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- The Echo Vol. 4 - Nostalgia strikes again
The Echo Vol. 4 - Nostalgia strikes again
Read about nostalgia once again being the #1 global TikTok sound, a cool Dutch Hip Hop trend, and much much more
May 7, 2025 | by Parasition |
HOW’S IT HANGING?
We’re doing great, so we hope you’re in the same situation :) Let’s get started with this week’s Echo.
GLOBAL TIKTOK TREND (SOUND) OF THE WEEK
 520k likes | Pretty Little Baby | Connie FrancisGenre: 60s Pop Pretty Little Baby is an old school classic that’s gone crazy all over the globe. The melody is gentle and nostalgic, and the singer’s voice is warm and comforting. The repeated phrase “pretty little baby” is very soothing and almost hypnotic, and the unique voice and (today) rare music style makes it really stand out. Takeaways— Nostalgic sounds have performed incredibly well on TikTok, and continue to do so — The repetitive lyrics combined with the dreamy vibe creates a hook and makes the sound easy to use |
LOCAL TIKTOK TREND (SOUND) OF THE WEEK
Netherlands
 23k likes | SINGLE (Hook) | IdalyGenre: Dutch Hip Hop This Dutch banger features a smooth melodic beat with heavy base. The vocals are catchy (despite us not understanding a single word) and the repetition creates a strong hook since the song latches on to your brain. It has a cool vibe and there’s already a niche that matches it (like being confident). We also think it’s worth mentioning that the song isn’t even released… Takeaways— Hip Hop songs can work great on TikTok when the sound is trend-friendly — Songs with simple yet strong lyrics make people easily latch on, creating trends |
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOCIAL MEDIA:
Trump says TikTok will be protected in the US
During a NBC exclusive interview this week, Trump said “Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok. TikTok is - it’s very interesting, but it’ll be protected. It’ll be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension. Might not need it”.
In other words, we’ll probably not see TikTok getting shut down in the US any time soon even if it’s not sold to an American firm.
Why this matters for music marketing
TikTok is the place to market music. If TikTok were to get shut down, we’d see a massive shift in attention and music marketers targeting the US would have to change strategies. With this interview, you can be more confident in continuing your TikTok plans.
DATA | THE WORLD OF MUSIC QUANTIFIED
Spotify’s weekly global top 5 songs
— #1. Die with a smile | Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars // 39.8 m weekly streams
— #2. Ordinary | Alex Warren // 36.4 m weekly streams
— #3. Birds of a Feather | Billie Eilish // 34.1 m weekly streams
— #4. APT. | Rosé & Bruno Mars // 29.3 m weekly streams
— #5. La Plena - W Sound 05 | W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums // 26.6 m weekly streams
Spotify’s weekly global top 10 artists
— #1. Bad Bunny // Latin trap
— #2. Taylor Swift // Pop
— #3. The Weeknd // Alternative R&B
— #4. Drake // Pop
— #5. Billie Eilish // Alternative pop
— #6. Kendrick Lamar // Hip hop
— #7. Lady Gaga // Pop
— #8. Ariana Grande // Pop
— #9. Bruno Mars // Pop
— #10. Arijit Singh // Playback singer
TIKTOK VIDEO OF THE WEEK:
“If I’m talking about you, YOU’RE OUT!”
Views: 23,600,000 | Likes: 1,500,000
Here’s a guy cruising around on a skateboard / hoverboard or some other fly device. All he does is say “If I’m talking about you, you’re out” and then he starts listing completely random things.
This video works because people want to see if they’re out or not. Simple right?Well, there’s a bit more to it of course. There are plenty of videos with this concept, but here’s why this one has blown up:
— #1. Instantly let’s you know what the video is about, so you know if it’s something you’d be interested in or not
— #2. Cool background with great lighting and filming, making the video pop and stand out from the rest of your feed (hook). The video is really professional without looking awkwardly staged
— #3. Moving around on a skateboard (or something like that) which is super smooth and makes the video enjoyable to watch. It also makes the video much more dynamic than someone for example sitting down and listing things — once again making the video more enjoyable
MUSIC EVENT OF THE WEEK:
Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
The Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival 2025 (May 8-11 ) is a rock event held in Columbus, Ohio. It’s got a massive lineup of over 100 bands, with the most notable ones being legendary Metallica, Korn, and Linkin Park. Metallica will headline twice with unique sets, while Linkin Park debuts with a new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong. This festival will also include different reunions and anniversary performances. So expect to see a lot of rock circulating on all major platforms.
TIP OF THE WEEK
What makes a short-form video enjoyable to watch?
People often think about making content fun, cool, or interesting. What many forget is making the video enjoyable and satisfying to watch. It’s kind of hard to explain what this means, but watching a video should feel good (like the skateboard video earlier) while also being fun, cool, or interesting. Here’s a few tips on how to achieve this:
How to get it right
— #1. Stable and smooth camera work — no shaky footage (pretty much ever). Use a stabilizer or tripod if that’s what it takes
— #2. Excellent lighting makes your video instantly appear good (essentially being a mini-hook) and keeps focus on the subject
— #3. Clear and balanced audio without significant ups and downs in volume or pitch. Disturbing background sounds are really never okay
— #4. Great pacing with cuts where it makes sense. Be efficient and respect the viewer’s time, but don’t make it too choppy or stressful either
— #5. One-point perspective creates a more visually appealing composition and makes the viewer know where to focus their attention (in the middle). The rest of the visuals are also crucial to get right with things like color and symmetry
PARASITION: Campaign breakdown
 75k+ likes | Giovanni Toccami | BraaheimGenre: Electronic Dance This is a energetic electronic dance track. In the example video, the creator did a super good job with a reaction-sparking caption on a hot topic. She also used a clean background with little movement to add more focus on the caption. The lighting and angle are excellent, and the small movement in the start of the video is a hook (especially combined with the upbeat sound). Campaign learnings— Relatable / engaging captions are incredibly powerful — Playful / sarcastic attitudes can be very successful — Don’t have too much freedom in the campaign’s creator brief |
ROUND-UP
— Nostalgic songs are still among the most popular sounds on TikTok
— Lyrics that are repetitive and easy to remember are great for creating trends
— TikTok is likely not going to be shut down in the US, so the short form king is here to stay
— Pop is still what’s played the most around the globe
— Simple videos that get key things right while adding something special (the skateboard video) can perform tremendously well
— Always make short form videos enjoyable to watch by having great camera work, lighting, audio, pacing, and by using a one-point perspective
— Captions are super powerful to create engagement
We really hope you found this week’s Echo insightful, and we hope even more that we’ll see you again next week :)
Do you work with music marketing? And do you want to make your songs go even more viral? Reach out to us at Parasition and let’s make cool things happen together 🕺🚀
// The Echo Team