TikTok’s Viral Moments in 2024 (Part 2)

If you haven’t checked out Part One, click this link to read: https://www.theblakebeat.com/tiktoks-viral-moments-in-2024-part-one/. Continue reading this article to recap the rest (July to December) of TikTok’s Viral moments of 2024!

July:

Aura Points

This concept hilariously began when people described embarrassing experiences and explained how they β€œlost aura.” Most videos were written like, β€œHow many aura points did I lose when…” followed by something embarrassing the creator did or experienced. In this context, aura represents social points. You can gain aura when you are quiet, mysterious, or nonchalant. You can also lose aura when you trip in front of a hallway full of people or when you walk with your backpack open.

Underconsumption Core

Scrolling through TikTok, you can often find videos of people giving massive hauls after spending thousands of dollars on clothes and beauty products. Overconsumption refers to buying excessive or unnecessary items, like having every color of the Stanley Cup.

Underconsumption, on the other hand, is quite the opposite and aligns more with the average person’s habits. People showcase their β€œun-aesthetically” pleasing room setups that are more cost-effective and realistic rather than Pinterest-perfect. Underconsumption encourages saving money and buying less by using what you already have.

β€œIf you asked me on a deeper level”

This trend involved creators posting slideshows with text describing a certain situation. They would give a surface-level answer when asked a question, followed by β€œIf you asked me on a deeper level,” and then share heartfelt statements. This trend was wholesome and allowed people to open up, rant, or show their vulnerability.

August:

β€œYou think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

This viral moment originated from a clip of Kamala Harris telling a story her mother used to share. Using the metaphor of human existence not being as simple as β€œplopping out of a coconut tree,” Harris conveyed the idea that everyone serves a purpose. The clip was taken out of context and became a source for countless remixes, including one that mashed it up with Charli XCX’s hit song β€œ360.”

β€œDouble Life” by Pharell from Despicable Me 4

This trend featured creators using the song to showcase two sides of themselves through slideshows. Examples included athletes highlighting their different sports or people showing contrasting hobbies. The audio was also popular for a TikTok dance.

β€œIt Ends With Us”

Drama arose after the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s hit book It Ends With Us was released. TikTok users noticed that lead actor and director Justin Baldoni was absent from all the press interviews. Speculation grew that Baldoni and Blake Lively, the film’s other lead, had creative disagreements about the movie’s marketing.

Lively promoted the movie more like a romantic comedy, despite its themes of domestic violence. Her snarky responses in interviews led TikTok users to dig up past controversies, including a transphobic comment she made in a magazine. The discourse escalated when an interviewer released an uncomfortable interview with Lively, claiming it made her want to quit her job. TikTok users branded Lively a β€œmean girl” and resurfaced other controversies from her past.

Olympics

The 2024 Olympics dominated TikTok’s For You Page. Many Americans expressed their support for Team USA, while Australian breakdancer Raygun gained attention for her β€œunique” performance. After facing backlash, Raygun issued a formal apology and announced her retirement from competitive breakdancing.

β€œVery Demure”

This trend began with a viral video of a woman describing her workplace makeup as β€œvery demure… very mindful.” Her phrasing and delivery became an internet sensation, with people mimicking her and even celebrities like Penn Badgley joining in. The word β€œdemure” was also named Dictionary.com’s most popular word of 2024!

September:

β€œI just wanna be part of your symphony”

This trend featured an AI-generated dolphin image paired with Zara Larsson’s song β€œSymphony.” People used it to share outrageous confessions or personal thoughts.

β€œDo you know you have 30 minutes?”

This viral audio from the 2000s reality show Flavor of Love captured the urgency of running out of time. A popular example involved student-athletes explaining how little downtime they have between school and practice.

Menendez Brothers Netflix series β€œMonsters”

Following the success of the Jeffrey Dahmer series, Netflix released Monsters, which depicted the Menendez brothers’ story. TikTok users flooded the platform with thirsty edits of Nicholas Chavez, who played Lyle Menendez. One video of Chavez saying, β€œHey mafia, after what we’ve been through, I’d like to see you try,” garnered 6.7 million likes.

October:

Henry Danger Memes

TikTok is known for its asylum for relatable posts and more precisely the trend revolving around the show β€œHenry Danger”. This trend can be described as the mash of overlayed text on a Henry Danger picture or clip. Many find the expressions of the character Henry Danger relatable because of his humorous facial expressions and relatable behavior such as eavesdropping on conversations or trying to be nonchalant while peeping on someone. A specific example is a clip of Henry Danger looking behind him and crawling on the ground to peek at people, while text overlayed says β€œMe when my bestie says β€˜look behind u but don’t make it obvious”.

Lunchly

The β€œLunchly” was created by Mr. Beast, KSI, and Logan Paul. It consists of a similar design to Lunchables, an β€œentree” (buildable pizza, cracker stacks, or nachos”, a drink (Prime created by KSI and Logan Paul, and candy (Mr. Beast Chocolate bar). Initially the three public figures received tons of backlash due to the unhealthiness of the products and bad taste. Over time it escalated to consumers finding mold in their cheese for the pizza Lunchly and uploading videos of the mold to TikTok. This caused Lunchly to be discontinued in several states, but it still is in some stores.

Domingo SNL

This viral skit featured Ariana Grande and SNL cast members performing a song for newlyweds. The lyrics humorously exposed the bride’s infidelity with a man named Domingo, set to the melody of Sabrina Carpenter’s β€œEspresso.” Many praised SNL’s improved writing and relatability.

November:

β€œI like my soootcase!”

A resurfaced clip of a young Barron Trump saying, β€œI like my suitcase,” with an unexpected Slovenian accent went viral. The audio inspired countless remixes and became a favorite among NYU students, where Barron currently studies.

Oops, flipped the camera

This charming trend’s premise is for the video to be about a belief or point that the creator wants to make and at the end of the video they β€œaccidentally” flip the camera of their phone to reveal the face actually making the claim. A particular video says β€œnormalise never getting a puppy, they’re so annoying and no one actually likes them, and cats are definitely a better choice-” and then the camera flips to a cat holding the phone. 

December:

Hyperpigmentation

β€œIs that hyperpigmentation?” Those three words sent a frenzy of memes and jokes out of a singular video in which a little girl reveals to her mom the portrait she drew of her (the mom). What made the β€œhyperpigmentation” video so viral was the daughter’s β€œunique” looking artwork and her parents reaction. The most memorable moment is when the mom analyzes her daughter’s work and sees a circle (the daughter might have tried to draw blush) and her mom asks β€œIS THAT HYPERPIGMENTATION?” The mom’s voice is so high pitched, yet she tries her best to maintain her composure and hold in her laugh while reassuring her daughter that her artwork looks β€œfantastic”. 

This trend ranged from people sharing their own take on the β€œhyperpigmentation” artwork by drawing the same portrait in the snow and posting it on TikTok to finding pieces of snacks that are shaped like the β€œhyperpigmentation” portrait. Some people even managed to recite the entire video which amassed millions of likes. 

Luigi Mangione:

The beginning of December started off with the UnitedHealthcare CEO being shot and killed by an unidentified man. The reactions of TikTok gave large support to the unidentified shooter and many believe he is bringing justice to those who struggled with the costs of American Healthcare. When the authorities found Mangione, many on TikTok decided to make all sorts of videos providing Luigi an alibi. One video made by Juliana’s accumulated over 2 million likes saying that β€œLuigi was making pizza”on December 4th, 6:44am  at their restaurant so he was not at the Hilton hotel where the CEO was shot and thereby not guilty of the crime.

Squid Game 2:

The long awaited release of Netflix’s top series, Squid Game season 2, led to all sorts of reactions on TikTok. These videos consisted of theories for season 3, edits of the cast, reenactments of scenes, and playing the games that were in Squid Game. 

By far the edit that gained the most attention was the one of Gong Yoo, who played the salesman, with the song β€œBoombastic” by Shaggy, which collected 95.9 million views and 12.3 million likes, which is astonishing.