On Replay: How dance challenges are propelling personal brands in music

The quarantine era has enforced a lockdown like no other, creating a hyper shift in digital behaviors. Everyone from Gen Z to baby boomers are turning to video chatting, streaming services and social media for continuous entertainment. While some folks are having cabin fever, others are looking for new social media challenges to pass the time by. On the social platform Tik Tok, dance challenges have gone viral, not only impacting social behaviors but music charts as well. In fact, the top ten of the Billboard 100 chart, might as well have been taken from TikTok’s top-performing videos.

Artists like Wiz Khalifa, Megan thee Stallion and Drake have seen the impact of these challenges making old and new songs a hit.

What began as a video from Tik Tok user @kerringtonjk with friends having some fun, accidentally became a viral sensation overnight. The #somethingnewchallenge reached the homes of athletes, musicians, actors and more during the quarantine lockdown. The laid back tune "Something New" was a 2017 summer single by rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring Ty Dolla Sign. The challenge required a group effort, where folks had to line up, throw elbow jabs, shimmy, and clap before allowing the person behind to repeat the same dance sequence.

The #somethingnewchallenge only features the chorus of the song, so many listeners people did not know the song belonged to Wiz Khalifa. Only through searching for the song clip many found the origin of the song and began to stream the song. Along with streams and video views, there was an increase in Google search results. In Google trends, if you search "Something New", you can see there is a huge spike in the middle of March of 2020. Right when cities began to enforce stay at home orders.

Can you finish this sentence without dancing? "I'm a Savage, Classy, Bougie..." seems nearly impossible huh? Megan the Stallions #savagechallenge, took social media by storm with the help of a Tik Tok user named @keke.janajah. The Tik Tok user created a fun choreography to the chorus for Megan's song savage in March of this year.

Just five days later it caught the eyes of the artist herself Megan the Stallion and went viral. Since then, the dynamic dance has hit the homes of A list celebrities, athletes, and influencers, propelling the song to number 1 on iTunes music. Mashup tribute videos for icons such as Janet Jackson gave the song even more success, adding longevity to the social media challenge. Megan the Stallion never released an official music video for this song, but weeks after the songs viral success, added a lyric video on her Youtube page. The lyric video racked up over 9 million views in less than two weeks.

Thanks to the #savagechallenege, Megan the Stallion landed another Billboard Top 100 hit. Megan decided to keep the momentum going and recently created the #captainhookchallenge. Staying true to the dance style of the previous challenge, Megan is finding a way to keep her current audience captivated with a new but still challenging dance routine.

With the release of her second album in March 2020, these dance challenges could not have come at a better time. As a new artist, this song helped to expand her brand into the households of different and diverse audiences at an exponential rate.

During the start of the stay at home orders, many decided to #fliptheswitch with the tunes of Toronto rapper Drake. The viral trend originated on TikTok with a couple under the account @dallinxbella. The song had users trading places and sometimes clothing while dancing to the lyrics “I just flipped the switch, flip, flip”. from Drake's 2018 song "Nonstop". The challenge quickly turned to internet gold, as it pushed creativity and gender norms.

The challenge hit the homes of high profile celebrities and political figures, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, Cedric the Entertainer, Jlo and Arod, Singer Camila Cabello and TV hosts Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa.

The #fliptheswitch challenge increased streams and views on Drake 2018 song, putting it back on everyone's playlist. It's to no surprise that during the extension of the lockdown, Drake would take it upon himself to introduce another challenge, this time an easy to follow two-step.

"It goes, right foot up, left foot slide..." are the lyrics and dance instructions for the Toosie Slide, easy enough right? Like Megan the Stallion, Drake is the originator of this challenge and used it as a tool to propel his new single. The dance challenge stays true to Drake's brand, as easy to follow and laid back. The same tone is found in the #fliptheswitchchallenge and the 2018 #inmyfeelingchallenge.

The simplicity of the #toosieslide allows anyone to put a twist on the dance to call it their own. In the music video, Drake can be seen wearing a protective mask, and dancing in his empty home, enforcing the theme of quarantining. Drake uses this visual to connect with his viewers and show how he is also practicing social distancing due to COVID-19.

Drakes marketing plan worked and Toosie Slide debuted at number 1 on the Billboard top 100 charts. This is Drake's seventh career No. 1 hit, his first being for Rihanna’s “What’s My Name?” on November 20, 2010. The only other artist with seven No. 1s since November 20, 2010 is … Rihanna.

With the extension of stay at home orders, no one knows for sure how long this lockdown will last. Dance challenges are helping songs climb the charts with free publicity and an unimaginable organic reach. Artists who understand this correlation can make huge strides with their personal brands.