Some of the TikTok celebrities who have broken into the mainstream this year include a comedian fighting cancel culture, a beer-drinking transgender influencer and a red-bearded musician leaping from the woods into cyberspace.
Over the past 12 months, online platforms like TikTok have allowed American artists and creators to go viral and amass millions of followers consuming their content.
From controversial social media figures on the front lines of culture wars to influencers with business deals, here are five social media celebrities who made headlines in 2023.
Backwoods musician Oliver Anthony
Christopher Anthony Lunsford, a country musician from Farmville, Virginia, who goes by the stage name Oliver Anthony, was released in August when his anti-establishment song “Rich Men North of Richmond” quickly became popular among all working people. It struck people's souls and became an overnight sensation. A class hero who struggles to survive in the inflated US economy.
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Anthony, 31, is married with three children and worked low-paying factory and sales jobs before entering the music industry.
Musician Oliver Anthony made waves this summer with his original song “Rich Men North of Richmond.” (Screenshot/RadioWV YouTube channel)
His iconic songs are sappy, soulful blues dedicated to blue-collar citizens fed up with high taxes, politicians across the country, and leaders in Washington, D.C., who are turning a blind eye to America's working men and women. It is an ode to glass.
“The universal thing I see is that no matter what they're doing, no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard they try, they can't move forward,” Anthony said at the time. Ta. “There is too much taxation because the dollar is not worth enough.
“People are just fed up and fed up,” he added.
Anthony's song originally appeared on TikTok and was an instant hit, initially racking up around 5 million views.
Since releasing the music video, Anthony has generated hundreds of millions of views on the web, becoming the first artist to top the Billboard charts without having previously appeared on the chart.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” made Billboard history, debuting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts. After settling into his newfound fame, Anthony left his DIY scene and signed with his talent agency as a worldwide representative.
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer on TikTok, left mainstream media channels this year after a polarizing Bud Light promotion that caused the popular beer company to be at the center of America's culture wars for one season in 2023. appeared in
The controversial post was related to Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch losing $395 million in revenue in the U.S. at the end of the second quarter of this year, but Mulvaney's rise in popularity It was just the beginning.
Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer on TikTok, appeared on mainstream media channels this year after appearing in a polarizing Bud Light promotion that became the center of America's culture wars in 2023. (Getty Images)
Ms Mulvaney, 26, said she was distressed by the cruelty and “inhuman treatment” of critics of the promotion, noting it was clear it was simply impossible to “convince everyone”. , that backlash only added to Mulvaney's rise to fame in 2023.
Mulvaney, a social media personality, not only has top-scored posts on TikTok and amassed 10.3 million followers on the video platform, but has also posted more than 494 million posts since joining the site. Received “likes”.
Mulvaney has also partnered with major brands such as Nike and Kate Spade, and was named “Woman of the Year” by Attitude Magazine.
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The TikTok star has appeared on the covers of lifestyle magazines Them and The Cut, and Allure named Mulvaney to its 2023 A-list list, according to Newsweek. The Streamy Awards recognized Mulvaney as the year's best breakout content creator.
In early December, Forbes magazine included Mulvaney on its “30 Under 30” list, which commemorates “young activists and makers who are changing the world,” according to the American business magazine.
Alpha Male influencer Andrew Tate
Andrew Tate gained attention by promoting his lavish “alpha male” lifestyle to his millions of online followers.
Tate, a 37-year-old British-American professional kickboxer, was brought to international court in June after Romanian authorities indicted him, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women on charges of rape, sex trafficking and organized crime. It became a headline.
Internet celebrities like Andrew Tate challenged the dominant mainstream narrative by promoting a lavish “alpha male” lifestyle to his millions of online followers. (Andrew Tate – @cobratate/Twitter)
Mr Tate, who has lived in Romania since 2017, claimed that Romanian prosecutors had no evidence and that the case was a political conspiracy aimed at silencing him. While his case is still pending, the Tate brothers won a major victory in November, allowing them to move freely around the country after three months in prison and an additional 90 days of house arrest.
Last year, Tate was permanently suspended from TikTok, YouTube and Metaplatform, and nearly banned from social media for frequently making controversial posts and comments about women that some considered misogynistic. .
But after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk bought the social media platform for $44 billion and later rebranded it to X, he has reinstated his Twitter account, which now has 8.5 million followers. Tate has since regained his voice on social media.
Tate says the purpose of his content is to help his followers, many of whom are young people and schoolchildren, become better versions of themselves, which makes him one of the internet's top social media influencers. He claims that he is now able to do so.
Comedian Matt Rife
Not everyone who faces the modern cultural phenomenon known as cancel culture is banished from public life.
Comedian Matt Rife caused an online uproar earlier this year after he poked fun at domestic violence in his debut Netflix special, Natural Selection, but the Ohio native is still on TikTok. and maintains over 18 million followers.
Comedian Matt Rife caused an online uproar earlier this year after he poked fun at domestic violence in his debut Netflix special, Natural Selection. (Weiss Eubanks/NBC Universal via Getty Images)
Rife, 28, first gained attention for his career in 2015 with a recurring role on the sketch improv comedy and rap show Wild 'N Out. But it wasn't until the summer of 2022 that the comedian's name exploded into the mainstream. He told The New York Times that he posted a two-and-a-half minute clip titled “The Lazy Hero” on TikTok, which garnered about 20 million views in three days.
“That set off a huge chain reaction and the crowd exploded,” he said. “Since then, every video I've posted has gone viral.”
Rife faced further backlash on social media earlier this year after she allegedly told a six-year-old boy that his mother was buying him presents with profits from OnlyFans.
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Rife later issued a statement directing social media users to a link to “apologize” if they had been offended by one of his jokes. The link directed users to her website where they can purchase special needs helmets.
But Rife's controversial humor hasn't stopped companies like Netflix from continuing to partner with the rising comedian.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company announced in December that Rife will appear on the second installment of its multi-day event, Netflix is a Joke Fest, along with other famous comedians including Chris Rock, Ali Wong and David Letterman. Officially announced.
“It Girl” Alix Earle
TikTok creator Alix Earle (dubbed the “It Girl” and the internet's “hot best friend”) caught the attention of millions of users with her Midas touch, and within hours of posting on the social media platform, she was selling merchandise. has been sold out. .
Earl, 23, became a popular creator this year with his “Get Ready with Me” (GRWM) videos. This video helped her amass more than 6 million followers on TikTok and helped her land big brand deals with companies like GrubHub, White Fox Boutique, and Rare Beauty. . Her ability to promote her products in her Earle videos, along with her popularity and approachable personality, became a phenomenon called the “Alix Earle effect.”
TikTok creator Alix Earle (dubbed the “It Girl” and the internet's “hot best friend”) caught the attention of millions of users with her Midas touch, and within hours of posting on the social media platform, she was selling merchandise. has been sold out. . (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images, SiriusXM)
According to data shared with Fox News Digital, experts at influencer marketing firm Ubiquitous found that just one of Earle's videos could cause a 100% spike in searches for a product on Google Trends. He said he discovered it.
Influencer marketing manager Jessica Lillian previously estimated that Earl earned between $40,000 and $70,000 from brand partnerships.
The TikTok influencer entered the podcasting field in August with her own show, “Hot Mess with Alix Earle.”
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Forbes magazine also included Earl on its 2023 “30 Under 30” list.
Earl also recently confirmed that he is dating Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios. The two appear in episode 5 of HBO's “Hard Knocks,” which follows the Dolphins throughout the 2023 NFL season.
