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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe defining TikTok challenges of 2020 and 2021 were more than dance routines. They included synchronized choreography, outfit transformations, editing tricks, comedy formats, awareness campaigns and, in some cases, dangerous or illegal stunts. This is an editorial selection based on recognition, participation, cultural impact, creator attribution, geographic range and documentation—not an official TikTok ranking.
TikTok describes trends as sounds, videos, hashtags and subjects that spread as users make their own versions. A challenge is the more specific idea of a repeatable invitation to imitate, reinterpret or respond. A popular song is not automatically a challenge: the important question is what participants actually did with it.
At a glance: the formats that defined 2020–2021
| Format | Representative challenges | Typical participation |
|---|---|---|
| Dance | Renegade, Savage, Blinding Lights, Say So, WAP, Toosie Slide, Savage Love, Up | Users copied or adapted recognizable choreography to a short music clip. |
| Transformation and editing | Don’t Rush, Flip the Switch, Buss It, Silhouette | Participants used cuts, lighting, costumes or makeup to create a reveal. |
| Stunt or controversy | Milk Crate Challenge, Devious Licks | Users attempted a risky stunt or displayed harmful behavior; these should not be imitated. |
| Awareness | Save Ralph | Short videos communicated an advocacy message rather than a dance. |
TikTok reported that more than 176 songs passed one billion video views as TikTok sounds in 2020. Its 2021 music report counted approximately 430 such songs, a platform-reported figure that is not the same as unique participants or worldwide chart sales. TikTok’s 2020 music report and its 2021 report show how quickly sound-led participation expanded.
The biggest TikTok dance challenges of 2020
Renegade
The fast, intricate Renegade routine became one of TikTok’s signature dances. It is widely associated with Jalaiah Harmon, whose choreography circulated under other users’ names before she received broader recognition. That history makes Renegade important not only as a dance but also as a lesson in credit: the account that popularizes a routine is not necessarily its choreographer. Contemporary dance coverage places Renegade among 2020’s defining routines. TIME’s 2020 dance overview provides context.
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Savage Challenge
Keara Wilson posted choreography to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” on March 10, 2020. The routine spread rapidly as users recreated it, and Beyoncé’s appearance on the remix plus celebrity participation increased its visibility. TikTok’s account of the trend specifically credits Wilson’s posting and continued promotion. TikTok’s summer-hits report documents the timing.
Blinding Lights Challenge
Set to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” this challenge usually featured groups performing simple, synchronized movements. Families and friends could learn it together, making it particularly suited to lockdown-era videos. Its appeal came from recognizability and accessibility rather than a demanding technical routine. TIME lists it among the year’s major dances.
Say So Challenge
Haley Sharpe, known online as @yodelinghaley, created the choreography associated with Doja Cat’s “Say So.” Doja Cat later acknowledged Sharpe by including her in the official music video, an unusually visible example of a platform choreographer receiving artist recognition. TIME’s coverage records that connection.
WAP Challenge
The WAP trend used Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s explicit song and choreography associated with Brian Esperon. It generated extensive participation, but its sexually suggestive lyrics and movements make it unsuitable to describe as child-friendly. It belongs in a history of TikTok dance culture, not in a recommendation for young viewers. TIME provides the contemporary dance context.
Toosie Slide Challenge
Drake’s “Toosie Slide” effectively explained its own basic movement in the lyrics. That instructional quality lowered the barrier to participation: viewers could hear the cue and reproduce a short sequence without learning a long routine. It is a clear example of songwriting and challenge design reinforcing each other. TIME included it among the prominent 2020 dances.
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Savage Love Challenge
“Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo paired a globally recognizable sound with repeatable dance participation. TikTok included it among the songs and trends that defined 2020. The exact scale of participation varies by metric and date, so it is more accurate to call it a defining trend than to claim it was the single biggest challenge. TikTok’s 2020 retrospective lists it in that wider context.
Transformation and visual trends from 2020
Don’t Rush
The Don’t Rush format showed people in ordinary clothes or settings before a cut revealed dressed-up looks. Groups of friends, colleagues and creators passed an object or matched an edit so that each person appeared in sequence. It was a transformation challenge rather than a conventional dance. TikTok’s music retrospective connects the format with “Don’t Rush.” Read TikTok’s 2020 music overview.
Flip the Switch
Participants began in one arrangement, then cut to a reversed role, outfit or setting on the lyric “I just flipped the switch.” Couples, coworkers and families used the format for costume changes and visual jokes. Because the central technique was the timed edit, Flip the Switch is best understood as a transition meme, not a fixed choreography. The original sound history is less settled than the participation format, so it is safer to describe its mechanics than to assign a disputed creator.
Silhouette Challenge
The Silhouette Challenge used a bright doorway or background and dramatic lighting to turn a person into a dark outline before a visual reveal. It was an editing and lighting trend, not one standardized dance. Anyone recreating body-focused or revealing imagery should remember that filters and silhouettes do not guarantee privacy; screenshots and altered versions can circulate, and minors face additional exploitation risks.
Music-driven challenges that stood out in 2021
TikTok’s 2021 music report identifies “Buss It,” “Adderall (Corvette Corvette),” “Up” and “Body” among important trend-linked songs. The report combines global and regional examples, so a song’s prominence in one market should not be presented as a universal ranking. See TikTok’s 2021 report.
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Buss It
Set to Erica Banks’ “Buss It,” participants commonly started in casual clothes and then cut to a dressed-up look on the beat, often adding a dance or exaggerated expression. The format combined makeover, timing and performance, which helped it travel beyond a single choreography.
Up
Cardi B’s “Up” supported both choreography and transition videos. Unlike Buss It, it did not depend on one universally fixed reveal, so creators could adapt the audio to different dances, edits and visual jokes. Some versions contain adult lyrics and should be labeled accordingly.
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Adderall (Corvette Corvette)
Popp Hunna’s “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)” became the soundtrack for a repeatable dance. TikTok described the track as moving from Philadelphia to audiences around the world, illustrating how a local music context could become a global platform format.
Body
Tion Wayne’s “Body” was particularly significant in the United Kingdom and was associated with ArrDee’s animated verse on the remix. Its inclusion matters because a history built only from U.S. examples would miss how regional scenes shaped TikTok’s international culture.
STAY-related trends
TikTok’s 2021 report also identifies “STAY” among the year’s trend-linked songs. Participation varied by market and by video format, so it is best described as a family of audio-led trends rather than one fixed routine.
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Memorable challenges that were not dances
Milk Crate Challenge
Participants attempted to cross unstable stacks of plastic milk crates. It was a stunt trend, not a harmless party game: falls from the stacks can cause serious injury. No reliable injury total is established here, and there is no reason to attempt it for content.
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Devious Licks
Devious Licks encouraged students to display or boast about stolen or vandalized school property. Viral visibility did not make theft acceptable or legal. It belongs in a record of controversial platform behavior, not a celebratory list of activities to copy.
Save Ralph
Save Ralph used short-form storytelling to raise awareness about animal testing. Its emotional, cause-related videos demonstrate that challenge culture can support advocacy without requiring a dance or stunt. Exact campaign totals and originating-organization details should be checked against the campaign’s own records before being quantified.
Which TikTok challenges were unsafe?
Separate repeatable creative formats from activities that put bodies, property or other people at risk.
- Do not attempt stunt formats: Milk Crate and similar climbing, vehicle, fire, choking or blackout challenges can cause severe harm.
- Do not imitate illegal behavior: Devious Licks involved theft and vandalism.
- Use caution with sexualized visuals: WAP and some Buss It versions contain explicit lyrics or choreography. Silhouette videos can create privacy and exploitation risks, especially for minors.
- Visibility is not safety approval: TikTok has expanded safety resources in response to harmful-challenge concerns; a trend’s presence on the platform does not make it safe. TechCrunch reported on those safety updates.
How challenges changed music and creator culture
Challenges made a short song excerpt a participatory tool. TikTok reported that nearly 90 songs trending on the platform in 2020 entered the U.S. Top 100 charts, with 15 reaching No. 1 on a Billboard chart. Those are TikTok-reported platform and chart figures, not proof that every song’s success came solely from the app. TikTok’s 2020 music report explains the comparison.
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The period also exposed a credit problem. Dancers and choreographers could create the movement while larger accounts, celebrities or labels received most of the attention. Renegade and Savage show why a responsible list distinguishes an original choreographer from a popularizer or celebrity amplifier.
By 2021, challenge culture was more global and commercially integrated. Music labels, artists and brands designed releases with short, repeatable sections in mind, while creators combined dances with transitions, comedy and regional styles. That expansion is why “challenge” is now a useful umbrella, provided it is not used to pretend that every viral sound had the same format.
How this list was selected
- Recognition among typical 2020–2021 TikTok users.
- Evidence that people recreated or reinterpreted a repeatable format.
- Cultural impact on music discovery, creator visibility or mainstream attention.
- Distinct representation of dance, editing, comedy, advocacy and controversy.
- Documented timing and attribution, with disputed origins described cautiously.
- Geographic range beyond a solely U.S.-centered account.
- Safety: harmful or illegal trends are identified without instructions or glamorization.
“Best” here means most recognizable and culturally illustrative, not most viewed. Hashtag totals change over time and can mix views, videos and other measures, so they should not be treated as a definitive ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the biggest TikTok challenge in 2020?
There is no single official winner because “biggest” can mean views, creations, chart impact or recognizability. Renegade, Savage, Blinding Lights, Say So, WAP, Toosie Slide and Savage Love were among the most defining formats.
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Keara Wilson posted the choreography on March 10, 2020, and TikTok credited her continued promotion as the routine spread.
Who created the Renegade?
The dance is widely associated with Jalaiah Harmon. The routine circulated under other users’ names before Harmon received broader recognition, so popularizer and choreographer should not be conflated.
What is the difference between a TikTok trend and a challenge?
A trend can be any rapidly spreading sound, subject, hashtag or style. A challenge is a more specific, repeatable invitation to imitate, reinterpret or respond.
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