Darkness Challenge

Origin

The "darkness challenge" is a video format in which a participant appears to change outfits in the instant the lights go off and come back on. On YouTube, Instagram and TikTok it also circulates as the "twist darkness challenge" or "silhouette challenge."

It began on September 16th, 2024, with a video from the Chinese TikTok user "ai_yin_yue": loose pajamas while the lights are on, a different outfit once they come back up. On the 24th of the same month, a video from the account "benvisdang" pushed the trend much wider, passing 92.5 million views.

Format

The rules are simple but the requirements are specific: the clothing or appearance has to change visibly across the light cut, and the transition has to be seamless. Visible editing kills the effect, so that seam is what separates a good entry from a bad one.

The music is effectively fixed as well — a remix of "Batte Forte," released in March 2005 by the Italian girl group Lollipop, a track that had already been popular in China for several years. The choreography is minimal: little more than moving to the beat as the lighting flips.

Spread

The trend took off among Chinese creators around September 2024, tagged with a hashtag meaning roughly "costume changes by switching the lights." It then crossed into Korea, where TikTok accounts "Ttalset" (about 2.5 million views) and "Yunamong" (about 2.8 million views) drew attention, and YouTube channels including "Ttaengjeols," "Hyejji" and "Epurple" logged over 1.1 million views.

Concerns were raised along the way. In an October 29th, 2024 report, the news agency Newsis noted both that videos featuring children and teenagers were spreading and that the format carries a risk of exposure given the nature of the originating videos. The lighting trick itself is neutral, but competition to make the "twist" more dramatic pushes entries in that direction.