2025 was an incredible year for music, with new hits dominating the charts and dance challenges. From TikTok trends to unbelievable record breaking streaming numbers, artists across the world delivered amazing songs that defined 2025. Whether it was addictive lyrics, hype beats or viral choreography, this year’s tracks left a strong impact. Below are the top 15 songs of 2025 that I think made the most global impact.
15. “Folded”
Kehlani Ashley Parrish released the single “Folded” on June 13 as her first solo track of the year. Her song became popular because of breakup lyrics, especially where she said “So can you come pick up your clothes? / I have them folded. Meet me at the door while it’s still open.” This led to viral success on TikTok and reached number one on R&B charts.
14. “Chanel”
Tyla Laura Seethal released her single “Chanel” on Oct. 24 through FAX records. “Chanel” became a boom through Tiktok and Youtube couple dance challenges. With the lyric “Say you love me, put me in Chanel”, people danced with the movements like body roll, waves, and groove. It entered the top 100 songs on Apple Music U.K. for the first time and stormed in at number one on the Billboard U.S. Afrobears Songs chart.
13. “Daisies”
Justin Bieber released his album Swag on July 11, with the song “Daisies” becoming the most popular song from the album. It was a song filled with catchy guitar sounds and sweet, rich vocals. The audience noted that Justin’s Bieber sounded more real and enjoyed the “folk and classic rock vibe” with unique rhythms. His album became another success by reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, hitting number one on the Pop Airplay chart, with 100 million streams on Spotify.
12. “Anxiety”
Doechii released her single “Anxiety” on March 4. It became extremely popular because of a TikTok dance trend featuring a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air scene. The dance involves a two person mirroring dance, where one person courageously dances while the other secretly copies their movie showing anxiety of getting caught copying. The “Anxiety” landed over 490 million Spotify streams and it became one of her fastest songs to reach 100M streams.
11. “Ordinary”
Alex Warren released his first debut album called “You’ll Be Alright Kid” on Feb. 7. “Ordinary” quickly reached global charts, with his deep, cave-like voice, and his lyrics talking about his personal struggles that the audience could relate to deeply. “Ordinary” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks and became Billboard’s 2025 song of the summer.
10. “Cry for me”
The Weeknd released his album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” on Jan. 31. One of his songs “Cry for me” was a hit. “Cry for me” reached over 329 million Spotify streams as of early 2026. This song connected with fans through his toxic love and heartbreak, with critics complimenting how the sad lyrics match well with heavy synth.
9. “The Fate of Ophelia”
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” was released as part of her album “The Life of a Showgirl” on Oct. 3. “The Fate of Ophelia” felt like a totally different vibe compared to her previous album. This time, it was more like storytelling—with amazing high notes. The highlight of this song became another viral TikTok challenge. This song also landed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for multiple weeks and gained huge popularity in both streaming and radio.
8. “Sugar on my tongue”
Tyler, The Creator released his single “Sugar On My Tongue” on Aug. 19 from his “DON’T TAP THE GLASS”album. It became viral due to the addictive beats and repetitive words, as well as TikTok dance challenges. The trend spread extremely fast through social media. People started dancing over the lyrics “Like sugar on my tongue, tongue, tongue. / Your body is so sweet, sweet, sweet. / Invite me if you could come, come come. / It’s all I want to eat, eat, eat.”
7. “Just Keep Watching”
Tate Mcrae’s song “Just Keep Watching” from “F1 the Movie” was released on May 30. It became popular due to high energy pop as it matched the energy of racing cars. With the global popularity of F1 racing—more than 100,000 fans from 186 countries were engaged with F1 racing—people fell in love with all of the original soundtracks (OST) in the movie, increasing Tate Mcrae’s fandom. With the success of “F1 the Movie”, “Just Keep Watching” hit number one on Billboard’s dance/electronic charts.
6. “Lose My Mind”
The song “Lose my mind” by Don Toliver featuring Doja Cat was released as a single on April 30, foregoing F1 movie’s soundtrack album. Later on, “Lose my mind” got released again in the F1 movie on May 30. I think that “Lose My Mind” was the best song in “F1 the Movie” because the lyrics about high stakes, passion and running out of time resemble the reality of F1 racing. The beat of this song was very electronic, hyped and instrumental, making the song viral, which led to hundreds of millions of streams.
5. “Manchild”
Sabrina Carpenter released her song “Manchild” on June 5. This song gave more of a country vibe and retro pop sound. Her music video brought a lot of attention, because it was a road trip theme, and had a 1980s vibe. “Manchild” reached the top charts in the U.K. and Ireland, and was number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Carpenter’s second time at the top of the list since her debut.
4. “Gabriela”
The global pop girl group Katseye released their song called “Gabriela” on June 20. Katseye did a strategic promotion of the song by creating a dance challenge of “Gabriela” on TikTok. The “Gabriela” dance challenge was way different than other dance challenges in general because of the rapid, circular motion of the hands. “Gabriela” achieved global chart success by hitting the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Global 200 and reaching over 584 million on Spotify.
3. “Mystical Magical”
Benson Boone’s “Mystical Magical” was released as part of his album “American Heart” on April 24. Boone sparked a TikTok trend by doing dance challenges and transition videos that matched the song’s dreamy vibe. “Mystical Magical” reached the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Global 200 and showed over 400 million streams by late 2025 on Spotify.
2. “Die With a Smile”
“Die with a smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga was released on the closing track of Gaga’s album “Mayhem” on March 7. The lyrics told the audience that nothing else matters if you are with someone you love—even when time runs out. With their amazing vocals and harmony, this love song felt so powerful. It was inspiring to see how these two artists’ voices blend together and make the masterpiece. As a result, “Die with a smile” reached Billboard Global 200, Billboard Hot 100 and was Spotify’s most streamed song.
1. “Golden”
The song “Golden” by the fictional K-Pop girl group from the movie “KPop Demon Hunters” was released on July 4. The “Golden” singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami gained huge popularity after the animated movie got viral. The massive success of these three singers was possible because of their powerful vocal performances, sky-high notes and a message of self acceptance. Getting love globally, this song hit number one on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts for a total of 18 non-consecutive weeks.