TikTok Announces Virtual Talent Show: “Gimme The Mic”
TikTok is hosting a virtual talent show called “Gimme The Mic,” where aspiring artists have a chance to win up to 500,000 Diamond rewards. The event will take place in September.
Registration and Audition
Participants who are 18 years old or older can register on the audition page within the TikTok app from now until August 16. To enter, users must post a minimum 30-second submission video with the hashtag #GimmeTheMic. Please note that the audition video must be original, free of explicit content, and cannot promote alcohol or illegal substances.
The Competition
TikTok will select 30 participants from the audition round to move on to the Semi-Finals, held from September 1-3. During this stage, participants will compete in pairs and perform live multi-guest videos on the @tiktoklive_us account. Fans can vote for their favorite performances in real time.
Grand Finale and Global Finale
On September 10, the top ten contestants from the Semi-Finals will compete in the U.S. Grand Finale. The winner will receive the title of U.S. Gimme The Mic champion and 50,000 Diamond rewards. Additionally, there will be a Global Finale on September 22 and 23, featuring contestants from around the world. Winners from the Global Finale will earn a trophy, up to 500,000 Diamond rewards, and have the opportunity to be featured on official TikTok channels.
TikTok Supports Emerging Music Creators
Similar to reality TV talent shows, TikTok’s “Gimme The Mic” aims to support emerging music creators by providing them with a popular platform to showcase their talent.
TikTok has a long history of promoting music, even before it became popular as Musical.ly. Through viral trends and user-generated content, TikTok has helped many songs gain popularity and discover new artists. For example, singer-songwriter-rapper Tai Verdes gained millions of TikTok users’ attention with his hit single “Stuck in the Middle.” There are currently 3.5 million videos using this song on the platform.
In an effort to compete with rivals like YouTube and Spotify, TikTok is increasingly focusing on music. Recently, they launched a program called Elevate to support rising artists in the music industry. Additionally, TikTok introduced “TikTok Music,” a subscription-only streaming service available in Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Mexico, and Singapore.