The latest, hottest TikTok trends right now: May 2025
Dive into the latest TikTok trends: returning pop stars, robbery, and gorilla-fighting are all covered by Epidemic Sound’s social media expert.
Another month, another absolutely wild time online. Join Epidemic Sound’s community manager, Madie Hooker, as she breaks down five of the latest TikTok trends.
Trend 1: Return of the Lorde
2025’s been a landmark year for returning pop stars. Ke$ha’s self-releasing music after nearly a decade of legal disputes, Lady Gaga’s dropped a banger of a new album, and Miley Cyrus is bigger than ever. And now, finally, Lorde’s back.
The Grammy-winning vocalist teased her comeback single, What Was That, throughout most of April. The Melodrama-inspired track has dominated TikTok for weeks — everything from lip-syncs and dance-alongs to makeup demos and people generally worshiping the air Lorde breathes. Yep, we’re gonna try and get tickets to the tour, too.
@laurenwolfe This was the first one I filmed.. lol
♬ What Was That - Lorde
Trend 2: The party 4 u keeps rolling
Fresh from her second weekend at Coachella, Charli “Miss Should Be Headliner” XCX went viral for more reasons than a playful beef with Green Day. Her 2020 track, party 4 u, has long been a fan favorite — when she played it at Coachella, TikTok fell in love.
The song has since been re-released as a single and entered the charts, boosted by the BRAT singer’s somber, post-Coachella video. The clip was soundtracked by party 4 u’s “slow” section, spurring her fans to create similar candid content.
The song’s fast part has also found a home on TikTok, soundtracking everything from lip-syncs to videos of cats going hard on treadmills.
@charlixcx yup
♬ original sound - ava
Trend 3: Getting robbed with your AirPods in
You’ll probably spot more people on the street, in the store, and at the gym wearing headphones than not. And that’s fine — it’s just how everyone goes about their business nowadays. But what does that look like when something bad happens?
TikTok creators have jumped on a light-hearted POV trend, showing what getting robbed with your headphones in looks like. Some folks have their bags stolen while listening to steamy audiobooks, while others retake their belongings as gospel music triumphantly blares in their AirPods.
@_tdmyth No weapon formed against me shall prosper ☝️#fypシ゚viral #christiantiktok #viral #YTH #youthgroup #powerofGod#onegod #Godisgood ♬ original sound - YTH
Trend 4: Could 100 men beat a gorilla in a fight?
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? Could you beat Usain Bolt out of the blocks? These are the kind of questions the internet was made for, and now, “could 100 men beat a gorilla in a fight?” has entered the chat.
The meme spread cross-platform like wildfire, prompting news coverage, deep-dive discussions, and well-planned strategies. Its natural conclusion came when Epic Warz, a battle simulation creator, laid down the ultimate challenge: 10,000 gorillas vs. 1,000,000 men.
@epicwarzyt 10,000 Gorillas VS 1,000,000 Men ! 😱 Who will win ? 🤔 #100menvs1gorrila #gorilla #GamingOnTikTok #gamingcommunity #uebs #gameplay #uebs2 #gaming ♬ Motivation epic - OFAIL
Trend 5: So hungry we could eat 100 men, or a gorilla
TikTok had a field day when everyone discovered another weird UK idiom: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” This quickly slid into surreal turns of phrase, telling family and friends that you’d eat something obscure or close to them.
It could be a random celebrity, a family pet, or some long-lost person from a relative’s past. Yeah, this one’s pretty strange.
@paulandmorgan0 Puurrr meow #foryou #viral ♬ original sound - Paul and Morgan
Need inspiration for your content? Soundtrack current TikTok trends with cutting-edge music — our catalog’s packed with more than 50,000 tracks and 200,000 unique sound effects and variations. Get started below and find the perfect match today.
Related posts: