Let's Groove Tonight Dance / Previous Owners Trend

About

Let's Groove Tonight Dance, also known as the Let's Groove Tonight Challenge, refers to a dance trend on TikTok set to Earth, Wind & Fire's 1981 song "Let's Groove" in which you spin in rhythmic circles while moving your arms in similar circular motions. The dance took off in August 2021, gaining significant popularity by the middle of the month and spreading to other platforms like YouTube to a lesser degree. The dance also inspired the Previous Owners Trend later in August, where people reveal personal details about their dating and sexual history in the form of a previously owned car's spec sheet while dancing to the song.

Origin

On August 7th, 2021, TikToker^[1] @nickanthonyy posted a video dancing to "Let's Groove" in which he does a number of exaggerated arm movements while spinning, as well as shaking his rear, gaining over 2.7 million views in two weeks (shown below).

Spread

The dance spread across TikTok over the course of the month, becoming more exaggerated as it gained viral popularity by mid-August 2021. On August 10th, TikToker^[2] @esmeralda677 posted a video doing a version of the dance with another woman, gaining over 15 million views in 10 days (shown below). The dance was performed by a number of verified users that month.

On August 14th, TikToker @menanados posted a video doing the dance, gaining over 27 million views in six days (shown below, left). On August 17th, Liza Koshy posted a video doing an exaggerated version of the dance on her TikTok, gaining over 16.5 million views in three days (shown below, right).

Previous Owners Trend

On August 18th, 2021, TikToker^[3] @owens414 posted a video set to an original sound^[4] consisting of the same section of "Let's Groove," gaining over 800,000 views in a week. Around August 22nd, TikTokers began using the sound (as well as the official sound for "Let's Groove") to record videos performing the dance over a list formatted like a previously owned car spec sheet that reveals aspects of their personal life and dating history. The list consists of a variation of the items "previous owners" (number of exes), "miles" (number of sexual encounters), "year" (birth year), "make & model" (description of body type/personality), "stickers" (number of tattoos) and "condition" (excellent, reliable, used, etc.). It is unclear who began the trend initially, but an early example was uploaded by TikToker @kendallaalfordd on August 22nd, gaining over 520,000 views in three days (shown below).

The trend spread quickly over the following days, inspiring a number of viral videos. On August 23rd, TikToker @sofe_doe posted a video doing the trend, gaining over 2.3 million views in two days (shown below, left). On August 24th, TikToker @beef_stroganoff posted a video doing the trend, gaining over 2.4 million views in a day (shown below, right).

The trend inspired criticism from some, who saw it as degrading for women to label themselves like cars. On August 23rd, Twitter^[6] user @bfromthesea tweeted, "What type of trend is this" along with one of the videos, gaining over 800 retweets and 480 likes in two days (shown below). On August 24th, Twitter^[5] user @MiaWallace_ posted a tweet that translates to, "Apparently a new TikTok trend where young women market themselves like objects," gaining over 400 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References