Music/Features

With millions of options available, we offer five of the best musical moments on TikTok this week.

Amanda Palmer’s cover of Surface Pressure

The Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer became a little part of TikTok history last week by putting a poorly conceived spin on viral Encanto track Surface Pressure. Her cover (in which she growls out the words to the track’s chorus, red-faced, before spitting globs of saliva at her microphone) racked up millions of views as the app’s unofficial cringe-bait of the month. The video’s cultural impact was huge — it ended up triggering a wave of viral discourse about artist accountability after viewers discovered Palmer’s long history of racism, ableism and slur usage. Maybe keep it in the drafts next time, Amanda!

@theamandapalmer

Out now everywhere, powered by patronage, link in my bio ♥️ #encanto #surfacepressure #amandapalmer #dresdendolls #patreon #fyp #disneycover #vocaltake #linmanuelmiranda

♬ original sound – amanda palmer

Maisie Peters’ ode to a best friend’s brother

After skyrocketing to fame on TikTok, British pop star Maisie Peters has become a musical powerhouse in her own right. This week, she leaked clips of an untitled new track about catching feelings for a friend’s brother, and it’s literally one of the catchiest pop songs I’ve heard in months. Clearly, her fans agree — even though the track hasn’t even been released in its entirety, the crowd at her latest show already knew half the words.

@maisiehpeters

played the song about my friend’s brother live for the first time last night it was pretty wild #livelaughlove #bestfriend

♬ original sound – maisie peters

Pixies by blaketheman1000

Let the record show that I listened to blaketheman1000 before it was cool!! I’ve had his ironic, vaguely hyperpoppy track Pixies on repeat since I stumbled across it a couple of weeks ago, so imagine my surprise when I saw Euphoria it-girl Chloe Cherry use it in a video that, as of right now, has 777,000 likes and 5 million views. There goes my main character complex! But it more than deserves the hype — the track is deadpan, addictive and dedicated to the greatest post-punk band ever. What more could you ask for?

@cleanpuppy

But I’m a morning person

♬ Pixies – Blaketheman1000

32barchef

A strangely charismatic musical theatre enthusiast and mediocre home cook, @32barchef is one of those rare TikTok miracles that managed to turn cringe-watchers into genuine fans. The anonymous poster makes videos that combine simple recipes with spoofs of famous musical theatre songs and originally blew up with a bizarre Newsies cover teaching viewers how to make boxed mac and cheese. However, the thousands of viewers that came with hater intentions ended up staying for her earnest, high-effort content and undeniable aura that I can only describe as “moxie.”

@32barchef

Now is the time to ‘cheese’ the day! Here’s a #traderjoes hack! Watch to the end for a secret ingredient🤫 #Newsies #musicaltheatre #fyp #macandcheese

♬ original sound – 32 Bar Chef

Heyitsnogood

TikTok, like its predecessors musical.ly and Vine, is absolutely inundated with cover artists. There’s such an overwhelming excess of users vying for internet fame by pumping out 15-second covers of topical pop songs or trending tracks that they honestly all start to blur together, and it’s rarer than ever to find a cover artist who truly deserves attention. That’s why I was so blown away when I started seeing user @heyitsnogood’s videos on my FYP — the artist’s eerie, otherworldly voice has attracted just as many haters as it has fans, but I can’t stop listening. His voice is entirely unique, with the wiry, nasally texture of a tightly-bound string instrument, and it manages to imbue top 40 tracks with a mournful, art-house quality that’s unlike anything I’ve heard before.

@heyitsnogood

♬ NEVER BE THE SAME NOGOOD – heyitsnogood