

The song is an electropop/ dance-pop song incorporating a minimalist bitpop beat interspersed with handclaps and synths. The song's verses use a rap/sing vocal style while the chorus is sung throughout the song the use of Auto-Tune is prominent.

Musically, the song has been compared to the works of Lady Gaga, Uffie, and Fergie. The song achieved commercial success by topping the charts in eleven countries. In the United States, the song broke the record for the biggest single-week sum of all time for a female artist selling 610,000 digital downloads in one week. "Tik Tok" was certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold 6.8 million copies in the United States, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 9 consecutive weeks.

The song was the best-selling single worldwide in 2010, selling 12.8 million copies in that year alone. As of 2019, the song has sold over 18 million copies worldwide, thus making it one of the best-selling digital singles worldwide. The song was listed 61st on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of All-time. Luke had just finished producing tracks for Kelly Clarkson's album Breakaway (2004) and was looking to expand further on his writing and producing credits.
