2023 is finally simmering down to a close, and man, has it been an eventful year. One thing I felt was always changing and cycling throughout the months were TikTok crazes and trends. To celebrate almost surviving through another year, we’re going to review some of the funniest and most popular TikTok trends and crazes through the year of 2023.
January. To kick off the new year, almost everyone’s For You Page was immediately flooded with video after video of the long-nosed alien looking dog: the borzoi. It was hard to scroll more than a video without hearing the whiny “didn’t I do it for you” play in the background while a dog stares me down over its enormous snout.
February. When February hit, Burger King dropped its hit new single, and suddenly anywhere you scrolled all you could hear was the Whopper Song. Everyday people’s ears were filled with the sound of someone asking for five Whoppers, and then five more Whoppers. It’s hard to argue that it wasn’t a catchy beat, but I’m sure many people can relate that after a few days, they were tired of it worming its way into their heads.
March. March marked a wonderful time for Swifties, as Taylor Swift began her countrywide (and now worldwide) Eras Tour. For weeks everyone was chatting about how enchanting the concert was, how they were so glad to see Ms. Swift in action, and crying either tears of happiness or disappointment when the surprise songs of the night were revealed.
April. As we got into April, Trump, Obama, Biden, and Hillary all got into Minecraft. AI hit a high during this month, and alongside improved AI skills came AI voices. Soon, videos of Minecraft gameplay were everywhere, with the voices of our dear
politicians dubbing over them. There’s a lot of issues around the ethics of using AI, but you have to admit it was funny hearing Trump yell at Biden for stealing his diamonds.
May. In May, flowers weren’t the only thing that were growing, as “Let it Grow” from the Lorax was blasting from any screen possible. Everywhere you turned, it seemed some scene from the Lorax was always playing. People were rigging everything to play it, their smart fridges, their Nintendo Switches, and even their calculators. I think it’s safe to say the official slogan of May is “If there’s a screen, the Lorax will be seen.”
June. As the new month began, Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings, released her new breath-taking ukulele solo: The Toxic Gossip Train. The song blew up, but not in a good way for Ms. Ballinger, and suddenly the song was everywhere, making Colleen a laughingstock amongst the internet. Everyone and their mothers had their ukuleles out and strumming along, and very soon there were sped up and slowed down and reverbed edits of the song in every corner of TikTok.
July. July was a very special month for McDonalds; it marked the birth month of their lovable mascot, Grimace. In celebration they released a limited time milkshake, the Grimace Shake. However, a trend quickly arose around the purple shake, as people drank it and then pretended to be the victim of horrid and “gory” (the gore was the purple milkshake spilled everywhere) murders. This trend quickly caught on, and quickly Grimace Shakes were spilled all over the pavement and grass, and people were playing dead in the middle of the mess. I wonder if McDonalds counted their new shake as a massive failure or a raging success.
a limited time milkshake, the Grimace Shake. However, a trend quickly arose around the purple shake, as people drank it and then pretended to be the victim of horrid and “gory” (the gore was the purple milkshake spilled everywhere) murders. This trend quickly caught on, and quickly Grimace Shakes were spilled all over the pavement and grass, and people were playing dead in the middle of the mess. I wonder if McDonalds counted their new shake as a massive failure or a raging success.
August. August rolled around, and Trump debuted his brand-new mugshot. The former president getting arrested was a shock to many, but a massive joke to more. It felt like no matter where you looked, you’d see the aggressive scowl of the politician. It went further, though, when people started putting pictures of his mugshot everywhere, on t-shirts, coffee mugs, tapestries, you name it. I guess Trump went straight from playing Minecraft to behind bars.
September. When September came, so did the Smurf Cat. No one knows where it came from, or how it started, but it seemed as if there was no escape from the small cat and Smurf mashup. People weren’t exaggerating when they claimed that every single video on their FYP had some form of Smurf Cat accompanied by the lyrics “We live, we love, we lie” playing in the background. It got to the point where even when you did believe you finally had a normal video, and that maybe, just maybe, you were free from the grasps of the Smurf Cat, it would appear in the most normal-seeming videos. It felt like no matter how far you got, the Smurf Cat would always find you.
October. In October, the long awaited Five Nights at Freddy’s movie hit the theaters, and after waiting eight years for this moment, the FNAF fans went wild. Rapidly, everyone’s TikTok became populated by movie clips, happy fans, and most of all, Josh Hutcherson edits. Everyone was happy he was playing Mike in the FNAF
movie, but I don’t think anyone truly anticipated how quickly people would attach to him, and soon, edits of him in the movie were making their way to even the FYPs of Five Nights at Freddy’s haters.
November. As October bled into November, the Josh Hutcherson edits took a whole new form. Someone uncovered an old edit of Josh to the song “Whistle” on YouTube, and not even a day later, that edit was everywhere. It was Smurf Cat 2.0, because even when you thought you finally had a normal video, Josh would be there. Nowhere was safe from his smug grin and whistling music.
December. As the final month dawned, so did the revival of Fortnite. Epic Games decided to add the OG map back for a limited time, and all the fans came back along with it. Everyone was suddenly thrown into a two-week Fortnite craze, and it was all anyone would talk or joke about on TikTok. Everyone was sad to see the OG map eventually leave, except for the girlfriends who were happy that their boyfriends weren’t on Fortnite 24/7 anymore.
TikTok in 2023 was filled with so many ups and downs, and I didn’t even cover half of it in this article. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say I’m excited, albeit a little scared, to see what new trends arise in 2024.
