What is TikTok’s ‘Lock It’ challenge? Dance inspired by Charli XCX song goes viral

It seems like everyday there is a new dance challenge on TikTok, with crazes appearing out of nowhere and sweeping our FYP. The latest viral dance trend is the ‘Lock It’ challenge, and for some, the song might sound familiar…

With the ‘lockit’ tag having 448 million views, it is clear that this dance challenge has been one of the most popular dance crazes to take over TikTok over the last couple of months, with big names like Brentman Rock, the D’Amelios, Addison Rae and Noah Beck all getting involved in the challenge.

The popular soundtrack to the dance challenge, which has been used in 3.2 million TikToks, is a remix of popstar Charli XCX’s 2017 track ‘Unlock It’. The version of the song that has gone viral on TikTok and inspired people to dance is a remix by Washington-based DJ Jeff Prior.

As with most dance crazes, TikTokers on the app have created their own dance routine to accompany the song. While several dances have popped up in recent months, the most popular one routine involves lip-syncing to the chorus (while repeating the phrase ‘lock it’ several times) while doing finger-gun motions in time to the fast-paced beat.

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The dance craze went so viral that it didn’t take long for Charli XCX herself to get involved in the trend. On 11 March, she posted herself enthusiastically dancing to the song, excitedly captioning the TikTok: “OMG this is my song!”

 

Fully embracing her song’s status as a TikTok trend, Charli also duetted with TikTok icon Addison Rae as she tried out the ‘Lock It’ challenge for herself.

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With ‘Unlock It’ originally coming out four years ago, many of Charli’s fans seem happy that the song is finally getting widespread attention. “This is the best song ever!” one fan pointed out, while another said that they are “so glad that this song is getting the attention it deserves.”

Charli XCX isn’t the only artist to find her song going viral on TikTok. Recently, Natasha Bedingfield’s noughties hit ‘Unwritten’ also went viral on the app, and she couldn’t resist giving the dance challenge a try herself…