7 social media challenges of the year [Pulse Picks 2022]

TikTok NG’s #PreciousChallenge was born from a caricature of Duncan Laurence and Fletcher’s 2020 song, “Arcade.”

After fast-rising TikToker, Bada Agnes, recreated the song in her famous, overdramatic Igbo accent, a producer named Precious, mixed and mastered the sound, and TikTokers gleefully hijacked it. It became the soundtrack to the #PreciousChallenge, which was essentially recreating relatable Nigerian moments of people taking an L in one form or the other.

One of the most distinguishable this year, The #KulosaChallenge and its variant, #KulosaDanceChallenge became a thing after Oxlade performed his song “Kulosa,” at COLORS Studios. The media company posted the video on YouTube, it somehow got on TikTok and the rest is a massive success story that Oxlade would undoubtedly be grateful for.

‘Won Da Mo’ is a song off MAVIN’s 10th-year-anniversary album, “Chapter X.” The song features an ensemble cast of Rema, LadiPoe, Johnny Drille, Ayra Starr, Bayanni, Boy Spyce, Crayon and Magixx. So how did it become a viral social media trend of 2022?

Well, TikTokers fell in love with Rema’s verse on the song and decided to dramatise it in their own unique ways. Once it started, it caught on like an Australian wildfire.

Like others, this challenge is propped up by a [global] smash hit. This time, it’s Burna Boy’s outrageously successful song, Last Last. Although it is a recognised heartbreak track, the TikTok challenge that coopted it is more of a fashion, swag, and style concept, which sees people create epic transitions from basic to badass versions of themselves.

The challenge uses a refixed version of the original Burna song, one which has a suspenseful pause before the line: ‘I need igbo and shayo.’ That pause is what ushers in the cleaned-up version of the creator with a bad new look, enhanced of course, by a mouthful of actual [igbo] smoke.

Crayon’s song, ‘Ijo [Laba Laba]’ and the dance that accompanied it became a thing earlier in the year as TikTokers fell hard in love and went to town with the #IjoLabalabaChallenge. See for yourself

Another MAVINS song, another TikTok challenge. Ayra Star is the one giving us this time around, with her big tune, Rush, creating the #RushDanceChallenge which you may or may not have seen. No long talk, see below:

Kizz Daniel’s ‘Cough’ is one of the catchiest songs of this year and rightfully got the attention of TikTok where its specialized dance routine held people spellbound. It’s literally one of the happiest compilations of people enjoying life and living in the moment.

While we give a special shout-out to Johnny Drille’s #HowAreYouMyFriendChallenge, there’s no better way to round up our 2022 list of social media challenges than with Kizz Daniel’s syrupy song and the exciting dance challenge it gave us online and offline.