What makes TikTok tick?

Video app TikTok is wildly popular because it makes filming, editing and sharing videos easy, allowing anyone to be a creator

Local TikTok content creator Ng Ming Wei says he likes TikTok because it has editing tools not found elsewhere, while Ms Karina Boenardi says it is exciting to see the number of views going up.
Local TikTok content creator Ng Ming Wei says he likes TikTok because it has editing tools not found elsewhere, while Ms Karina Boenardi says it is exciting to see the number of views going up.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Published: 
Dec 29, 2019, 5:00 am SGT
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American rapper Montero Lamar Hill, also known as Lil Nas X, went from college dropout to breakout star in less than a year as his song Old Town Road went viral on the short-form video app TikTok.

The 20-year-old's part-country, part-rap single was the background track to a popular trend in which TikTok users filmed themselves transforming into flannel-clad, Stetson-donning cowboys and cowgirls after drinking from cups labelled "yee yee juice".

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 29, 2019, with the headline 'What makes TikTok tick?'. Subscribe
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