TikTok is a short-form video app that has exploded in popularity over the past few years. With over 1 billion monthly active users, it has become one of the main platforms for influencer marketing. An influencer is someone with a large following on social media who can sway the opinions and purchases of their audience through sponsored content.
Some of the most popular TikTok stars have tens of millions of followers and are able to make a full-time living through branded collaborations. Here are a few of the top TikTok influencers based on follower count:
- Charli D’Amelio – 142.4 million followers
- Addison Rae – 86.8 million followers
- Zach King – 81.4 million followers
- Loren Gray – 54.4 million followers
- Spencer Polanco Knight – 47.7 million followers
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at these and other top TikTok influencers, examining how they achieved fame on the platform and built such massive audiences.
Charli D’Amelio
Charli D’Amelio is one of the most famous and followed people on TikTok. She was one of the first TikTok stars to gain huge popularity on the platform. According to her TikTok profile, Charli currently has over 142 million followers, making her the 2nd most followed person on TikTok.
Charli first started gaining a following in 2019 by posting fun dance videos. Her viral dances to popular songs helped launch her to fame. According to the Wikipedia article on most-followed TikTok accounts, Charli became the most followed person on TikTok in March 2020. At one point she had over 120 million followers, though she has recently been surpassed by Khaby Lame.
A big part of Charli’s success is her Positive personality and relatable image. She comes across as a friendly, down-to-earth teenager in her videos. Fans enjoy trying to recreate her popular dances. Charli has leveraged her huge TikTok following to launch partnerships,collabs, books, and more. She remains one of the most recognizable faces of TikTok even as new stars emerge.
Addison Rae
The second most followed person on TikTok after Charli D’Amelio is Addison Rae Easterling, who goes by the username @addisonre on TikTok. As of January 2024, Addison had over 88 million TikTok followers (Dexerto). She initially gained popularity by posting dancing and lip-syncing videos on the platform.
Addison got her start on TikTok by posting videos of herself dancing to trending songs and doing popular TikTok dances. Her early videos showcasing her dance skills quickly went viral, gaining her millions of followers. She began collaborating with other top TikTok creators, which further increased her visibility. Addison’s fun, upbeat personality combined with her dance talent resonated with viewers, propelling her to become one of the most-followed people on TikTok.
Zach King
Zach King is one of the most popular creators on TikTok, with over 80 million followers. He is known for his creative “magic” style editing videos that often feature optical illusions and digital sleight of hand tricks (Zach King). King started posting videos in 2013 on the app Vine, where he gained a large following for his 6-second magic videos. When Vine was discontinued, King transitioned to YouTube before finding major success on TikTok (Zach King|TikTok Search).
Unlike many top TikTok stars who focus on dance trends, King’s content stands out for its unique editing style and visual trickery. He often takes mundane daily objects and scenarios and adds a magical twist. His videos showcase impressive editing skills and creativity. King enjoys challenging expectations and surprising people with clever or unexpected outcomes in his short video skits.
Beyond magic and illusion-style content, King also posts comedy sketches, vlogs, and other engaging videos for his broad fanbase on TikTok. His diverse content and consistently high quality editing has helped him become one of the biggest stars and content creators on the platform.
Loren Gray
Loren Gray is one of the first big TikTok stars, gaining fame from lip-syncing and singing covers on the platform. She joined TikTok in 2015 under the name lorengray, when the app was still known as Musical.ly. As of 2023, she has over 54 million followers on TikTok, making her one of the most followed creators.
Gray stood out on Musical.ly and later TikTok by consistently posting lip-sync and dance videos to popular songs. Her bubbly personality and skill at lip-syncing helped her videos go viral. According to TikTok analytics site Social Blade, Gray is currently gaining over 210,000 new followers daily.
Some of Gray’s most popular TikTok videos feature her lip-syncing and dancing to hit songs like “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber and “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande. She was one of the first TikTok stars to sign major brand deals for sponsored content. Gray has worked with brands like Revlon, Burger King, Hyundai, and Warner Music Group.
In 2019, Gray transitioned into releasing original music, signing with Virgin Records. She has released songs like “Queen” and “Cake” that have charted on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. While her music career is growing, Gray continues to be highly active on TikTok, regularly posting new dance trends and challenges.
According to Forbes, Gray earned $5 million in 2019 from her social media brand deals and music releases. She was included in Forbes’ Top-Earning TikTok Stars of 2020 list as well. Gray remains one of TikTok’s most recognizable stars and helped pave the way for many creators who found fame on the platform.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@lorengray?lang=en
Spencer Polanco Knight
Spencer Polanco Knight is a popular TikTok creator known for his comedy videos and collaborations with other top TikTok stars (spencer knight tiktok, 2022). He has over 12 million followers on the platform. Spencer’s content often features parody sketches and reactions, where he pokes fun at internet trends and pop culture. Some of his most popular videos involve impersonating celebrities like Justin Bieber.
In addition to his solo content, Spencer frequently collaborates with other high-profile TikTok creators. He has made videos with megastars like Addison Rae, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, and more. These collaborations help Spencer expand his audience and also allow him to create funny content playing off his collaborators. Overall, it’s Spencer’s commitment to comedy and partnerships with fellow creators that have helped make him one of TikTok’s most famous stars.
Michael Le
Michael Le (source) is known for his high energy dance, comedy, and stunt videos on TikTok. With over 48 million followers, Michael is one of the most popular TikTok creators. He first went viral in 2019 for his freestyle dance videos that showcase his background in hip hop and jazz funk. Michael is praised for his positivity and uplifting attitude in his videos. He often appears with other popular TikTok creators like Emma Chamberlain and the D’Amelio sisters in collaborations. Michael’s stunts and comedy sketches like trying weird food combinations tend to go viral rapidly on the app. He signed with talent agency CAA in 2022 as his TikTok fame continues to grow. Michael stands out for his youthful charisma and ability to energize his audience.
Baby Ariel
Baby Ariel, whose real name is Ariel Rebecca Martin, is one of the most popular TikTok stars. She first gained a following on the musical.ly app, which later became TikTok when it merged with the Chinese app Douyin in 2018 (https://www.tiktok.com/@babyariel?lang=en). Ariel rose to fame by posting lip-syncing and storytime videos showcasing her personality. She now has over 33 million followers on TikTok.
In addition to her massive TikTok following, Baby Ariel has expanded her career into other areas. She signed with Creative Artists Agency in 2016 and has since released original pop music, including the songs “Aww” and “Gucci on My Body.” Ariel has also gotten into acting, landing roles in the Nickelodeon show Bizaardvark and the Disney Channel original movie Zombies.
Comparisons Among the Top TikTok Creators
When ranking the top TikTok creators solely by number of followers, the list is led by Khaby Lame with over 170 million followers as of January 2023. He is followed by Charli D’Amelio with over 150 million followers, and Bella Poarch with over 90 million followers (List of most-followed TikTok accounts).
While follower count is one metric of success, each of these top creators has found their own style and niche that has resonated with viewers. For example:
- Khaby Lame creates comedy skits without speaking that parody overly complicated life hack videos.
- Charli D’Amelio is known for her viral dance videos and collaborations with other top creators.
- Bella Poarch features lip sync videos and songs showcasing her musical talents.
Other top creators have also carved out their own unique styles, like Zach King’s video magic tricks, Addison Rae’s lifestyle vlogs, and Spencer X’s beatboxing content. Although their follower counts differ, each of these top TikTokers has mastered creating engaging short videos that showcase their talents and personalities.
Why They Became Famous
Charli D’Amelio’s fame on TikTok skyrocketed after she posted dances to trending songs and challenges. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, D’Amelio gained over 5 million followers in just a few months through consistent posting and participating in viral dances and collaborations. She also engages heavily with followers in comment sections.
Addison Rae Easterling gained a massive following from posting dance videos to trending songs like her “Obsessed Challenge” video. Her relatable personality and collaborations with other big TikTok creators grew her audience exponentially, with Forbes reporting she reached over 50 million followers faster than anyone on the platform.
Zach King attributes his 53 million followers on TikTok to his innovative and entertaining magic trick videos. As noted by Influencer Marketing Hub, brands like HP and Nissan have collaborated with King due to his viral videos that rack up millions of views. Fans love his creativity and humor.