To do the Smalltown Boy dance trend, two people take turns lunging at a phone's ultra-wide lens, clutching their heads and screaming along to Jimmy Somerville's falsetto, then dance side by side and rush the camera together, all to Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy". You can make it from two photos with AI, film it yourself on the 0.5x lens, or do the older version of the trend: your parents dancing like it's the 80s.
Here's what most guides miss: the Smalltown Boy dance trend is two trends on one song. The 2024 one is the parents' dance challenge. The 2026 one is the screaming duo, and a lot of what you see of it, including the screaming cats, is AI. Decide which one you're making and the rest is easy.
We built a Smalltown Boy dance AI generator for the duo version, so we've timed every cut of it. That timing is the shot list in this guide.
A Smalltown Boy dance trend video made from two photos: a cat and a woman.
How to do the Smalltown Boy dance trend: 4 steps
- Pick your duo. Two people, a person and a pet, or two pets. Decide who screams first.
- Get one clear photo of each. Face to the camera, good light, one subject per photo.
- Generate the video. Put the first screamer in Photo 1 of the Smalltown Boy AI dance generator, the other in Photo 2, pick a resolution and generate.
- Download and post the 21-second MP4 to TikTok, Reels or Shorts. The song is already on it.
Want to film it instead? Skip to Method 2 for the shot list, or Method 3 for the parents' version.
Which Smalltown Boy dance trend are you doing?
"Smalltown Boy" is Bronski Beat's 1984 debut single, the story of a young gay man leaving his hometown, and it's been a queer anthem for 40 years. It has carried two TikTok trends.
The 80s parents challenge (2024). In May 2024, people started asking their parents to dance like it's the 80s to the song. Within weeks there were a quarter of a million clips on the sound. That's why "smalltown boy dance parents" is still one of the top searches for it.
The screaming duo (2026). The newer Smalltown Boy dance trend is a tight, six-cut routine: two close-ups on an ultra-wide lens, then the pair dancing together. The AI versions took it further, with cats and dogs standing upright, paws on their heads, mouths wide open.
Most people searching for the Smalltown Boy dance trend right now mean the duo, so that's where we start.
Method 1: Make the Smalltown Boy duo with AI from two photos
This is the fastest route, and the only one that works for a cat that won't stand on its hind legs for you. Nobody films, nobody dances, and nobody holds a phone an inch from their face.
In our Smalltown Boy dance AI you upload two photos, pick 480p, 720p or 1080p (500, 1,600 or 4,200 credits) and generate. A few design choices behind it are worth knowing, because they decide how to fill in the two slots.
The photo slots are roles, not just uploads
Photo 1 screams first and dances on the left. Photo 2 screams second and dances on the right. The generator keeps those roles locked through all six cuts, including the moment at 0:07 where the two swap foreground and background, which is exactly where AI duos usually mix up faces. So put whoever has the bigger reaction in Photo 1: they open the video, and the first two seconds decide whether people keep watching.
Only have one photo? Upload it in both slots and you play both parts, screaming at yourself.
Nobody from the original clip can leak in
The moves are copied from a depth map of the original routine: a moving grey silhouette with no faces, hair or clothes. So nothing of the original dancers' looks is there for the AI to copy. Your faces, hair and outfits come only from your photos, and they stay the same from the first close-up to the final lunge.
It works in two steps. First, your two photos become a still of the opening shot, with the 0.5x lens distortion and the red wooden fence already built in. Then that still is animated with the routine, and the song goes on top from the first frame.
Pets stand up and stay pets
A cat or dog in either slot stands upright on its hind legs, presses its front paws to its head and screams with its own mouth, then dances beside its partner. The paws stay paws, never human hands, and the fur and markings stay its own. If someone is holding the pet in the photo, only the pet makes it into the video.
Photo checklist
- One subject per photo. Crop group photos first.
- Face the camera. The close-ups are inches from the lens, so the face matters more than anything.
- Show the outfit. A waist-up or full-body shot is best: what you wear in the photo is what you dance in. (Sleepwear and swimwear get swapped for a plain black outfit.)
- Bright, even light, no heavy filters, nothing covering the face.
Method 2: Film the Smalltown Boy dance trend yourself
If you'd rather film the duo for real, you need a phone with a 0.5x ultra-wide lens, a friend, a tripod or something to lean the phone on, and about an hour. This is the shot list, timed against the 21-second version of the Smalltown Boy dance trend:
| Cut | Time | Who's where | Phone position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:00–0:07 | A screams into the lens, hands on head; B dances behind, on the left | Handheld by A at arm's length, 0.5x, a hand's width from the face |
| 2 | 0:07–0:14 | Roles swap: B takes the lens; A dances behind, on the right | Handheld by B, same distance |
| 3 | 0:14–0:16 | Both dance side by side in front of the fence | On a tripod, waist height, a few metres back |
| 4 | 0:16–0:18 | Both dance, shot from the ground up with the sky behind | Flat on the ground, lens pointing up |
| 5 | 0:18–0:19 | A swaggering walk toward the camera | Tripod, low |
| 6 | 0:19–0:21 | Both rush the lens, arms reaching into it | Tripod, low, so the hands fill the frame |
How to get each part right:
- Find a backdrop. A fence or a plain wall, outdoors in soft daylight. The originals use a weathered wooden fence; anything without clutter works.
- Rehearse the scream to the "cry". The screams land on Somerville's falsetto, so play the sound on a second phone and practise until the lunge hits the high note.
- Film each cut separately, a few seconds longer than you need on both ends. Don't try to do all six in one take.
- Keep the face centred in the close-ups. On an ultra-wide lens, faces near the edge of the frame stretch a lot more than faces in the middle.
- Cut on the movement. In CapCut or TikTok's editor, put each cut on a beat, at the peak of a move. Plain hard cuts suit this trend better than transitions.
Method 3: Do the 80s parents version of the Smalltown Boy dance
The original 2024 Smalltown Boy dance trend has no routine at all, which is the point. You ask a parent to "dance like it's the 80s", start the song and film whatever happens.
- Don't explain too much. The best clips come from parents who just go for it: arm swings over the head, side steps, finger points, a bit of the Robot.
- Film wide and steady, full body, on 1x rather than 0.5x. Lean the phone against something so you can laugh without shaking the shot.
- Start on the intro. The build-up before Somerville's first high note gives them a few seconds to warm up.
- Keep one take. The hesitation at the start is part of the joke.
Parents who won't dance on camera can still be in the duo version: one ordinary photo each in Method 1 is enough, and they keep their own glasses and cardigans.
Which Smalltown Boy dance trend method should you use?
| AI from two photos | Film the duo yourself | 80s parents version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you need | Two photos | A 0.5x phone, a tripod, a friend | A phone and a willing parent |
| Time | A few minutes | An hour of takes and editing | One take |
| Editing | None, song included | Six cuts to the beat | None |
| Works with pets | Yes, standing upright | Not realistically | No |
| People not in the same place | Yes, separate photos | No | No |
| Best for | Pets, long-distance friends, posting today | Real footage, group fun | Family videos |
Our take: if both of you can be in the same place and enjoy filming, Method 2 is the most fun. If it's your cat, your parents who refuse to scream on camera, or a friend in another city, use two photos.
How to add the Smalltown Boy sound on TikTok and Reels
AI videos from our generator already have the song on them. To land on the Smalltown Boy sound page as well, or if you filmed your own:
- In TikTok, tap Add sound (TikTok's sound guide covers the menus) and search "Smalltown Boy". Pick Bronski Beat's original recording, not a remix, unless the clip you're copying uses one.
- Drag the start so the falsetto "cry" lands on the first scream.
- If your video already has the song baked in, turn its original volume down so the two don't echo.
On Instagram, pick the song from the Reels music search the same way. Business accounts on TikTok only get the Commercial Music Library, so the song may not show up for them at all.
If your video is AI-made, switch on TikTok's AI-generated content label before you post.
Fixing your Smalltown Boy dance trend video
Why do our faces swap halfway through?
In AI duos, identities often flip at the cut where the two change places. Use two photos that look clearly different, and a tool that keeps a fixed role for each photo, as ours does with Photo 1 and Photo 2.
Why does my face look stretched?
That's the ultra-wide lens, and in the close-ups it's part of the look. When filming, keep your face in the centre of the frame; at the edges the stretching gets much stronger.
Why does my cat have human hands?
A common AI glitch when an animal has to do human moves. Use a sharp photo where the paws are visible, and generate again. Our generator is built to keep real paws, but a blurry pet photo makes it harder.
Why is my outfit different in the wide shots?
The AI lost track of your clothes between cuts. A photo that shows the whole outfit, not just your face, gives it more to hold on to.
Why is the scream out of sync?
If you filmed it, the cut is off by a few frames: line the first scream up with the falsetto in the editor. If you added the sound in TikTok, drag the start point until it matches.
Smalltown Boy dance trend FAQ
What is the Smalltown Boy song about?
It tells the story of a young gay man who is rejected by his family and leaves his small town for the city. Released in 1984, it's one of the defining queer pop songs, which is part of why the 2024 revival meant so much to fans.
Do I need a phone with a 0.5x lens?
To film the duo, yes: the stretched, too-close look comes from the ultra-wide lens. For the parents' version, any phone camera is fine. For the AI version, you need no camera at all.
How long is a Smalltown Boy dance trend video?
The duo routine runs about 21 seconds across six cuts. Parents' videos vary.
Can I do the Smalltown Boy dance trend alone?
Yes. Film the close-ups twice yourself, or with AI, upload the same photo to both slots and you play both parts.
Can I do the Smalltown Boy dance trend for free?
Filming it yourself is free. For the AI version, new accounts get free credits on sign-up and from the daily check-in, and the one-time Trial Pack covers one 480p Smalltown Boy video with no subscription.
Make your Smalltown Boy dance video
That's how to do the Smalltown Boy dance trend: pick the duo or the parents' version, cast who screams first, and land the first scream on the falsetto.
Skip the filming and the editing with the Smalltown Boy dance AI generator: two photos in, the full 21-second duo out, song included. Browse more trends like it in our AI video effects, or try another one-photo trend with how to make a Bulin 47 AI video.
Sources
- Smalltown Boy, Wikipedia
- Parents on TikTok are dancing to this 80s anthem, Metro
- Jimmy Somerville has just gone viral on TikTok with a quarter million different clips using his song 'Smalltown Boy', Cream Magazine
- Poignant queer hit to viral TikTok trend, BBC Culture
- Sounds, TikTok Help Center
- Commercial use of music on TikTok, TikTok Help Center
- AI-generated content, TikTok Help Center
