Everybody is attuned to social media these days. Celebrities of all kinds in all genres use it extensively to promote themselves and their latest work. TikTok has been especially useful to country music artists who want to get their songs in front of the public quickly. Per Holler, "...[T]he social media platform's often light-hearted and creative approach to content sharing has revolutionised the online country music community and shaped the songs that we listen to."
Videos by Wide Open Country
A wide array of country tracks have been introduced that way and have gained significant traction. You might not even have known who the performer was at first, but you fell in love with the tune anyway. Here are a few examples.
"Just About Over You" by Priscilla Block
Block certainly used TikTok to her advantage. Per The Boot, "After going viral on the video-focused app TikTok in the summer of 2020, Block released the song and watched her fans push it to the top of iTunes' all-genre sales chart and Apple Music's streaming chart." Block, who co-wrote the track, eventually snagged a recording deal with UMG Nashville as a result.
She spoke to the outlet about that career-making tune. "I'm definitely a girl that loves hard and breaks harder, and I think when you relive something or redo something, you're like, 'Dang, why did this have to happen this way?' So there was a lot of feelings [while shooting that video], but all in all, it was pretty exciting. And to be honest, I'm really thankful for that song.
"Jolene" by Alexandra Kay
Kay did a stunning TikTok cover of Dolly Parton's classic "Jolene," about a woman imploring another female not to snatch her beloved man away. She sounds eerily like Parton herself, but with a little more oomph and pizzazz. It's impossible not to be wowed by Kay's talent in her dramatically nuanced delivery of this famed song. In fact, she also successfully covered Tim McGraw's "Don't Take The Girl" on TikTok, per Wide Open Country. He said, "I love her voice." Not a bad endorsement!
"Darlin'" by Hudson Westbrook
Deezer picked this song for its list of viral TikTok country hits for this year. Holler called this "a slow-rolling, breezy ballad." In the track, Westbtook sings about wooing his lady in all the traditional ways - roses, wine, all that good stuff. When their evening together gets steamy, she receives an awkward call from a former beau. The narrator makes clear to the caller that he is now the owner of her heart. It's all classic country.
"Take a Sexy Picture of Me" by CMAT
Per People, CMAT (her name is actually Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) is an Irish artist who just dropped her third album, titled Euro-Country. It features her major TikTok hit, "Take a Sexy Picture of Me." That song, a viral sensation, propelled her into the public spotlight big-time. It has streamed over 15 million times, per the outlet, "exposing her to entirely new audiences...." Seems like that is only the beginning for this witty, bold performer.
