Not Just ‘Confidence’: Sped Up Tracks In Biggest TikTok Sounds Of 2023

It’s not just Australia’s Ocean Alley benefiting from TikTok’s affinity for sped-up songs, but many other artists, as the trend takes over TikTok’s official end-of-year chart wrap.

TikTok has rounded up the top songs played on the popular app in the United States and globally, with four sped-up tunes on the US playlist and three on the around-the-world chart.

On both charts is Cupid – Twin Ver – Sped Up Version by FIFTY FIFTY (#2 in the US, #1 around the globe) and Collide (more sped up) by Justine Skye (#1 in the US, #3 on the global chart).

At #3 on the US chart is Her Way (Sped Up) by PARTYNEXTDOOR, with Toosii’s Favourite Song (Sped Up) at #4. The final sped-up song on the global chart is girls like me don't cry (sped up) by Vietnamese-American artist thuy, the eighth most played song on TikTok for 2023.

TikTok’s Global Music Programs Executive William Gruger said about the appearance of sped-up songs on the end-of-year charts via Music Ally, “Sped-up songs are a phenomenally popular earworm. They cause songs to travel across the platform.”

Earlier this year, The Music’s Tyler Jenke asked, “Are sped-up songs set to become the future of music?”

Ashlea Crane, radio presenter and vocalist of Adelaide pop-punk outfit Left On Seen, is one of many artists who have experienced the rising trend of sped-up songs. While Crane noted that it’s an opportunity for more content to be crammed into a smaller window of existence, she also expressed a concern as to whether royalties will be appropriately attributed to the original artists due to what she believes is a trend that has some longevity.

“With trends, they tend to die out a little,” Crane told The Music. “I do, however, see this one sticking around for a while. You’re able to fit more music and lyrics into a smaller amount of time. With short videos on the rise, this works in users’ favour.”

Last week, Ocean Alley’s five-year-old hit Confidence skyrocketed back into the ARIA Top 20 Singles Chart. Confidence has found newfound fame and fans on TikTok thanks to the sped-up use of the song for the trend “behind every girl with incredible music taste”.

The Music’s Stephen Green recently predicted Confidence going viral globally after finding the track increasing in views and uses on TikTok.

@oceanalleyband

CONFIDENCE BY OCEAN ALLEY #confidencebaby #oceanalley #spedup

♬ original sound - alyx ⭐️🎧