Bold headline: TikTok crowned Katseye, Connie Francis, and Taylor Swift among 2025’s music stars, redefining how fans discover and celebrate music.
TikTok continued to spotlight fresh faces and enduring legends alike over the past year, from pop newcomer Katseye to a timeless ’50s–’60s icon, with a stream of viral moments weaving through the platform’s culture. Based in Los Angeles, Katseye—six members from the U.S., the Philippines, South Korea, and Switzerland—was named TikTok’s Global Artist of the Year. The group amassed over 30 billion views and spurred 12 million user creations using their music on the app.
Their year wasn’t confined to a single hit. The track “Gnarly” became a catalyst for a broad TikTok dance and challenge ecosystem, helping Katseye accumulate two Grammy nominations last month, including Best New Artist. The song inspired 2.4 million video creations, drawing in high-profile participants such as Camila Cabello and K-pop acts like Enhypen, Le Sserafim, and Tomorrow X Together. Another standout was “Gabriela,” a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination that sparked a TikTok dance craze with 2.8 million creations and 9.8 billion views. A collaboration with Gap—paired with a dance clip to Kelis’s “Milkshake”—generated 151 million views and spawned multiple popular remixes.
In their own words, Katseye thanked their fans, saying, “We had an unforgettable year on TikTok, and it was all because of the EYEKONS who showed up for us every single day. You turned our songs, moments, and chaos into something truly global, and we are so grateful for this community.”
A bittersweet moment from Connie Francis graced the awards as well. The late star, who joined TikTok in June just over a month before her July 2025 passing, posted her first TikTok reaction to the platform’s buzz around her 1962 classic “Pretty Little Baby.” The track was proclaimed TikTok’s Global Song of the Year and America’s top song of the year after users created over 28.4 million videos, accruing more than 68.6 billion views. A Kylie Jenner video featuring her daughter Stormi further amplified the track, amassing more than 132 million views.
The momentum carried into streaming and chart success too, with the song surpassing 130 million Spotify streams and appearing on the Billboard Global 200 chart. TikTok’s global head of music business development, Tracy Gardner, described the song as having been “adopted by a new generation.”
Taylor Swift also had a standout year on TikTok, earning the title of Global Most-Saved Artist in 2025, with millions of fans saving her tracks from the latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, and converting that engagement into streams across music services.
Other notable TikTok 2025 accolades include:
- Global Most-Saved Track: “Back to Friends” by Sombr, which inspired over 7.7 million creations and 21.7 billion video views and earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
- Global Most-Saved Album: Tate McRae for So Close To What, reflecting her massive TikTok following of more than 13.5 million.
- Top Songwriter: Ejae, a key contributor to the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack “Golden,” which racked up 9.8 million creations and 23.6 billion views and earned multiple Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year.
- Music Trend of the Year: “Anxiety” by Doechii, which sparked a major dance trend that Will Smith and Tatyana Ali helped amplify; the track earned five Grammy nominations, including Record and Song of the Year.
Tracy Gardner underscored TikTok’s role as the industry’s most influential engine for music discovery, highlighting how the platform revives beloved classics and introduces new voices—especially women—who dominated music in 2025. She emphasized that TikTok’s global reach connects audiences to artists and music they love, enabling a diverse range of artists and genres to build dedicated fan communities.
Top Global Artists of 2025 (in brief): Katseye, Alan Arrieta, Enhypen, Bad Bunny, Stray Kids, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Fuerza Regida, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande.
Top Global Songs of 2025 (selected):
- Pretty Little Baby — Connie Francis
- Hold My Hand — Jess Glynne
- Rock That Body — Black Eyed Peas
- Azul — J Balvin
- Dame Un Grrr — Fantomel x Kate Linn
- APT — ROSÉ & Bruno Mars
- Te Quería Ver — Alemán & Neton Vega
- Anxiety — Doechii
- Sailor Song — Gigi Perez
- Back to Friends — Sombr
- Sparks — Coldplay
- That’s So True — Gracie Abrams
- Let Down — Radiohead
- Suave — El Alfa
- My Darling — Chella
- We Hug Now — Sydney Rose
For more insights and ongoing coverage, follow USA TODAY’s trend reports and music coverage, and join the conversation: which 2025 moment changed the way you discover music, and do you think TikTok will keep shaping the industry at the same pace in the coming year?
