Viral routines tied to PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson show how choreography and fan participation are shaping the way pop songs spread online.
A viral pop dance is increasingly being treated less as an afterthought than as part of how a song travels, with choreographers and fans helping routines tied to PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and other artists spread across social platforms.
Luam Keflezgy, who choreographed the routine for PinkPantheress’s Girl Like Me, told BBC Newsbeat that a memorable move does not always come from overworking an idea. The best move is “often the first thing that comes out,” she said.
The 25-year-old PinkPantheress recently released the music video for Girl Like Me, a single from her British-themed album Fancy That. The video leans on British imagery, including royal foot soldiers, London Underground signs and Mini Coopers, but the choreography — built around symmetry, sharp shapes and staggered movement — has become a major part of the song’s online life.
Keflezgy, whose credits include Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Kelly Rowland, posted her first TikTok at the start of May: a backstage clip of PinkPantheress dancing to the song. The video has drawn 2.5 million views, according to the BBC report. She said PinkPantheress wanted a canon sequence, where dancers repeat the same movement at different times, and was closely involved in shaping the routine.
The same pattern has helped revive interest in Zara Larsson’s Lush Life, first released in 2016. A newer routine built around arm swings and hip circles, choreographed by Lola Beckers, has spread widely online and become a feature of Larsson’s tour performances, where fans have been invited onstage to dance with her.
Larsson told the BBC it has been “fun that more people are coming into my world.” One fan chosen to perform the routine at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, 20-year-old Kayleigh Sloat, described the moment as surreal and said involving fans can make live shows more meaningful.
The movement is not limited to professionally planned routines. Charli XCX’s 2024 song Apple became associated with a fan-created dance, while girl group Flo’s choreography for Leak It has circulated on social media and contributed to the song’s chart momentum, according to the BBC report. Flo’s Jorja Douglas said artists cannot reliably predict what will go viral and have to be confident in what they release.
Social media expert Vicky Owens told Newsbeat that viral dances can look spontaneous even when artists’ teams are actively hoping a song catches on. For Keflezgy, the reason people join in is simpler: dance offers community. Her view of the industry’s shift is direct — choreographers, she said, are becoming “the new DJs,” helping music spread by giving fans a way to take part.
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