A Yung Lean Song From 2013 Was TikTok’s Most Popular Song This Year

Ginseng Strip 2002,” a casually hedonistic track by the Swedish rapper Yung Lean, initially went viral on YouTube in 2013. Nearly a decade later, lightning struck again on a different platform when the single became wildly popular on TikTok. This song — a series of druggy snapshots narrated in an uninterested monotone — was used more than any other on the app in 2022, according to the year-end report TikTok shared Tuesday (Dec. 6). 

@sara.wais

me: why do you make me look so pale? toni: because I’m black? @antoniabgentry

♬ Ginseng Strip 2002 – Yung Lean

While “Ginseng Strip 2002” was used in nearly 11 million videos, the Mexican singer Kim Loaiza enjoyed the most viewed artist account with 70.5 million followers. She was one of five Spanish-language acts among the top 10 most-viewed artists, including superstars like Bad Bunny (29.7 million followers) and Rosalia (27.5 million). 

The growing commercial importance of sped-up and slowed-down remixes of singles was also reflected in TikTok’s year-end report. Sped-up hits included new versions of Michael Buble‘s “Sway” and Cat Burns‘ “Go;” an uptempo rework of Demi Lovato‘s “Cool for the Summer” helped the track crack the top five on the platform. It trailed only Nicky Youre and dazy‘s “Sunroof,” Willow’s “Wait a Minute,” WZ Beat’s “Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral,” and of course, “Ginseng Strip 2002.” 

“Ginseng Strip 2002” came together almost by accident, according to the track’s producer Yung Gud. “‘Ginseng Strip 2002’ was just a sound check — he was just checking to see if the microphone was working,” the producer told The New Yorker in 2014. 

The track’s initial success on YouTube caused Yung Lean some anxiety. “I was kinda scared at one point that it was just gonna be a couple million views and some viral hit, and there wasn’t going to be anything else,” he told Beats 1 Radio in 2017. “I was just trying to figure out my place and everything. I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder.” 

While “Ginseng Strip 2002” was the most-used track globally, it ranked third in the U.S. behind “Sunroof” and Luclover’s “L$d.”