colleague Nick Cannon for a bit about the red-hot app TikTok. The act fell flat, and those inside the Microsoft Theater had good reason to be somewhat perplexed. Though most in Hollywood likely know a teenager who has been hooked on the video-sharing app since its U.S. debut in August 2018, dealmakers have largely watched from the sidelines as the service has exploded on social media.
TikTok shares much of its DNA with the now-defunct Vine. Videos often are short and comedic, typically set to music and might feature dancing or a sight gag. Gimmicks that take off essentially become video memes, with more people putting their own spin on the concept. The TikTok algorithm surfaces trending posts and videos personalized to each user.
Still, it's hard to ignore TikTok's ability to draw a large, predominantly young — think Generation Z — user base. Comedy Central, Jimmy Fallon, Howie Mandel and, most recently, Korean pop group BTS haven’t. Neither has Shahidi, who in the last few months hired a three-person team to build out a TikTok strategy for talent partners like Juanpa Zurita, who now has 2.2 million followers on the app.
Soto had somewhat of a head start because she began posting on the app when it was still called Musical.ly. A number of creators from Musical.ly — called Musers — were quick to pop. Jacob Sartorius, for instance, signed with UTA and capitalized on his growing audience by releasing original music. He currently has 21 million followers on TikTok.
I'm happy for them all
God fucking damn it