Social media like Twitter and Instagram are main platforms that are used for certain things like things in pop culture. More specifically, songs, both current and old, have become increasingly popular because of its exposure on social media. This is because people are coming up with dances that are specific to the song and release it on social media, they are known as challenges and hundreds of people try to do those challenges. Social media users post the video and hashtag the challenge. Soon enough, the video/challenge becomes viral and the song becomes more popular through these videos.
One of the popular challenges is the #MannequinChallenge, and it 
consists of a group of people posing as mannequins while the song “Black Beetle” by Rae Sremmurd is playing. The song immediately rose to fame and became extremely more popular. Even First Lady Michelle Obama made a video in the White House to this challenge.
Another challenge is the #InMyFeelingsChallenge which may be the most recent one to date. People have made videos of their friends jumping out of the car in the street and performing the “In My Feelings” dance to a chorus of the song. A comedian by the name Shiggy, famously known by his moniker “TheShiggyShow” started this challenge on instagram. After he posted the video to his instagram, a lot of other celebrities like Odell Beckham Jr., Will Smith, and Kevin Hart, just to name a few, participated in the challenge too. The challenge rapidly made the song a number one hit. It instantaneously became the hottest song on Drake’s new album, and of Summer 2018, and became well known across the globe. The challenge made the song so popular that Drake gave Shiggy $250,000 dollars as a ‘thank you’ for making it go viral. He also gave him a role in the “In My Feelings” music video and included handful of other videos of the challenge in the music video. However, not all fame is good fame. The challenge is also known for being shut down by law enforcement because of how dangerous it was for people to hop out of their cars with traffic flow as many people were injured.
The #ShootChallenge is another song that hit social media viral status by people creating a dance to the “Shoot” song by Blocboy JB. The artist of this song was not typically 
considered as a well-known artist, but his rise to fame came to because of the dance; the song has become a major popularity within our culture. However, the very common and popular video game Fortnite incorporated the “Shoot” dance, and Blocboy JB felt used because he didn’t receive compensation nor credit for them to use his dance. He’s expressed in interviews how it was wrong and how he was very frustrated that they could steal what ultimately made him famous
Finally, the last challenge is the #RunningManChallenge. This challenge might be the most impressive, not because of the dance but because of the song itself. The song “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJ’s was released in 1996 and is considered a throwback. The 2016 dance gave the song more recognition as it became viral through social media platforms. The song originally peaked at #31 on the Billboard Top 100, but in 2016 re-entered the Top 100 at #29. Due to this social media dance craze, “My Boo” became a much more popular song than it was twenty years ago! Without this challenge, this classic of a song wouldn’t have been so relevant in 2016.
Overall, these challenges make popularize these and possibly make the artist more money than they would have without it. People find these challenges entertaining because the dances are cool and for the most part, easy to do. Younger people tend to be on social media a lot more than before, so it is a perfect platform for these challenges to reach social media users. Each challenge has its core moves, though many people would put their own twist on it to be different, and make it their own. It is entertaining to watch your favorite celebrity try these challenges because some are good at them and others not so much. It’s crazy to see how creative people can be which is what draws in viewers. Dance challenges will never end because they are a major part of our culture now. All that’s left to see is, which song start the next viral dance?
