On the Clock: TikTok Songs of Q1 2024
Checking out the music buzzing on the app from January to March, from V-pop, Vocaloid 8-bit and more
I admit that I was pretty bummed during the first week of 2025 when it looked as though my access to TikTok would be cut off for good. The good folks over at Japan will continue to slap together the most outrageous content while shooting unexpected music into the public consciousness, and I’ll be unfortunately left in the dark, unable to watch any of it happening in real time. Then, well, you know what happened.
The app hasn’t stopped minting new J-pop hits from low-profile singer-songwriters to pop giants since the year began. But these past couple of months, I’ve been more fascinated to see young people in Japan interact with music outside of their country that they likely would not have known about had TikTok not introduce them in the form of dance challenges, like reggaeton, dembow and especially pop from other Asian countries like Thailand and Vietnam. Above all, where else will you see your favorite idols imitate Kendrick Lamar’s walk during his Super Bowl Halftime Show?
Here are some of my favorite songs seen on my TikTok feed this quarter.
“Khong Sao Ca” by 7dnight [WM Vietnam / DAT VIET VAC, 2024]
I take delight whenever a non-Korean or Japanese Asian pop song goes viral among idols in the K-pop and J-pop sphere, but also the Japanese citizens of TikTok. So I’ve especially been on board seeing this Vietnamese rap track circulate as a silly dance challenge1. The Korean gwenchana hook that starts off the clip going around the app is in itself an interpolation of a pre-existing meme2 and that’s by design: “Khong Sao Ca” is a product of a Trending Words round in the rapper competition show Rap Viet, where 7dnight constructed the track based off the gwenchana meme. The rapper advanced to the next level thanks to the song while scoring a dance craze with it well after the show had been over.
…from RAP VIET 2024, Tap 10 EP. Listen to it on Spotify.
“Bai Bai FIGHT!” by CANDY TUNE [KAWAII LAB, 2024]
As far as idol goes, the KAWAII LAB groups rule the TikTok landscape at this point, with their success spilling over to the grounds of more terrestrial media. FRUITS ZIPPER continue their takeover of TV and magazines while CUTIE STREET are running not too far behind with their hit “Kawaii Dake Ja Damedesuka?” A proof of their unstoppable power is their ability to drive a B-side like “Bai Bai Fight” to the upper reaches on the app—it’s about to crack 20K in engagement. By itself, the intro part going around seems to satisfy exclusively the fans of CANDY TUNE, built more for a live performance as it literally announces the song itself: “bai bai fight by CANDY TUNE!” Yet everyone’s latching on despite their level of investment with the idols, doing the marching arm-swing choreo like the group. My feed is full of idol groups trying to make their songs happen outside of their core audience, some of the music sounding a lot like this denpa-fueled ball of energy. They would love to have the KAWAII LAB touch.
Kiss Me Pattisier EP is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
“Aisaretai” by Yumcha [YumYum, 2024]
Yumcha’s romance-pop reminds me of Kana Nishino not just with the piano-led slow jams but also the lyrics that peeks inside the mind of a girl, the singer-songwriter wondering aloud, will he like my make-up today? as she preps for a date. While “Aisaretai” similarly unravels her internal monologue, the typically meek singer sounds like a whole different personality with her high from her own pride to the tune of buzzing power-pop chords. “There’s no way that there’s anybody better than me,” she sings the hook as she schemes to steal her crush’s attention. Her vanity turns out to be a white lie to gas herself up, and many others seem to follow suit with countless selfies taken to this song almost as a pick-me-up to convince themselves they are worthy to be the star filmed on the vertical screen.
Listen to it on Spotify.
“UNDEAD” by YOASOBI [self-released, 2024]
YOASOBI’s latest buzz-starter might not be attached to an anime entity as huge as Ai Hoshino, but the music is carried by a thrusting momentum that competes with “IDOL.” Ayase serves another cut of busy electro-pop for Ikuta Lilas to breeze through a breathless overflow of lyrics, inspired by a light novel from the Mongatari series—the franchise responsible for forming the duo. But the fun hooking those on the app to the song is its dance: if you think singing along with Ikuta will leave you out of breath, try out the speedy footwork done to the brief, empty space during the song’s past and future breakdown.
Listen to it on Spotify.
“Tetoris” by Hiiragi Magnetite [self-released, 2024]
Hiiragi Magnetite recently went under fire for a whole different Vocaloid tune, but let’s leave that aside for now to listen instead to their slightly earlier hit. I admittedly didn’t pay much mind when I first saw “Tetoris” as a YouTube upload around last November given how it doesn’t betray expectations for better or worse: the chorus of this electro-pop tune does indeed interpolate the Tetris theme as its main melody, and it runs as frantic as the last, limit-testing moments of the puzzle game. But as this year began, more and more people have danced to it with moves mimicking the song’s Vocaloid in the video, hopping on one foot with arms out like a ballerina. Kasane Teto ruled the app in 2024. Will she conquer TikTok again?
Listen to it on Spotify.
“Shanghai Romance” by Orange Caramel [Pledis, 2011]
Any opportunity to get Orange Caramel back into the public consciousness is a great opportunity, and idols from both J-pop and K-pop have been bringing new buzz to the subunit’s “Shanghai Romance,” dancing to the original choreography either as a group effort or solo with the help of a cloning filter. Maybe it’s the quaintness from the dance-pop sounds of yesteryear, but K-pop from a couple generations ago have been gaining good traction on the app in the past year: Wonder Girls’s “Tell Me,” BIGBANG’s “FANTASTIC BABY,” Crayon Pop’s “Bar Bar Bar,” among the few. And it’s fun seeing it resonating with idols generations removed from the song’s original prime, especially with idols I’m unsure were even old enough to know what K-pop was at the time.
…from LIPSTICK (2012). Listen to it on Spotify.
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Other songs popping up on the app:
Doechii - “DENIAL IS A RIVER” (2024)
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - “PONPONPON” (2011)
Jae Trill - “JOTARO!” (2021)
Ncthingless - “tryanno dance” (2025)
Peipper, DobleP, Locura Mix - “Si Las Gatas Se Amotinan” (2024)
Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku - “Karikeiyaku Cinderella” (2012)
Uscool ft. Te Ga Cream Pan & tabehiro - “Love Me” (2024)
velours - “king vamp” (2024)
Vincent Blue - “THUMPING” (2015)
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The stop! and shimmy moves associated with this dance challenge bears resemblance to the dance meme done to a remix of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps.” I wish I didn’t know that.
Here is meme queen Haewon of K-pop group NMIXX mimicking it to answer what seems to be a “do you know your meme?” quiz.