#171 - 5 Artists Making the Most of TikTok
Pink Pantheress - Now a prominent TikTok success story, Pink Pantheress spent months studying the algorithm and experimenting with content before even sharing music on the platform. As a result, when she finally posted her original music, fans quickly became hooked on her nostalgic sampling of 90s R&B and garage tracks, fused with her club-ready production style. She was quickly signed to Parlophone and Elektra Records, winning BBC’s Sound of 2022 with two singles peaking in the UK top 40 chart.
Lil Nas X - Lil Nas X broke records when his Billy Ray Cyrus-assisted "Old Town Road" remix retained the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, holding its position on the all-genre chart for 17 weeks in a row. Prior to this, the little-known rapper uploaded it to TikTok along with a "challenge": to change into Western garb before the drop - the song went viral. A month later, Lil Nas X signed to Colombia Records.
Mia Rodriguez - Sydney-based Mia Rodriguez quickly developed a loyal TikTok following, posting comedy lip syncs and dance videos, cultivating an audience of 2 million. Following this success, and after posting her cover songs to YouTube, she was able to release tracks of her own, ‘Emotion’ and ‘Psycho’, which both hit a massively impressive number of streams for debut releases.
Priscilla Block - Overnight success is a rare occurrence in the music industry, but TikTok has, on occasion, flipped this narrative. Nashville-based artist Priscilla Block is one such example. Struggling to make ends meet, she decided to release a worktape of songs to TikTok. Her content went viral and, as a result, she was able to crowdfund a fully fledged demo. The song topped the iTunes chart and she was given a record deal.
Halsey - Ironically Halsey most recently went viral on TikTok for criticising the platform. Sharing a video which raked in over 9 million views, she voiced her frustrations with her label for refusing to release a track until it had an accompanying viral video. As a result (and looking at this as a strategic move), she garnered enough attention to release the track, whilst also sharing her personal thoughts - the kind of content TikTok heavily favours.
