How TikTok Killed My Favorite Song

I remember exactly where I was when I heard Omar Apollo’s “Evergreen” for the first time. As corny as it may sound, I listened to the song for the first time while taking a walk on the beach to clear my head. I’ve been an Omar Apollo fan since the release of Apolonio and excitedly anticipated his latest album, Ivory, released last March. With its relatable lyrics, beautiful melody, and engaging production, “Evergreen” made me feel understood. It quickly became my favorite song of the album and is even my fourth most listened-to track of the last six months. 

However, my love for the song would unfortunately be cut short. In September, a verse of the song went viral on TikTok, used in over 300k videos. When the original song name changed to “Evergreen (You Don’t Deserve Me At All)” to include the part of the song that went viral, I knew that the song, for me, had officially died. So, just like many other avid music lovers whose favorite songs become overplayed, I mourned the loss of “Evergreen” and stopped listening as frequently. 

“Evergreen” is not the first of my favorite songs to go viral on TikTok; it certainly won’t be the last. TikTok has created an enormous shift within the music industry, becoming both a place for music to be discovered, but also to become overplayed as songs are swept up in massive viral trends. Going viral on TikTok equates to more streams and subsequent profit, a pipeline bolstered by new marketing strategies in the entertainment industry.

TikTok has become a launching pad for artists’ careers—for example, Katie Gregson-Macleod. Gregson-Macleod posted an acoustic clip singing an original song titled “Complex”. Eight million views later, Gregson-Macleod signed to Columbia Records in Britain and has now released the song on official platforms. While TikTok has provided a platform for smaller artists like Gregson-Macleod to blow up and gain instant recognition, it has also damaged the integrity of the creative process for others. For example, in May 2022, Halsey posted that, despite wanting to release a song, their record label wouldn’t allow it without a viral TikTok preceding it. To record labels, viral status on TikTok is equivalent to success. While this makes sense due to TikTok’s grip on trends, especially among young people, it also takes away the real reason people turn to music. Music allows people to feel heard and express their emotions. This new role Tik Tok places music in eradicates creativity and instead makes music a medium for business to gain money, rather than for artists to speak to their listeners. Music is meant to be raw and resonate with people, it is unable to do that when it is artificially constructed to be a guaranteed viral hit. The art that should be viral should be organic rather than planned. 

I don’t believe in gatekeeping music, but when art becomes mainstream so quickly, with a time limit on how long it will stay viral, it strips the song of the meaning it used to hold. For example, in terms of “Evergreen”, rather than be associated with the meaning I felt behind the song, I now associate it with the trend. In an increasingly social media-focused world, TikTok is an indicator of how the future of the music industry will look and work. Will we continue to prioritize streams and viral moments over the integrity of the creative process? Does viral music have the ability to have longevity? What does it mean for more music to become mainstream? Ultimately, these are questions the music industry and music lovers will have to consider in the coming months and years. A balance must be found between the future of music in the social media landscape and the integrity of the creative process.