Amongst the dozens of viral TikTok videos in 2020, a few stand out as the most liked posts the platform has ever produced. As TikTok continues to explode in popularity, the most liked videos on the site have changed dramatically in just half a year.
TikTok videos have a tendency to go viral because of a perfect storm of conditions, some of which are probably not intentional. The "For You" page on TikTok is a mysteriously crafted list of videos the platform wants people to see, and while its preferences can be controversial at times, it's not the only reason these videos do so well. Sometimes it's just the format itself. The one-minute time limit does wonders for editing, making sure a joke or dance doesn't overstay its welcome. Sometimes TikToks go viral because of the technology involved and how easy it is to share them to other platforms.
Regardless of the cause, this group of TikTok videos stands out for picking up the most Likes. It's an interesting statistic to observe because it's amusingly not representative of the most followed accounts on the platform. There's a greater chance of a "one-hit wonder" striking gold with a single video. There's also a better focus on the quality of the video itself in this list (compared to a list sorted by followers), since there's less importance placed on how likeable a person is.
Just Maiko - AhiChallenge: 25.2M Likes
It should come as no surprise that the most liked video on TikTok is a dance challenge. There are maybe three ways to make a dance challenge go viral: be extremely attractive, feature a cute animal, or feature a cute kid. This video from @justmaiko owes its success to the latter.
Kison Kee - Spilled Milk: 22.9M Likes
@kisonkee has tons of videos of him wearing cups as shoes and falling down. In this particular video, he falls down while carrying a gallon of milk. Roughly 23 million people liked it. The internet is a strange place.
The Rock - Best Friends Check: 21.9M Likes
Dwayne Johnson is the world's biggest movie star and he's very active on social media, so it's no surprise that he churns out viral content. What is surprising is that this simple "Best Friends Check" video is the most liked @therock video on TikTok. One has to imagine the hug with Kevin Hart is to blame.
The Rock - All I Want For Christmas: 20.6M Likes
Speaking of The Rock's ability to produce popular things on the internet, this is another @therock TikTok post with tons of likes. This one also features Kevin Hart as a Santa Claus but the highlight is the 200-plus-pound elf.
Just Maiko - Hips Don't Lie: 18.8M Likes
@justmaiko has more than one video featuring an escalator ride and an adorable child. This one is set to "Hips Don't Lie" and has one of those perfect endings that makes it funnier the more times you replay it.
David Dobrik - World Record Experiment: 18M Likes
David Dobrik has a history of astounding YouTube videos in which he does ridiculous experiments and stunts. They're hard to ignore, which is perhaps why this @daviddobrik video, which is like the Coke and Mentos experiment but on a massive scale, is so beloved.