How TikTok Helps Artists Get No. 1 Hits

In the past year, we’ve seen a number of tracks make a major impact on the Genius and Billboard charts, thanks in part to the lip-sync social video app TikTok. YouTube duo iLOVEFRiDAY’s diss track, “Mia Khalifa,” reigned atop the Genius Top Songs chart after becoming a meme on the app, while Ava Max scored her first Top 40 hit with “Sweet But Psycho” due in part to it becoming a TikTok challenge. Meanwhile, Chicago rapper Calboy also made his Billboard Hot 100 debut after his breakout song, “Envy Me,” migrated off Dubsmash and became popular on TikTok as well.