What Hozier's "Too Sweet" tells us about how songs go TikTok viral
The trending lyrics "I take my whiskey neat, coffee black, and bed at three" come from Hozier's "Too Sweet"
You’ve maybe heard “I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black, and my bed at three” at least once on your FYP in the last week or so.
This sound bite from Hozier’s “Too Sweet” accrued 44,5000 videos on TikTok, including fan reactions and covers ahead of its release Friday.
The trend had me thinking: What makes a song perform well on TikTok? Hozier isn’t a great example given he’s already an established name, but I believe “Too Sweet” does have something to say about how to build hype around a song release on TikTok.
I know indie artists are fed up with the need to go viral or be full-time social media managers on top of making music in order to start their career. Many are racking their brains wondering why their videos won’t hit. The unfortunate truth is that marketing matters, even for larger artists like Hozier. Even Universal Music’s absence from TikTok hasn’t halted marketing on the app.
As a music curator, I constantly have artists pitch sound promotions to me, and sometimes, I’m sent a great song, but it lacks that quality I know will perform well. To me, there are songs that are good, songs that do well on TikTok, and songs that are both.
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As someone with little technical musical knowledge, but who always discovers new music on TikTok, here’s what I’ve noticed about songs that do well:
I’ve seen people lament too that all pop music sounds “TikTokified,” overly upbeat and high-pitched so as to appeal to the app’s “Musical.ly” roots. Overly produced, hyper-electronic songs you can dance to tend to become trends easily. Then, there are songs that become trends, causing audiences to overlook their meaning, like Charlie Burg’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Okay Without You. ” The chorus of this song, “I only think of you” went viral on the app. When I spoke with Burg last year, he said he was grateful for the push TikTok provided, but he didn’t feel the trend did justice to the song’s message.
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Speaking of a song’s message, lyrics perform incredibly well on the app. Most of the viral artist videos I’ve seen positioned lyrics as the focal point in some way, re: Hozier’s “Too Sweet.” But much like Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” Hozier’s new track also has a catchy, satisfying tempo. If you have a sound bite of clever, witty lyrics to a jumpy little beat that you can fit into a 7-second video, you may have something capable of viral status. Other examples of smaller artists killing it with lyric videos are Jensen McCrae and Sydney Ross Mitchell.
More on a social media note than a music note: you do need to post a lot and don’t be afraid to post the same thing, essentially. Change it a bit to see what performs better, but the algorithm is a fickle thing. Imagine if Noah Kahan caught the FYP in a bad mood and “Stick Season” flopped, and he gave up on the song. Post again. And again. And Again.
Unfortunately, promoting a song does require some creativity. Luckily, artists have plenty of that. Unfortunately, again, I know you’d much rather channel that creativity into their work, not churning out vertical videos.
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Now, please bear with me. I’m going to give my honest-to-God opinion and advice, should you choose to take it or not.
A mistake I see artists make constantly, constantly, is just sitting down with a guitar. And I mean they include the sitting down part in the video. It kills me a bit inside every time.
If I see you sit down and adjust with your guitar, I’m already bored. Jump right in. Have the lyrics as text on screen so I can see what’s coming before you even sing it. TikTok is about appealing to small attention spans, admittedly like my own. I know it’s upsetting to hear, I know you want your music to be enough on its own, but rarely is an art or product enough to market itself. Seeing Double’s “Leah” went viral with a teeth-brushing video. I’m not saying the teeth brushing was the only reason it went viral—I doubt band members brushing their teeth together is enough to make a bad song go viral. But no one is going to know how amazing your song is if they aren’t hearing it. If brushing your teeth to your own song is enough to show the world your greatness, why wouldn’t you try?
I discovered two of my now favorite artists, Susannah Joffe and joe p., funny enough in the same way—they both posted videos promoting their songs in shadowy, dark lighting. If you’re struggling with your videos hitting, maybe try something interesting like lighting or a certain action. Or don’t. I literally can’t carry a tune.
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Regardless, artists shouldn’t feel discouraged if their song isn’t hitting. Just because a song isn’t sticking with the TikTok algo doesn’t mean it isn’t good Really, this shouldn’t have to be said.
Takeaways:
If you have a catchy snippet with good lyrics, use it
Try something visually appealing
DON’T make music just for TikTok
Speaking of an artist dominating the FYP
The weather is getting warmer, which means I’m thinking about summer, which means I’m thinking about my coastal cowgirl aesthetic, which means Sydney Ross Mitchell’s “Fast Cars and Faster Horses” literally could not have dropped at a better time. I’ve had Mitchell on my radar for some time, and I’m particularly excited about this track she wrote about her grandfather. Suitable to Mitchell’s Lana Del Rey-like vocals, the track invokes imagery of old Americana: “I hope heaven has cigarettes and Cocoa-Cola.” I’m smelling a song of the summer already.
Also in the Summer 2024 running
I’m ashamed I missed this on my new releases TikTok post, but at least I can highlight it here
Because I just added the new Charli x Addison track
“The von dutch remix” is peak girl therapy.
Released week of March 17
“Too Sweet” by Hozier
“So Sick of Dreaming” by Maggie Roger’s
“Lean In” by Patrick Martin
“Fathers Coat” by Elias Hix
Bright Future, album by Adrienne Lenker
“Sorry to Hear It” by Emily Zeck
“Calling After Me” by Wallows
GUTS (Spilled), deluxe album from Olivia Rodrigo
“Cinderella” by Remi Wolf
“The von dutch remix with addison rae and a. g. cook” by Charli XCX and, you guessed it, Addison Rae and A.G. Cook
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