Move over VIP lounge entry, velvet-rope events and secret handshakes, there’s a new membership in city, and it’s known as Group 7. But earlier than you begin sharpening your membership card, don’t fear — very similar to Jake Paul’s latest AI ‘cameo’ chaos, this membership isn’t really actual. Still, tons of persons are calling themselves members, and the web is consuming it up.
It all began on Friday, October 17, when 26-year-old indie musician Sophia James — a Season 18 American Idol alum who made it to the present’s Top 11 — determined to “bully the algorithm.” In a late-night burst of inspiration, she posted seven practically similar TikToks back-to-back, every labeling viewers as a part of a numbered group. Her newest single, So Unfairperformed in the background.
In the seventh video, James regarded straight into the digicam and stated, “If you’re watching this, you are in Group 7. I’ve posted seven videos tonight and this is the seventh one. Just a little science experiment to see which one gets the most reach.” The 24-second clip took off nearly instantly, gaining tens of millions of views in a single day.
When she awakened, Group 7 had turn into the web’s hottest ticket. “Like Alakazam,” she advised The New York Times in a latest interview. “The Group 7 video had hit the algorithm, and people just made it explode, and it became this hilarious, unexpected internet moment.”
The premise was absurdly easy, but the web handled it like gospel. Anyone who noticed the seventh video claimed membership in the newly minted “Group 7,” proudly posting TikToks, memes, and remark threads celebrating their standing. The algorithm fed them extra Group 7 content material, reinforcing the phantasm of a actual, elite membership. Before lengthy, the development mutated into a full-blown id badge.
Celebrities jumped in too. Naomi Osaka posted a clip captioned, “If you’re not in Group 7, keep scrolling.” Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline greeted her followers with, “Good morning, Group 7 baddies.” Shark Tank mogul Barbara Corcoran flexed with, “How it feels waking up in Group 7.” Even Dancing with the Stars professional Ezra Sosa and sports activities franchises just like the San Francisco 49ers, PGA Tour, and Empire State Building chimed in with their very own “how it feels to be Group 7” riffs.
“I think we all just collectively decided that Group 7 were the cool people, the it-people, the baddies,” one influencer joked in a video that summed up the phenomenon. “You’re either in Group 7 or you’re no one.”
The sudden highlight has been good for James. She’s gained greater than 100,000 new followers, seen her streams soar, and watched So Unfair turn into a trending TikTok sound.
But as for determining why this one hit? She’s as puzzled as anybody. “In some ways I feel like I’ve learned some things,” she advised the Times. “And in other ways, I’m more lost than when I started.”