TikTok may be seen as a way for teenagers to pass the time, but it can actually act as a launching pad for musicians everywhere. When a song goes viral on TikTok—thanks to a catchy line, a must-learn dance, or a hilarious trend—it catapults the artist to a new level of stardom. Keep reading for three singers who turned TikTok success into real-life careers!
Videos by American Songwriter
“Abcdefu” by Gayle
Gayle wrote “Abcdefu” with her friend when she was just 16. When the song came out one year later, it went viral on TikTok. While the fact that users couldn’t escape the track shot Gayle into stardom, it also caused people to question her talent.
“It was really hard for me that a song that I made very lightheartedly as a joke with one of my best friends, that was never supposed to be the peak of music or the greatest thing ever, was the thing that I was getting judged off of,” she told Teen Vogue in 2023.
Gayle eventually proved the naysayers wrong. The revenge track earned the teen a GRAMMY nomination and an invitation to open for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour.
“You Broke Me First” by Tate McRae
“You Broke Me First”, Tate McRae‘s breakout hit, debuted amid the pandemic in 2020. The song exploded on TikTok and ultimately peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, prompting the then-teenager to move her life to Los Angeles.
“It’s so addicting and a great marketing tool, especially because I can create trends to my songs,” McRae told Billboard of TikTok shortly after her song went viral. “It’s easy to feel really close to your fans.”
In the years since, McRae’s career has taken off. She has released three LPs and recently scored her first No. 1 song with the Morgan Wallen duet “What I Want”.
“Truth Hurts” by Lizzo
Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” inspired the viral #DNATest TikTok in 2019. Users were flooded with videos of people poking fun at themselves as the lyrics “I just took a DNA test / Turns out I’m 100 percent that b**ch” played in the background.
“Truth Hurts” made Lizzo seem like an overnight success. That wasn’t the case, though. The track actually blew up, topped the charts, and won the singer a GRAMMY years after its initial release.
It wasn’t her first song either. Lizzo had been consistently putting out music since 2012, though she didn’t break through to the mainstream until years later.
“I’ve always had to turn haters into congratulators,” Lizzo told Billboard in 2019. “That’s the thing with my songs and my live shows: I’ve never lost that mentality of ‘I have to win you over,’ and I’m never going to, because I didn’t learn that way. I have muscle memory in this.”
Lizzo hasn’t slowed down since. She’s worked with Cardi B, won GRAMMYs, acted alongside Jennifer Lopez, and hosted her own reality competition series.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for GLAAD
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