Despite the controversy TikTok faced in the United States, it is still one of the most popular social media apps this year, gaining over a hundred million monthly active users by August 2020, according to CNBC, and becomes the top most downloaded app of the year, beating Facebook, as per Fast Company.
The Head Bobbing Viral Video
With those stats, it's no surprise that trends on TikTok quickly get viral, with millions of people recreating videos and challenges that gain popularity on the platform.
But recently, TikTok revealed the most viral video of the year, and it's not exactly a challenge, although it did spark some memes and some recreations--and it's none other than the head-bobbing video of Bella Poarch, a famous TikTok star.
According to The Verge, the video of Poarch lip-syncing and head bobbing "M to the B" is the biggest video on the platform this year based on the views and its impact.
@bellapoarch To the #fyp ♬ M to the B - Millie B
By now, anyone who has a TikTok or is on social media has seen Poarch with her childlike features and cutesy vibe, but who exactly is the viral TikTok star?
Who is Bella Poarch?
Bella Poarch is American-Filipino, born in February 1997 and grew up in the Philippines with her family, but soon later moved to Hawaii with them. When she was able, she enlisted in the US Navy but soon left and became a full-time social media influencer.
Poarch is covered in tattoos, a contrast to her childlike features, but it was her "rising sun" tattoo that sparked some backlash in South Korea as they deemed it offensive, bringing the pain of the last World War to the surface.
The star immediately posted an apology, saying she did not know what it meant and had it scheduled to be covered up, which she successfully did this October.
Although the star is incredibly famous on TikTok with over 40 million followers, some aren't entirely happy with her looks, with some commenting about her tattoos and why she has tons of them when they don't seem to fit with her appearance.
"I had a rough childhood. My scars from abuse made me insecure. And so I had to cover up my scars with tattoos," the viral star wrote in reply, as noted by PopBuzz. "I wasn't comfortable posting this. But if you're having a hard time right now, just know that you are not alone, and you'll make it through this."
How Did Her Video Become the Most Viral TikTok of 2020?
Besides the controversy with her now-covered-up tattoo, there are also tons of backlash with her viral "M to the B" video, with many asking why it became viral when it was done with minimal effort?
However, it wasn't really Poarch's fault her video got extremely popular, at least not in the case of how TikTok handles their "For You" page, where people are unable to decide what to watch and instead, the platform feeds them videos they have no idea why it was served to them.
According to Vox, Charli D'Amelio, who is TikTok's top content creator this year, and Bella Poarch, are the "logical endpoint of the world's most powerful entertainment algorithm: young people centering their conventional attractiveness in easily repeatable formats."
Despite everything, Poarch continues to pull people under her spell and enjoy her content, from gaming to cosplaying certain fictional characters while lip-syncing to songs, and at the end of the day, people find her interesting and inspirational.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by: Nhx Tingson
