TikTok stars that have made it to the mainstream include a comedian who is fighting cancel culture, an influencer who drinks beer and sings out of the forest and into cyberspace and a red bearded singer singing from the woods into cyberspace.

In the past 12 months, platforms such as TikTok have enabled American artists and content creators to become viral and gain millions of fans who watch their content.

Five social media stars have been in the news since 2023, from controversial personalities at the forefront of the Culture War to influentials who secured business deals.

Backwoods musician Oliver Anthony

Oliver Anthony is a country singer born Christopher Anthony Lunsford from Farmville in Virginia. He became a sensation overnight in August with his anti-establishment track Rich Men North of Richmond that hit the heart of all working-class heroes struggling to survive in inflated U.S. economic.

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Anthony, 31, has three children. He previously worked at low-wage jobs in sales and plant work before breaking into the industry.

His iconic song is an anthem of soulful, twangy bluegrass for blue-collar Americans who are tired of high taxes, politicians across the country, and Washington, D.C. leadership for ignoring the working people and women in America.

Anthony stated at the time, “I see that no matter how hard people try and how much they work on whatever they are doing, they can’t seem to get ahead.” The dollar is overtaxed because it is not worth enough.

He added, “People are sick and tired of feeling sick and fatigued.”

Anthony’s original song on TikTok became an instant success when it reached 5 million views.

Anthony’s music video has been viewed hundreds of millions times on the internet. He is the first artist to ever top the Billboard charts without previously appearing.

Billboard’s “Rich Men North of Richmond”, which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts, made history. Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts. Anthony, who had found fame in the DIY scene, signed with United Talent Agency to be represented globally after settling down.

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney

Dylan Mulvaney, a TikTok transgender celebrity, has been featured on mainstream media this year. This follows a polarizing Bud Light promotion that put the popular beer brand at the heart of the American Culture War for a period in 2023.

Mulvaney was only beginning to gain popularity when the controversial position was linked to Bud Light parent company Anheuser Busch losing $395m in U.S. revenues at the second quarter of this year.

Mulvaney said that she was a victim of cruel criticism and “dehumanization” by critics who criticized the promo. She also noted that it is impossible to “win over everyone”, but the backlash has only helped Mulvaney become famous in 2023.

Mulvaney, a social media personality who has amassed over 494 millions likes on the site since joining it in 2013, not only received top scores when posting videos on TikTok but also gained 10.3 million subscribers.

Mulvaney has also worked with brands like Nike and Kate Spade, while being named “Woman of The Year” by Attitude Magazine.

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Newsweek reports that Mulvaney was placed on Allure’s A-list 2023 for Mulvaney, the TikTok star. Mulvaney was named the best new content creator for the year at the Streamy Awards.

Forbes Magazine, an American business magazine, placed Mulvaney on its “30 under 30” list in early December. The list honors “young makers and movers who are changing the world.”

‘Alpha-male’ influencer Andrew Tate

Andrew Tate attracted attention by promoting a luxurious lifestyle for his millions of followers online.

Tate, 37, is a British-American professional kickboxer. He made international headlines in this year, when Romanian authorities indicted him and his younger brother Tristan in June, along with two Romanian women, on charges of rape and sex-trafficking.

Tate, a Romanian resident since 2017, has claimed that Romanian prosecutors lack evidence. He also claims the case is part of a political plot to silence him. Tate, who has lived in Romania since 2017, claimed that the Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and that the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

Tate almost was banned from social media in the past year. TikTok and YouTube platforms permanently removed his account after he made frequent controversial remarks and posts about women, which some people viewed as being misogynistic.

Tate regained his voice in social media when Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, reinstated his account on Twitter, which has now 8.5 million subscribers, following Musk’s $44-billion takeover of social media platform X.

Tate claims that his content is designed to help his followers, who are mostly young men and children, become the best versions of themselves. This has placed him among the Internet’s most influential social media figures.

Comedian Matt Rife

Cancel culture is not a phenomenon that has swept the world.

The Ohio native has over 18 million TikTok followers, despite the fact that Matt Rife’s debut Netflix special “Natural Selection”, which mocked domestic violence, caused an uproar online this year.

Rife’s career began in 2015 with a recurring part on the sketch improv and rap comedy show “Wild’ n Out”. It wasn’t until 2022, however, that Rife’s name became widely known when he uploaded a clip of two and a half minutes on TikTok called “The Lazy Hero.” According to The New York Times this clip received about 20 million views within three days.

He said, “It was like a massive chain reaction with an explosion in audience.” “From that moment on, each video I uploaded went viral.”

Rife has faced backlash this year on social media after telling a six-year-old that his mother bought his gifts with OnlyFans profits.

TikToker Bunny Hedaya said in a video which initially received over 13 million views, that Rife started a “beef”, with her child on the internet and denied Rife’s OnlyFans claims.

Rife then released a statement directing users of social media to a “pology” link if they were ever offended by jokes he made. The link took users to a site where they could buy special needs helmets.

Rife’s controversial humor isn’t stopping companies like Netflix to continue to partner with him.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the streamer announced in December a second installment to its “Netflix Is a Joke Fest”, a multi-day event featuring Rife and other well-known comedians including Chris Rock Ali Wong, David Letterman.

Alix Earle, the ‘It girl’

Alix Earle, the creator of TikTok and dubbed “It Girl”, the Internet’s hottest friend, captured the attention millions of users with her Midas Touch to sell a product in a matter hours after posting it on the social platform.

Earle, 23 became a popular creator in this year’s “Get Ready with Me (GRWM)” videos. These videos helped her gain more than 6,000,000 followers on TikTok, and secure lucrative brand deals with GrubHub and White Fox Boutique, as well as Rare Beauty. Earle became known for her ability to sell products through her videos. Her popularity and relatable persona also contributed to the phenomenon called “The Alix Earle Effect.”

According to data that Fox News Digital shared, experts at influencer marketing firm Ubiquitous discovered that one of Earle’s videos could cause Google Trends searches for a particular product to increase by 100%.

Jessica Liliann, a manager of influencer marketing, was previously estimated Earle to have earned between $40,000-$70,000 from a brand partner.

In August, the TikTok star launched her podcast “Hot Mess With Alix Earle.”

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Forbes Magazine included Earle on its “30 Under 30 list” for 2023.

Earle confirmed recently that she is dating Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver Braxton Bernrios. Both will be featured on Episode 5 of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which has been tracking the Dolphins through the entire 2023 NFL season.