About

The There May Be Lovers Trend refers to a wholesome trend on TikTok set to Sam Smith's "Like I Can" in which the TikToker shows footage of themselves and their best friend or partner that describes the closeness of their friendship in a comical or touching way, set to the song and often using the "Freeze Frame Photo" effect. The trend took off on TikTok in August 2021.

Origin

On May 26th, 2014, musician Sam Smith released their song "Like I Can," which features lyrics about a person longing for someone else who is in a relationship where they're not loved properly (shown below).

There may be lovers who hold out their hands
But they’ll never love you like I can, can, can

On August 8th and 10th, 2021, TikToker^[1][2] @miagraygillespie posted a number of TikToks using the song over footage from the TV show Outer Banks, showing a moment of friendship between two characters and the moment the pair caught feelings for each other, gaining over 1.5 and 2.5 million views, respectively, in roughly two weeks (shown below, left and right).

It is unclear who first applied this trend to footage of them and their friends. An early example was uploaded to TikTok^[3] on August 13th by @yeaitsshaunalol, gaining over 4.1 million views in two weeks (shown below).

Spread

On August 14th, 2021, TikToker^[4] @katy.smithhh posted a video of her and her friend doing flips in a bathroom stall, writing the lyrics on the screen in a stylized way and freeze-framing on the drop, gaining over 13.6 million views in two weeks (shown below, left). On August 19th, TikToker^[5] @helaasamelie posted a video lip dubbing to the track and then showing footage of her parents being in love, gaining over 12.8 million views in a week (shown below, right). As of August 26th, these are the two highest engagement videos following the trend.

Freeze Frame Photo Trend

In late August 2021, TikTokers began a trend where you relax your face throughout the first half of the video, then smile when Smith sings "they'll never love you like I can" over the "Freeze Frame Photo" effect, which freezes the frame and turns it black and white. On August 24th, TikToker^[6] @callmewhateveryouwant did the trend, gaining 9 million views in two days (shown below, left). On August 25th, TikToker^[7] @jehvong did the trend, gaining over 2.2 million views in a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References