TikTok moves fast, and staying ahead of the latest trends is essential for creators looking to stay relevant, expand their reach, and spark deeper audience engagement.

From viral audio clips and dance challenges to AI-powered edits, trends on the platform shift week to week. The right trend, however, can transform a small following into a thriving community overnight.

This article tracks the biggest TikTok trends each month, breaking down how they work and how you can adapt them for your content strategy. Whether you’re a creator searching for inspiration, a marketer planning campaigns, or a brand looking to connect with new audiences, this guide will keep you ahead of the formats driving culture on TikTok.

What's Trending on TikTok: January 2026

From 365 buttons to AI dances, here are January's popular TikTok trends, challenges, dances, and audios.

TikTok Trends

365 Buttons Trend

“365 buttons” is a TikTok-born meme that went viral at the start of 2026 after a user said she was “getting 365 buttons, one for each day of the year” to help her be more aware of time and do more stuff. What really caught on wasn’t what the buttons meant, but her reply "Hey, it only has to make sense to me for me to do it and I don’t feel like explaining it to anyone else". This sparked a trend amongst creators, who posted this as their new 2026 motto.

@laniekristin 365 buttons to remind myself i have 365 days of OPPORTUNITY!!!!! it only has to make sense to me lol #365buttons #buttons #newyear #tamara #buttongirl ♬ Glitter on my eyes - 💵

TikTok Content Ideas: Current popular formats include showing literal jars of buttons, and moving buttons between jars each day, or just quoting her line about it making sense only to her. A creative content idea would be to use unexpected substitutes like 365 notes in your phone, 365 saved drafts, 365 screenshots you’ll never explain, or 365 unopened tabs.

Best For: This trend is especially effective for productivity, wellness, or creator tools that sell systems, not outcomes. Apps for journaling, habit tracking, note-taking, or creative workflow can use the quote to show their system.
Editorial accounts, creative studios, or platforms speaking to Gen Z creators can use the trend to demonstrate point of view: “we notice time, culture, or behavior differently.”

Hashtags: #365buttons #buttons #newyear #tamara #buttongirl

“Turning Chinese” / “Becoming Chinese” Trend

Many TikTok users are jokingly declaring that they're “turning Chinese”, often riffing on the quote from Fight Club with the line “you’ve met me at a very Chinese time in my life”. This trend gained traction after the creator @sherryxiiruii posted videos telling viewers “tomorrow, you’re turning Chinese”. Now, creators are swapping iced drinks for hot water (a Chinese health habit), trying foods like congee, or practicing Douyin fashion and makeup.

@awholelotofadventure Thank you @sherry for confirming 🤭🫶🏻 congee has been my fav for a while!!! Please everyone get on this side of tiktok!! #chinese #chinesetok #foodtok #congee #chinesefood ♬ original sound - alex

TikTok Content Ideas: Do a fake documentary edit titled “The Moment It Started” and reveal it was one small habit, like choosing hot water once. Film a hyper-calm montage labeled “Signs I’m Turning Chinese”. Lean into aesthetics by recreating Douyin-style visuals, music, and pacing. Or flip the joke and show how the algorithm decided you were “turning Chinese” before you did.

Best For: This trend works best for lifestyle creators, beauty and fashion accounts, and food creators, who can easily integrate the joke into their niche.

Hashtags: #chinese #chinesetok

AI Baby Dancing Trend

The AI Baby Dance trend uses Kling AI’s motion sensor feature to turn a creator’s dance video into a dancing baby version of themselves. Most videos remix viral choreography, commonly Tyla’s Chanel or the Music Music Music dance. Other variations of this trend include using pets, cartoon characters, or famous figures.

@feastwithgoulders_ Strictly Come Dancing here we come 🤣 Download app KLINGAI. ✨Ho to AI video tab ✨Switch to Motion Control ✨Upload your photo (person you want to be dancing) ✨Upload a video your want to copy motion of (download my video) ✨Generate#aitrend #dancingkids #funnykids #mumsoftiktok ♬ Last Call for Love - ABARZA RECABAL ERICK YORDAN

How To Do It: Upload a clear photo of the person you want to appear as the AI baby onto the Kling AI Motion Control feature. Then, upload a separate video containing the dance movement.

Best For: This trend would be great for PetTok or MomTok influencers, who can use Kling AI to have their pets and kids participate in this trend. It’s also a strong fit for music artists and labels that want to push tracks through choreography.

Hashtags: #aitrend #klingai #dancingbaby

TikTok Challenges

75 Medium Challenge

The 75 Medium trend is TikTok’s response to the 75 Hard challenge, a self-discipline challenge known for extreme rules. While 75 Hard requires two workouts a day, a strict diet, no alcohol, and zero compromises for 75 days, 75 Medium rejects that rigidity by allowing for slip-ups 10% of the time.

@zairayzabelleee hellooo 75 medium is complete !! i’ve never done the 75 series so it thought i’d start with intermediate 😛 #75medium #75hard #LA ♬ [Binaural/Loop] Keyboard sounds(1592426) - Mimi-Fi

TikTok Content Ideas: Show a humorous split-screen of “75 Hard expectations vs 75 Medium reality”. Film daily check-ins where you openly admit when you half-completed a habit and kept going anyway. Turn it into a rules rewrite where each week you adjust your habits instead of quitting.

Best For: This trend works best for mental health platforms, habit and journaling apps, wellness brands, and creators speaking to burnout or neurodivergence. Marketers targeting Gen Z and millennials who are skeptical of grind culture will see strong engagement, particularly if their messaging emphasizes flexibility and set-backs without shame.

Hashtags: #75medium #75hard

2025 Ins and Outs

2025 Ins and Outs is a year's end format where creators list what they’re bringing into the new year, and what they’re leaving behind. Creators usually open with a simple text overlay like “2025 Ins / 2025 Outs,” then cut between examples using calm visuals or lightly ironic clips.

@ebtatton could make so may of these #2025 #fypシ #insandouts ♬ Another Life - SZA

TikTok Content Ideas: Do an industry-specific breakdown like “2025 Ins and Outs for Fashion” or “for Creator Monetization”. Flip the format by starting with a controversial “out”, before following up with a second video explaining the “in.” Creators could also try other formats, like the Bingo Card.

Best For: This trend is especially strong for fashion brands and anyone with credibility in a specific space. Founders, editors, strategists, and culture-focused marketers can use it to comment on an industry, platform behavior, content formats, or consumer shifts.

Hashtags: #InsAndOuts #NewYearTok #2025

TikTok Dances

Last Call For Love Dance

The Last Call for Love dance trend revolves around a difficult choreography that looks smooth but takes real control to execute. Early versions leaned on AI-generated dancers for perfection, but the trend evolved as creators started attempting it IRL specifically because it’s hard.

@brittney_saunders

AI trend comes out. Me:

♬ Last Call for Love - ABARZA RECABAL ERICK YORDAN

TikTok Content Ideas: Post a split version showing the AI execution first, then cut to your real attempt with no edits so the contrast is obvious. Film a progression series where each post is a slightly better take.

Best For: This trend is strongest for dancers and choreographers who want to emphasize skill and technique. Brands at the intersection of creativity and automation can use this trend to show where AI excels, and where human effort still matters.

ICM Triplets Dance

The ICM Triplets Dance trend features three dancers moving in perfect sync, with ultra-smooth transitions and one signature moment where a dancer slides in from the back. Creators have been trying to recreate it in their own groups of three.

@icm_triplets dc: @ari_cryztal #cleared #dance #dancechallenge #pourtoi #fyp #triplets #slide ♬ original sound - 𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥.

TikTok Content Ideas: Subvert expectations by starting completely out of sync, then locking in so tightly it feels intentional. You could also do a parody of how you'd perform if you were one of the triplets, or how badly your trio's recreation of the dance was.

Best For: This trend works best for dance crews, choreographers, and performance-focused creators who want to showcase discipline and cohesion. It’s also a strong fit for music artists promoting smooth, groove-based tracks where timing matters. Brands tied to movement, fashion, or performance culture can use it effectively if they prioritize clean execution over gimmicks.

TikTok Audios

Release Em' Audio

The viral “release ’em” TikTok sound actually comes from a funeral performance. The audio is taken from I Wished That Heaven Had a Phone by Neace Robinson, recorded during a balloon release at a funeral. The countdown — “1, 2, 1, 2, 3, release ’em” — was originally used to cue mourners to let go of balloon.

@howcookiecrumbles Released ALMOST all of them #fyp #dance #raccoon #releaseem ♬ original sound - DJ Vic

TikTok Content Ideas: Use the sound to mark a moment of release like finally taking off uncomfortable clothes, reuniting with friends, finishing something tedious, or dumping all the “lore” after a long day.

Best For: It performs especially well for lifestyle creators or office or school humor pages, who can share relatable and humorous moments of release. The original audio (and not the remix) would also work for emotional moments of letting go, like moving out of an old apartment or losing a loved one.

Hashtags: #releaseem #123release #lettinggo