Since the social media became popular and a part of people’s lives, celebrities all over the world have found a way, in fact they’ve found many ways to connect with their fans and to remain relevant. Of course, Nigerian celebrities haven’t been left out. If anything, some of our celebrities can teach their foreign counterparts a thing or two about using the social media. More than any other platform, Instagram seemed like their initial preferred platform.
On top of everything they were doing, serving hot looks and generally putting their best foot forward, Nigerian celebrities engage in many giveaways which fans love. Well, a few Nigerian celebrities seem to have taken the game to TikTok. And from the look of things, they seem personally invested in creating content for this platform. These five: Destiny Etiko, Genevieve Nnaji, Don Jazzy, Alexx Ekubo, Tiwa Savage have my attention today. Five is not the magic number as there are many more celebrities making waves on TikTok. I was discovering more names as I was writing but let’s use this as the first part in the series.
I found out about this development in a roundabout way-from ‘That Fire LA’s Youtube channel whose story was based off of a story on another Youtuber’s video titled ‘10 Nigerian Celebrities and Their Funny TikTok Videos’ by Manuche Ejimozy. I must not have been paying attention. Why haven’t I noticed them before now? The main reason has to be because TikTok is definitely not my usual go-to platform. In case you’re wondering what TikTok is, it’s described as the “social media platform is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education, that have a duration from three seconds to one minute (three minutes for some users).” At every point in time, there’s usually one challenge going on.
As someone who likes to jump in on trends, I did try TikTok a few times. But it seemed like a lot of trouble and one distraction too many. Then there’s the fact that the videos are short-just as I’m getting ready to enjoy an interesting clip, it ends. But that’s the point, my kids tease me. I’m a ‘bottom pot’ kind of person-if something’s good, I’m willing to wait till the end except that the end comes too fast in the case of TikTok videos. Needless to say, I’ll rather the videos were longer.
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However, I do get that the clips are meant to be short. Fortunately, these Nigerian celebrities making TikTok tick (or who’re ticking hot on TikTok) don’t share my concerns about the platform. Speaking of which, of the five listed here, Nollywood actress Destiny Etiko (whose account I’m surprised is not yet verified) leads the pack with over 800K followers and 4.8 million likes to Don Jazzy’s 584.6K followers and 1.3 million likes. I have yet to watch any film with Destiny Etiko thanks to TikTok, her fans get to see her. Tiwa Savage follows with 533.4K followers and 728.5K likes. And there’s Alexx Ekubo with 207.7K followers and 269.1K likes. And on and on the list goes. But why are these celebrities making waves on TikTok? For one, they’re funny and entertaining. They understand their audience and are not afraid to try new things. It doesn’t hurt that many of these celebrities are actors, actresses, entertainers and essentially who are used to being in the spotlight.
The COVID-19 Factor
I feel that the COVID-19 pandemic which has more or less shut down the world these past many months also has given celebrities more time than normal for things like TikTok. What’s more, the smart ones among them have recognized TikTok as a veritable platform to showcase their talent and skills in the absence of acting roles. Some of what’s posted does go some way in humanising these celebrities as their fans get to see their softer, goofier side which isn’t always on display. But why TikTok, why not another platform? One cannot say with any certainty, but I suspect those short videos I don’t particularly fancy are a draw.
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