On Thursday, Vine announced that they would be discontinuing their mobile app, prompting an outpouring of nostalgic posts on social media. "To all the creators out there — thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day," a Vine representative wrote in the statement on Medium.
Since its inception in 2013, Vine offered a space for young, primarily black, teens to hone their comedic skills. But the six-second video app also served as one of the internet's most effective music marketing tools, launching more than a few rap careers and providing new life to songs from already established artists.
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While the Vine team has promised that all preexisting content will remain on the site, the era of the Vine-made hit song is now over — Musical.ly is already being hailed as the music industry's next "secret weapon." In the list below, we've compiled some of the most memorable songs that blew up because of Vine, from SoundCloud sleeper hits to viral dance crazes.
Young Thug's breakout hit, "Stoner" introduced the world to the Atlanta rapper's off-kilter delivery, and Vine users borrowed the relatable hook and I feel like Fabo catchphrase to produce some excellent content.
Bobby Shmurda's debut song and video was notable for many reasons. It represented an entirely different direction for New York rap, one that is still being followed today. But the birth of the "Shmoney Dance" propelled the Brooklyn rapper's aggressive track to new heights.
One of Vine's OG dance crazes was the "Nae Nae," most notably inspired by @WeAreToonz's "Drop That Nae Nae." Somehow, Vine user King Bach and friends distilled their best moves into an incredible six seconds.
The "Nae Nae" and "The Whip" were expertly combined by Silentó for maximum viral potential in his 2015 track "Watch Me." T-Wayne's "Nasty Freestyle" might have been the best song to come out of the viral dance trends.
Chief Keef was already an internet sensation by the time "Faneto" came around, but many had written the Chicago rapper off as a one-hit wonder. The Vine above showed the rest of the internet that many were still rocking with Sosa, and you probably should too if you ever want to have as much fun as the folks in the video. "Faneto" was also notably parodied by Vine star Lenarr Young.
Before he was pissing off old people, Lil Yachty was a relatively unknown SoundCloud rapper with a catchy song about short-term relationships. The Vine above sparked the career of the red-haired rapper.
7. OT Genesis, "CoCo"
OT Genesis's video for "CoCo" was already lowkey ridiculous on its own, but Vine added another layer of absurdity to the catchy anthem.
8. Ghost Town DJ's, "My Boo"
Obviously, this song didn't "blow up" because of Vine, but Ghost Town DJ's 1995 single, "My Boo," did soundtrack one of the year's best dance trends. The song even charted higher in 2016 than it did the year of its release.
OG Maco's 2014 breakout hit "U Guessed It" was an affirmation, and the Vines that pushed the single to success feel like they capture a moment in time.
Denzel Curry's ominous banger "Ultimate" became a perfect, if unlikely, Vine soundtrack, taking the tail-end of the 6-seconds to that very necessary next level.
Sage The Gemini's "Gas Pedal" was a function starter for sure. But the track ended up skyrocketing out of regional fame, and earning a platinum plaque, because of Vines like the one above.
Lil Jon and DJ Snake's internet-catchphrase-turned-EDM party-anthem was made for viral success, but Vine gave the track another life outside the club.
13. iLoveMemphis, "Hit Da Quan"
In a series of events that only the internet could have facilitated, iLoveMemphis created a viral dance trend based off of Rich Homie Quan's moves in his "Flex" video, which then become a Vine sensation.
In probably the most memorable Vine flip of all time, Nick Fraser turned NEXT's "Too Close" into the perfect reaction meme. It was so good he had to make a full-length version.
