What should brands post with the Born To Be A Mermaid trend?

Fast-cut product detail b-roll across multiple SKUs Quick-change or multi-look outfit clips Unboxing or reveal footage cut to the beat Lifestyle b-roll pairing product with matching environments Color or texture close-ups cut sequentially

Born To Be A Mermaid

Updated August 2, 2026

Fashion Beauty Lifestyle

Example 10:16

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What is the Born To Be A Mermaid trend?

A fast-paced, rhythm-driven montage built on quick cuts and bold visual variety, timed to an energetic audio track. Creators stack clips of products, people, or places in rapid succession. Brands use it to fawn over a new drop, packaging, or a product reveal the way a superfan would.

Where did the Born To Be A Mermaid trend come from?

The "Born To Be A Mermaid" audio trend on TikTok originated with a video posted in May 2024 by creator @unaestheticsurferpearlz (Pearl), captioned "born to be a mermaid forced to be a human ugh," set to "Island In The Sun" by Weezer. The TikTok sound page lists the audio as "born to be a mermaid - unaestheticsurferpearlz," and the sound was picked up widely by other creators who built fast-paced b-roll montages, lifestyle clips, and coastal aesthetic edits over it. The phrase functions both as a caption meme expressing longing for an idealized aquatic life and as the sonic framing for a dreamy, quick-cut visual format. Usage spread through late 2024 and into 2025 across TikTok and Instagram Reels, extending well beyond ocean-specific content to product and brand montages.