Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s ‘Carnival’ Rules TikTok Billboard Top 50
A week after debuting at No. 5 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, “Carnival,” from Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s collaborative album Vultures 1, jumps to No. 1 on the tally dated March 9.
The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity Feb. 26-March 3. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50. As previously noted, titles that are part of Universal Music Group’s catalog are currently unavailable on TikTok.
“Carnival,” which also features Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, becomes the first No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for Ye, Ty Dolla $ign and Rich the Kid since the list’s September 2023 inception. Playboi Carti, meanwhile, has ruled twice before with “Sky,” which reigned on the Oct. 7, 2023, ranking and again Dec. 9, 2023.
The main trend for “Carnival” on TikTok involves lip-synching to the song’s opening refrain and chorus, usually done in front of a mirror.
Concurrently, “Carnival” rises back to No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart for a second week, via 32.2 million official U.S. streams Feb. 23-29, up 31%, according to Luminate. The track also jumps 4-2 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100.
The success of “Carnival” comes despite Ye’s various controversies, including recent and continued hate speech and antisemitic remarks that have caused some listeners to shy away from his material past and present.
“Carnival” reigns over Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love,” which holds at No. 2 for a second week, and Djo’s “End of Beginning,” which ranks at No. 3 after spending its first week at No. 1 on the March 2 tally.
“Back It Up and Dump It (Dump Truck),” from Kinfolk Thugs, GC Eternal and Tyme Bomb, breaks into the top five for the first time, lifting 7-4. Originally released in 2013, the song benefits from a choreographed dance trend, as well as other general, often jokey posts including its lyrics. Another more recent trend shows creators using an app showing celebrities with whom they share a birthday.
Cat Janice’s “Dance You Outta My Head,” a former No. 1 on the chart, rounds out the top five with a one-position lift to No. 5. The rise follows Janice’s death on Feb. 28 at age 31 after a bout with cancer; she released “Dance You Outta My Head” as her final song while in hospice care.
One song reaches the chart’s top 10 for the first time: 21 Savage’s “Redrum,” which jumps 19-8. The tune initially premiered at No. 39 on the Feb. 10 survey but has found new life on TikTok in recent weeks, with sizable gains coming after the song’s Feb. 24 performance on Saturday Night Live. “Redrum” concurrently appears at No. 8 on Streaming Songs via 18 million listens, up 11%. It also rises 16-13 on the Hot 100.
The week’s top debut belongs to Xakei, whose “Merry Go Round of Life (Old Piano)” bows at No. 13. The rendition is a version of an instrumental track from the Studio Ghibli film Howl’s Moving Castle, and a viral usage of the song in the latest tracking week soundtracks an Austin City Council meeting in which workers learn they were relieved of duties in real time by Google.
DeJ Loaf’s “No Fear” also sports a strong debut, starting at No. 16. The song was released in 2017 and sports a trend of people showing off relationship texts while the song’s chorus plays.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
Kevin Rutherford
Billboard
