What Is Trending on TikTok in 2026

What's Trending on TikTok This Week: May 1–7, 2026

TL;DR: The first week of May 2026 on TikTok is dominated by the Met Gala (with Bad Bunny's aged-prosthetics stunt and Alex Consani's Gucci moment leading billions of impressions), the "Six Seven" Brazilian dance craze amplified by BTS's J-Hope to 75M+ views, the Michael Jackson biopic sparking a global Thriller dance revival, and CORTIS's "REDRED" K-pop choreography crossing over into mainstream. Audio-wise, Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" is the sound of prom and summer transition content, while Slayyyter's "Old Technology" and Katy Perry's sped-up "The One That Got Away" are climbing fast.

🔥 The Met Gala Took Over Everything

This wasn't just a fashion event — it was the single biggest content engine on TikTok this week. Multiple videos crossed 10M views within 48 hours, and the ripple effects are still building.

36M views

Alex Consani in custom Gucci — sheer corset with a voluminous feathered black train. This was the most-viewed single Met Gala clip, posted by Vogue Italia.

12.5M views

Bad Bunny showed up as an 82-year-old — full prosthetic aging makeup, white hair, cane — wearing a custom Zara tuxedo he co-designed. The shock factor made this one of the most rewatched clips.

7.6M views

Stevie Nicks and Sabrina Carpenter dueted inside the Temple of Dendur. The clip from Vogue's official account became the week's biggest music moment tied to fashion.

The Met Gala also generated a wave of derivative formats that smaller creators rode to huge numbers. A mid-size creator with ~11K followers made a split-screen comparing celebrity looks to famous paintings — pairing Cardi B's yellow gown with Alphonse Mucha and Hailey Bieber with Yves Klein — and pulled 5.3M views with 17% engagement.

And then there's @thatssosavannah — a creator with under 3,000 followers who filmed herself watching arrivals from the street outside the Pierre Hotel. Her "red flats queen" videos about one attendee's practical footwear choice exploded.

Her latest video on the same topic, posted hours ago, is already pulling strong engagement. This is the purest example this week of a nobody breaking out from sheer proximity and personality.

💃 Dance Trends: Three Dominants

The "Six Seven" (Seis Sete) Challenge

This is the biggest dance trend on TikTok right now, period. Originating from a Brazilian funk track where the lyrics count "20 + 20 + 20 + 7 = 67," it features rhythmic finger-counting and a playful shrug on the beat. It was already big in Latin America, but J-Hope from BTS participating pushed his version alone past 75 million views.

The trend has crossed every possible border — Japanese high schoolers, Mexican presidents, Kazakh dance crews, animated fan edits, and family videos. The math equation "20+20+20+7=?" has become a caption meme in itself.

CORTIS "REDRED"

K-pop group CORTIS dropped choreography for their track "REDRED" and it immediately became the platform's hottest dance challenge in the idol/stan space. Their official video pulled 6.2M views, but the real story is the cascade of covers.

Nick Kosir ("The Dancing Weatherman" with 10M followers), professional choreographer Sofi Manassyan, and thousands of fan accounts have all covered it. Tutorial creator @singsingaduck posted a slowed, mirrored breakdown that alone hit 2.9M views.

Slayyyter "Old Technology" Dance

A body-movement dance challenge set to Slayyyter's "Old Technology," choreographed by @cherble (credited across every major video). It emphasizes posing and rhythmic swaying rather than complex footwork — almost more of a "vibe" dance than a technical one.

What's notable: the engagement rates across almost every version are above 20%, which is extremely high. Creators are inserting it into unrelated contexts (baking, church organ playing, being sick) for comedic contrast, which is extending its life.

🎵 Trending Sounds & Audio

"Young Hearts Run Free" — Candi Staton (sped-up remix)

The sound of prom season and summer glow-ups. Creators are using the sped-up version for before/after transformation transitions — casual clothes to formal wear, messy hair to styled, winter body to "hot girl summer." The hashtag #youngho has emerged as the informal tag for the vibe it represents: being young, carefree, and outside.

The original artist's granddaughter posted Candi Staton's reaction to the trend, which itself went viral — adding a meta, wholesome layer.

"The One That Got Away" — Katy Perry (sped-up)

This one is tied to May wordplay: "since it's May, may you buy me food 🙏" — a lip-sync format pairing the nostalgic song with light humor. The timing (Katy Perry also appeared at the Met Gala this week) has given it extra momentum.

"Like a Prayer" Remix — Josh Fawaz

An EDM/house remix of Madonna's classic that creators are calling "the summer anthem." The format is simple: sync emotional B-roll (travel clips, golden hour footage, best friend montages) to the "when you call my name" lyric. It's still early-stage but growing fast — multiple social media coaches are flagging it as one to jump on immediately.

Noah Kahan — "The Great Divide" (Dan)

The "Dan" trend: creators are pairing footage of their best friends with Noah Kahan's new track. The format is a nostalgic photo/video montage celebrating platonic love. Engagement rates across even small creators are consistently above 10%, signaling strong emotional resonance.

🎬 The Michael Jackson Movie Effect

The "Michael" biopic starring Jaafar Jackson has become a TikTok content machine. The cultural impact is running in three lanes:

8.9M views

Emotional edits — Prince Jackson interview clips layered with "Human Nature" and vintage home movies. Slowed, ethereal remixes paired with grainy film filters.

1.6M views

Thriller dance challenge — Full choreography recreations are trending, with @devinbeasleyjr going from 3K followers to a massive breakout on his "Beat It" performance alone.

Met Gala crossover

Jaafar at the Met Gala — He wore a black velvet Ralph Lauren suit with gold detailing, and the MTV clip alone hit 5.1M views. The movie and the Met moment are feeding each other.

The Thriller choreography trend in particular is pulling strong engagement across all demographics. @luvherkyra_8 posted an "admirable things I saw online" reaction to someone performing it and hit 3M views.

😂 Comedy & Skit Formats

"POV: Me vs ChatGPT"

@nathandoancomedy's split-screen skit where he plays both a customer and a painfully literal AI hit 7.7M views. The format — one person, two roles, AI misunderstanding common sense — is spawning imitations across every niche.

The "My Name Is" Identity Trend

Using Eminem's "My Name Is" as audio, creators lip-sync while text explains that people confuse them with a character, celebrity, or online persona. Kevin Chamberlin (Bertram from Disney's Jessie) posted his version and hit 4M views. The format has since crossed into anime edits, gaming, and pet content.

Relatable POV Skits Still Dominate

The "POV: that one friend who's been to your house 100+ times" format from @jordansmikle hit 5M views. The formula is consistent: a specific, hyper-relatable scenario with committed physical acting.

Other strong performers: exam hall cheating eye movements (2.3M, 19% engagement), Discord couple at the mall (7.5M), and DoorDash tipping debates (1.6M).

👗 Fashion Beyond the Met

Y2K Nostalgia Is Shopping Content Gold

Aeropostale haul content specifically referencing "2000s inspired" styles is pulling strong engagement — @sarahhchi0's mall vlog try-on hit 168K views with 18% engagement, far above typical haul content.

Zara and Bershka summer hauls are performing consistently well. The pattern: breezy, personality-forward try-ons with honest fit commentary, filmed in-store rather than at home.

Outfit Transition Trend

@danch.merk's spray-bottle-to-fashion-reveal (casual T-shirt → layered high-fashion fit, synced to an Eazy-E remix beat drop) hit 5.8M views. The format — using a household object as the "transition trigger" — remains one of the most reliable viral fashion formats.

🍳 Food & Wellness

Grocery Store Discovery Carousels

Photo carousels showing "NEW healthy food finds" at specific stores (Whole Foods, Costco, Target, Sprouts) are consistently outperforming video content in the food scanner space. @nutrition.girlies posted multiple — one Costco finds carousel hit 19K views with a 49x multiple on their normal content.

The format: exterior store shot → POV hand holding products → app scan overlay showing ingredient safety. Clean, bright, Instagram-aesthetic slides.

Smoothie Season

Protein smoothie content is ramping up as summer approaches. The highest-performing versions feature specific ingredient lists, brand callouts, and close-up texture shots. Nothing wildly viral, but the category is heating up fast.

💪 Fitness

Gym content this week is dominated by body recomposition journeys and realistic progress posts rather than flashy challenges. The most-viewed fitness content features honest before/after compilations with encouraging captions like "not where I want to be, but happy with my progress."

@gvantsa_fit's "sexy back exercise" with a structured challenge link in bio pulled 332K views — the leading viral fitness post of the week. Pilates content from @courtneywatts.studio is steady but not breakout.

🤖 Tech & AI

Claude Browser Control Goes Viral

The biggest AI-related TikTok this week: @leon.petrou explaining that Claude (Anthropic's AI) can now control your browser — but "99% of people are using it wrong." The hook formula of "this tool exists BUT you're doing it wrong" pulled 196K views, the highest for any AI tool content this week.

AI content on TikTok is in an interesting phase: the category is active but engagement rates are notably lower than entertainment content (3-6% vs 15-25%). The most successful format remains "I found a tool that replaces your entire workflow," delivered with high energy and a screen recording walkthrough.

🚀 Breakout Creators to Watch

The creators who went from near-zero to massive reach this week:

829 → 808K views

@8araka_ — 829 followers, posted a "Poison" dance in a school hallway and pulled 808K views with 15% engagement.

3K → 1.2M views

@mileypileyy — 3,372 followers, her "NEW DANCE ALERT" video using a comedic shock-humor audio hit 1.2M views with 13% engagement. Her other recent posts average under 2K views.

2.9K → 8.9M views

@thatssosavannah — Filmed Met Gala arrivals from the public sidewalk. Her "red flats queen" series turned her from an unknown into a moment. She's continuing to post follow-ups that are also gaining traction.

11.5K → 5.3M views

@annacadence — Paired Met Gala looks with their art history inspirations. A simple split-screen format, ethereal choral music, and an eye for composition turned a small account into a fashion-culture authority overnight.

📊 Trend Cheat Sheet