- TikTok is a short-form video app that's become one of the most popular social platforms among teens and Generation Z.
- Creators on TikTok are rising to fame from the massive reach the platform has.
- We used exclusive data from the prominent celebrity information site, Famous Birthdays, to determine which top-trending TikTok stars are rising in popularity right now.
- Famous Birthdays is searched 600,000 times per day, according to founder Evan Britton, and can show real-time trends on the rising and falling popularity of influencers.
- Here are 5 rising TikTok stars, according to Famous Birthdays.
- Sign up for Business Insider's influencer newsletter, Influencer Dashboard, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Creators on TikTok are rising to fame from the massive reach the short-form-video platform has.
The wildly popular app sits beside other top platforms, like YouTube and Instagram, on Apple's 2019 list of the top five free iPhone apps of the year. TikTok is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance and has become one of the hottest social platforms among Generation Z.
TikTok's viral stars are earning money in different ways from their audiences through livestreaming, sponsorships and selling merchandise.
As TikTok has gained prominence, the popularity of its stars has skyrocketed. That rise is evident in searches on the prominent celebrity data site, Famous Birthdays, according to the site's founder, Evan Britton. Famous Birthdays is visited by 20 million monthly unique users, and the search engine on Famous Birthdays is searched 600,000 times per day. This allows the site to collect real-time trends on which influencers and celebrities are rising right now.
Here are 5 TikTok stars rising in popularity, according to data from Famous Birthdays:
Mattia Polibio – @mattiapolibio
Mattia Polibio started his TikTok in 2018. The 16-year-old rose to fame from his comedy and lip syncing videos.
Polibio is from New Jersey and his videos reach an average 300,000 likes.
TikTok followers:2.2 million
Instagram followers: 694,000
Avani Gregg – @avani
Avani Gregg is a 17-year-old TikTok star known for her comedy, dance, and challenge videos.
Gregg also has a successful YouTube channel with 180,000 subscribers where she uploads comedy videos like, "I prank my best friend."
Gregg sells merchandise like T-shirts and iPhone cases through the website FanJoy.
TikTok followers:6.4 million
Instagram followers: 1.3 million
Madison Vanderveen – @Madiit
Madison Vanderveen is a model and TikTok star known for her dancing and lip syncing videos.
Vanderveen, 17, also runs the YouTube channel Madison Taylor wih 42,000 subscribers where she vlogs about her everyday life.
TikTok followers: 2 million
Instagram followers:150,000
Alex French – @mynameisalex.french
Alex French is a 16-year-old TikTok star who started her account in late 2019. She's known for her lip syncing and comedy videos.
In a day, French went from 300,000 followers to 1 million, according to BuzzFeed.
TikTok followers:2.2 million
Instagram followers:227,000
Charli D'Amelio – @charlidamelio
Charli D'Amelio gained popularity on TikTok for her lip syncing, dance, original choreography, and montages. D'Amelio is 15 years old and started her TikTok account in June 2019.
D'Amelio gained over 5 million followers in less than three months, according to BuzzFeed.
She told NBC News in November that she wasn't entirely sure why her account exploded in popularity and that her guess was that TikTok's algorithm was working in her favor.
TikTok followers:12.2 million
Instagram followers:2.2 million