressing about calculus. Watching other people live out their aesthetics just brings me a lot of happiness. The makeup transformations, the clothing transitions, the sheer attitude of people — well, let’s just say this song sparks a lot of joy in me.
7. Light Up Sketchers – DripReport
   • What a banger. As a very loud and proud Indian, I gotta say, I’m pretty proud of us Desis for taking over TikTok with this song. I sing this song in my head on a daily basis. If whoever is reading this has gone to an Indian wedding: this totally reminds me of when the DJ is playing awkward background music and there are like five people on the dance floor while everyone is trying to eat before the dads eat all the buffet food, that’s the vibes this is giving. 10/10 song, truly.

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1. Get Busy – Sean Paul
   • I literally forgot about this song! The beats just make me want to whip up some cake batter and wave a spatula around while eating chocolate chips. The dance is such a vibe. Basically, it’s an extremely underrated song and I’m very upset that the mainstream has forgotten about literally one of the biggest trends of TikTok. I honestly don’t even know the lyrics of the song but the bops are just too good to resist.
2. lalala (Did I really just forget that melody?) – bbno$, y2k
   • Wow. This song. Did I really just forget that this audio existed? I was so obsessed with the hand patterns thing (I may have made a little fun of the people who couldn’t do it), but some of the transition videos absolutely blew my mind. The effort. The art. I could never. To be fair, some of the videos were extremely cringey and the number of people walking on their doors was insane, but let’s end on a positive note, yeah?

Some runner-ups that I just had to mention: Bulletproof (these videos really are something else), Still Don’t Know my Name (the single most aesthetic sound, the Euphoria makeup sends me every time), coffee for your head (I now wish to cuddle with a plushie), boom boom boom boom (I just want to do the weird penguin duck thing with my head, you know what I mean), and, of course, Come On Shake Your Body Baby do that Conga (cue the dancing emoji I love this song). 

My final thoughts are as follows: “the volume inside this bus is astronomical. It is way. too. loud.” is the single greatest TikTok audio to ever exist and none of these songs can beat it.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed my brain-dump of TikTok emotions and will continue to support me on my journey of looking like an e-boy, being a dang diggity danger, and eating chocolate chips. Thank you, and good night America (amongst other countries). Catch you later.