We Can Thank Karen O and Her Broken Heart for TikTok's "They Don't Love You Like I Love You" Trend

Every now and then, a song from decades past will randomly gain a new life in the mainstream of pop culture — like in 2022, when Stranger Things put Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" back on the Billboard charts for the first time in 37 years. Nowadays, it tends to happen at least once a year on TikTok, where younger generations are discovering older music almost daily.

The latest song in the rotation is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Maps," an early 2000s bop that has sparked a trend named after the tune's chorus: "Wait, they don't love you like I love you."

But what actually is the trend? Let's take a look.

You may have seen the "Wait, They Don't Love You Like I Love You" trend on your TikTok For You Page and been slightly confused — after all, the song tells a tragic story of heartbreak and woe, inspired by Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O.'s real-life romance with now-ex Angus Andrew. Why are people doing such a silly dance to a sped-up version of the tearjerking tune? Surely there's some sort of deeper meaning.

Nope! Like most things on TikTok, it's just a silly fad that has boomed in popularity thanks to its simplicity, accessibility, and humor. All you have to do to partake in the trend is pick out the audio and learn the "choreography," if it can even be called that.

It's a bit of posing and then moving your arms side-to-side by your hips as quickly as you can. Others have put their own flair on it, like bobbing their heads or doing the dance with their dogs, but in essence, it's all the same.

While most partaking in the trend — like Kylie Jenner and her kids — are simply doing the goofy dance, others are adding an extra layer by using the lyrics to portray a story.

One user, in a text overlay on her video, wrote, "Me explaining to my [boyfriend] that I didn't mean to give him attitude, it's just the oldest daughter in me panicking because he didn't follow the exact plan I had mapped out in my head."

In his iteration of the trend, Joe Jonas posted himself doing a miniature version of the dance while his brother, Kevin, sat annoyed in the background. "We just had a huge fight and now we're grabbing lunch," he said with a smiley face.

Another regretful user posted herself doing the dance with a caption referencing her unsavory behavior: "When you've been b---hy to your man all day and he starts hiding from you." The audio implores him to "wait," because no one loves him like she loves him.

It's a simple but effective trend that garners thousand of likes, comments, and laughs without much effort — and if you're anything like us, you can't get enough of them.