10 Tracks And 800 Million Views - New Zealand's Songs Of The Summer On TikTok Revealed!

New Zealand, 27 February: As the Kiwi summer draws to a close, dance trends, trauma bonding, and even manus have driven the most popular songs on TikTok, with the top 10 amassing 809 million views in NZ between them.

The #1 Song of the Summer on TikTok was 'Paper Planes', gaining over 138 million views between December and February thanks to an intergenerational dance trend jumped on by The Wiggles and basketballers alike. Marking 16 years since the song's release, Diplo, the song's producer, posted a throwback from the studio with M.I.A. adding, "Internet is wild but I love it".

‘La La La’ by DJ Naughty Boy & Sam Smith was narrowly the #2 Song of the Summer in NZ, with videos using a sped up version of the track gaining almost 137 million views. Originally released in 2013, the song became hugely popular on TikTok with users lip synching whilst switching between the foreground and background.

'Let's Groove', a timeless classic from soul and jazz-fusion band, Earth Wind & Fire, became the #3 most popular song over summer, racking up over 108 million views thanks to users posting videos 'boogying on down' to the popular blast from the past.

This summer, Kiwis soundtracked the 'manu' trend - bombing into water in the shape of a V - to Skepta’s ‘Gas Me Up (Diligent)’ making it the #7 Song of the Summer with more than 56.4 million views.

5 Seconds of Summer also made the top 10 with their 2014 hit 'She Looks So Perfect'. Its resurgence in popularity is credited to the "You're So Funny" trend, led by 5SOS lead singer Luke Hemmings and even actress Brooke Shields, with users spilling tea about their lives as a form of trauma bonding.

TikTok's Songs of the Summer is based on the songs with the most video views in New Zealand between December 2024 to February 2025, with tracks amplified through Apple Music and Amazon Music. From rap classics like 2Pac's 'How Do U Want It' ft. K-Ci & JoJo, to new hits like Lola Young's 'Messy', the first Kiwi Songs of the Summer showcases a diverse array of artists while capturing the evolution of music.

New Zealand's top 10 Songs of the Summer on TikTok

During the campaign, local artists were also encouraged to promote their songs using #SongOfTheSummer and nearly 1,000 acts from Australia and NZ took part, seeing an additional 13 million views on their content locally.

“Summer in Aotearoa is the best time of year and music plays a special part, soundtracking holidays with whānau and beach time with mates... maybe even the odd #manu. As the #1 platform for music discovery, TikTok set up a sweet set of Songs of the Summer that'll keep making a splash until next year," said Ollie Wards, Director of Music for TikTok Australia and New Zealand.

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