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Rapper Stepz has been named the most viewed UK artist on TikTok in 2022.
The London-born musician took the top spot in the video-sharing app’s Year On TikTok report, which reviews the trends and creators of the past year, beating out competition from established acts such as Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Stepz has 2.8 million followers on TikTok went viral this summer with his song “Cramp Dat”, which samples Soulja Boy’s 2007 hit “Crank That”.
The musician – who also posts comedy videos on the platform – said of being named TikTok’s most viewed UK artist: “Gaining an audience since I started TikTok allowed me to chase my dreams and allow my sound to be heard with music globally all thanks to God + TikTok my life has changed!”
Smith came in second place, followed by Sheeran, who topped the list last year.
Eurovision star Sam Ryder came in fourth and has been named one of Tiktok‘s breakthrough artists of 2022.
Discussing TikTok, Ryder said: “This bonkers little app is where it all changed for me so I wanna say a massive thank you to the whole team and most importantly - the supremely fabulous people from all over the place who supported, shared and connected. Love ya, peace, bye!”
This UK’s most popular song according to TikTok was “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and producer Dazy.
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, first released in 1985, came in sixth after a resurgence in popularity due to Stranger Things.
Also the subject of viral success, the viral hit song “Jiggle Jiggle”, which features Louis Theroux’s rap from his Weird Weekends series in 2000 and his episode of YouTube video series Chicken Shop Date, came in eighth place.
Music producers Duke and Jones remixed the rap and the song became a popular dance trend on TikTok earlier this year.
TikTok’s head of UK music operations David Mogendorff said that “the music that thrived on TikTok in the UK this year has been as unpredictable and diverse as ever”.
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Sign up“Just look at Louis Theroux, Kate Bush and even Encanto’s ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ in the top tracks, who all became the centre of massive trends on TikTok,” he said.
“It’s also been a standout year for emerging talent. From Nicky Youre and Stepz, to Venbee, Cat Burns, FLO, Dreya Mac and so many more – a new generation of wonderful artists are building brilliant, long-term music careers with a huge amount of support and love from our TikTok community.”
The Year on TikTok annual review is based on internal research and trends analysis conducted from January to October 2022, the social media platform has said.
Additional reporting by Press Association
