With celebrities worldwide unable to attend events and get back to work on film sets in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok stars like Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae have built their own fame empires in their absence.

Before 2020, when 20-somethings thought of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/tiktok-accounts-follow-guide-2020" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, they were thinking of Kesha&rsquo;s 2009 hit. Today, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gen-z-y2k-millennial-90s-fashion-nostalgia" target="_blank">Gen Z</a> has given new meaning to the word with the social media app teeming with teens lip syncing and dancing to viral choreo.&nbsp;

The app launched in 2017, steadily gaining popularity before it became a must-have social platform&nbsp;at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in&nbsp;early 2020. The cancellation of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/2020-peoples-choice-awards-fashion-celebrities-red-carpet" target="_blank">award shows</a>, movie premieres, and other <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/the-most-iconic-met-gala-looks-from-1948-to-2019" target="_blank">events</a> left a gap in the entertainment space, forcing eyes to avert their attention away from the silver screen and towards their devices. People across the world quarantined at home and when the need for distraction was at an all time high, TikTok filled that gap, giving its most popular creators the opportunity to propel themselves forth as the new generation of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/sex-and-fashion-in-ryan-murphys-hollywood" target="_blank">Hollywood</a>.

Prior to the pandemic, groups of young influencers banded together to form content houses&mdash;such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a34655703/tiktok-sway-house/" target="_blank">Sway LA</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/style/hype-house-los-angeles-tik-tok.html" target="_blank">Hype House</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/style/clubhouse-tiktok-tongji-west-of-hudson.html" target="_blank">Clubhouse</a>&mdash;aimed at achieving individual and collective fame.&nbsp;These compounds of TikTokers, usually between the ages of 15 and 24, consist of kids from across North America living under one roof (of a giant Los Angeles mansion) and spending their days creating content and increasing their following. Think of a sorority/fraternity house, but with less drunkenness and more &ldquo;<a href="https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a30626080/what-is-the-renegade-challenge-tiktok/" target="_blank">renegading</a>&rdquo; in palatial bathrooms.

TikTok&rsquo;s most followed user is the 16-year-old &ldquo;Queen of TikTok&rdquo; <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/charli-damelio-tiktok-teens/616929/" target="_blank">Charli D&rsquo;Amelio</a>. In November of last year, she had just reached one million followers; today, she boasts over 100 million. For reference, Kylie Jenner&rsquo;s account has less than 25 million. While the pandemic has caused many businesses to lay off employees or shut down altogether, it seems the business of being TikTok famous has never been more profitable.&nbsp;

Within the year, D&rsquo;Amelio has launched a podcast and beauty collab with <a href="https://www.morphe.com/collections/morphe-2" target="_blank">Morphe</a>, both in tandem with her sister and fellow TikTokker Dixie D&rsquo;Amelio, as well as getting her own signature drink at <a href="https://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/the-charli-dances-onto-the-dunkin-menu" target="_blank">Dunkin&rsquo;</a>: The Charli. Dixie, on the other hand, took the opportunity to launch her music career, collaborating with names like Blackbear, Wiz Khalifa, and <a href="https://www.lofficiel.at/en/man/new-face-of-hugo-boss-liam-payne" target="_blank">Liam Payne</a> despite having only released three songs.

The various brand sponsorships and collaborations that successful TikTokers like the D&#39;Amelios are able to turn into profit are easy to integrate into the landscape of the app, which allows for paid posts to feel natural and less like the audience is being sold something. Instead of cutting their teeth doing traditional commercials to gain credibility in the industry, TikTok has deemed them instant entertainers worth sponsored content. Thus,&nbsp;this business model&nbsp;seamlessly&nbsp;gives more exposure and clout to both the creator and the brand, allowing both to capitalize from it.

Not only have these rising stars&rsquo; success come as a byproduct of the quarantine, but their approaching-A list status has also been given the stamp of approval by some of Hollywood&rsquo;s most notable figures. <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/kourtney-kardashian-sexy-purple-bikini-top-instagram-hbo-the-undoing" target="_blank">Kourtney Kardashian</a> and the Hype House&rsquo;s Addison Rae have been seen <a href="https://www.insider.com/kourtney-kardashian-addison-rae-friendship-relationship-timeline-photos" target="_blank">hanging out</a> together regularly since March (they were introduced by Youtuber David Dobrik to surprise Kardashian&rsquo;s son Mason).&nbsp;

Born Addison Easterling, Rae&rsquo;s 2020 has been something of a dream. Besides her new role as a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/watch-kardashians-prank-justin-bieber-jaden-smith-tiktok-facetime-trend" target="_blank">Kardashian</a> bestie, she recently <a href="https://people.com/movies/addison-rae-first-look-hes-all-that-movie/" target="_blank">filmed</a> a gender-swapped remake of the &lsquo;90s classic She&rsquo;s All That, started her own beauty company <a href="https://www.itembeauty.com/" target="_blank">Item Beauty</a>, and launched a podcast with her <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/tiktok-celebrity-mother-daughter-duos-kardashian-jenner-damelio" target="_blank">mother</a> Sheri Easterling (who has also become an influencer in her own right.) Just a month prior to the pandemic, Rae, along with other members of the Hype House spoke to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM_YiERty7E">Entertainment Tonight</a> to explain the social media craze surrounding the app and their newfound living situation.

Housemate Alex Warren told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljJf5MfSpxw&amp;list=PLI524oEQMkGiYHL1p-jAFD4rBis2Szqhm&amp;index=10&amp;t=0s" target="_blank">ET</a>, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a house full of teenagers doing something that&rsquo;s not traditional when we started this as a group of friends to make content, to have a good time, to do something that no one else is doing.&rdquo; It worked&mdash;the media attention behind these creators has shifted from wistful-thinking teens to genuine up-and-comers.

Following the trajectory of any rising young star, the TikTokers have not been free from controversy. In August, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti cut off the power at the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/style/la-party-power-cut-tiktok.html" target="_blank">Sway LA</a> house after the group continued to host parties mid-pandemic, despite city-wide social distancing rules, and threatened legal actions against members Bryce Hall and Blake Gray. Hype House member <a href="https://www.papermag.com/tony-lopez-misconduct-2647056454.html" target="_blank">Tony Lopez</a> has been accused by multiple women of soliciting underage girls. Last month, Charli lost over one million followers after fans criticized her <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/11/charli-d-amelio-dixie-tiktok-controversy-paella-private-chef-100-million-followers" target="_blank">behavior</a> towards chef Aaron May during the premiere video for her family&rsquo;s new Youtube show, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiOKp2RAcvs" target="_blank">Dinner with the D&rsquo;Amelios</a>.&rdquo; Not to mention that, in keeping with the Internet boyfriend/girlfriend phenomenon (see every <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/biggest-tv-shows-streaming-netflix-2020-emily-in-paris-the-undoing" target="_blank">Netflix</a> newcomer ever), their relationships, and the <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2020/07/charli-damelio-lil-huddy-tiktok-cheating-drama-explained.html" target="_blank">drama</a> that follows, generate as much, if not more, attention as they do individually.

While the ebb and flow of the media cycle makes their transgressions easy to brush off as yesterday&rsquo;s news, it is, in part, what makes these young talents so successful. As influencers, their content&mdash;which is plenty&mdash;is self-sustaining. TikTok and Youtube (where many TikTok stars have made the transition for more longform content) videos don&rsquo;t require sets and production teams&mdash;just a phone. With an abundance of content from these influencers, and a lack thereof from the usual sources (i.e. red carpet fashion, celebrities on vacation, TV episode recaps, etc.), TikTokers are the new media darlings. Media attention of their bad behavior actions, while condemned by fans, feeds into their own ascent into the public consciousness. The shift in media coverage, as a result of pandemic-related restrictions, has emboldened these influencers as curators of culture in 2020, and so the TikTok generation reigns.

However, what happens to the TikTokers when the quarantine ends? It&rsquo;s a question that will determine whether they&#39;ve&nbsp;cleared the bar of celebrity status, or were simply welcome distractions in the face of a global shutdown. In recent weeks, vaccine trials have found success in effectively immunizing people from COVID-19, and administration of the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/07/uk-to-rollout-covid-vaccine-tuesday.html" target="_blank">drug</a> has already begun in the UK. For entertainers, the light at the end of the tunnel grows. Actors will be able to return to set, and musicians can resume their touring schedules. With Hollywood back in business, TikTokers will have to compete for attention not only on the platform but in the larger&nbsp;entertainment sphere. Like their bullet train to fame, the fate of the TikTok generation rests on the back of the pandemic. Only time will tell who proves victorious in the aftermath of the TikTok zeitgeist.&nbsp;

How Quarantine and TikTok Birthed a New Generation of Young Hollywood

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

How Quarantine and TikTok Birthed a New Generation of Young Hollywood

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