Mustaaaaaaaarrrrrd, holding space for the woke backlash and how Kai Cenat is changing pop culture
Do keep up!
So hot right now
Kai Cenat and livestreaming… Both are on fire after the superstar creator launched a non-stop 30-day live broadcast that’s become a must-watch and transformed Twitch from a niche platform into one that’s shaping culture.
Top tier stars like SZA, Lil Yachty, Snoop Dogg, Lizzo, Travis Barker and Benny Blanco have made appearances on Cenat’s ‘Mafiathon 2’ event, and yesterday the 22-year-old released a splashy promo announcing that Kevin Hart and Druski would join him for a Thanksgiving special on Thursday.
Cenat’s livestream is now *the* place to be for stars and brands looking to reach young audiences and for those that want adjacency with 2024’s hottest online event. A spot on the livestream is so desirable that basketball star Kyrie Irving texted Cenat to ask if he had “any openings” so he could appear.
Even before the marathon livestream’s success Cenat was insanely popular, particularly with Gen A and Z viewers. I told you back in April that he’d been named a top influencer by teens and his followings on social platforms are massive. He has over 15 million followers on Twitch, over 17 million across two YouTube accounts, 16 million on TikTok and 11 million on Instagram. Those fans, and an army of new followers, are showing up in big numbers to watch the event. On average over 100,000 people watch concurrently and highlight clips are getting hundreds of thousands of views on Cenat’s YouTube channel. One video of him getting high with Snoop Dogg has been watched more than two million times.
Cenat started the ‘subathon’ on November 1 in an effort to regain his position as the most subscribed to Twitch channel. He blew past his goal within days and now has over 580,000 paid subscribers. That puts him more than 200,000 ahead of his nearest rival, Ironmouse, a Puerto Rican Vtuber who has never shown her face.
Even though Twitch takes half of a creator’s subscription revenue, it’s likely that Cenat is now making at least $1.5 million in gross revenue per month from the $5.99 memberships. He’s also raking in cash from Twitch donations, YouTube ad revenue, merchandise and brand deals, like the one he signed with Nike earlier this year. But while he’s being handsomely rewarded for his content creation efforts, being on camera non-stop, even as he sleeps and showers, is taking its toll. Last week Cenat admitted that he was feeling unwell and had even coughed up blood.
Cenat has just three more days until he switches off and gets to enjoy the profile boost he’s worked so hard for. He started the 30 day subathon as a Twitch personality but he’s ending it as one of the internet’s biggest stars.
Twitch too will be celebrating. Cenat has elevated the platform and the genre of livestreaming to another level. So much so if a creator or brand were looking to reach young people by building a presence on a platform I’d suggest they did so on Twitch rather than TikTok. Cenat has proved you can build massive and deeply engaged communities there, and shown that livestreams - when done right - can create huge moments in culture.
STREAMING SIDE NOTE ONE: During Cenat’s stream he discovered a Twitch creator who’d been livestreaming on the platform non-stop for over three years. Emilycc, a 27-year-old from Texas, has since given an interview to Complex and explained that she was so desperate to make it on the platform she started to film herself 24/7 and didn’t ever stop. As a result of the attention Emilycc now has over 14,000 subscribers.
STREAMING SIDE NOTE TWO: One of Twitch’s most popular political streamers Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker broke a corner of the internet on Tuesday after posting a thirst trap update of his fitness journey. I’ll leave the picture right here for informational purposes only…
Going viral
The search for ‘the surgeon they’ve all gone to’… TikTok is ablaze with requests for information about the ‘new surgeon’ who they claim is transforming the looks of celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera. Videos asking who reset the women “back to factory settings” and helped them “age backwards” has sparked a speculation frenzy that’s likely a boon for the doctors who are being referenced in the comments. If anyone knows who’s responsible please let me know so I too can get snatched.
Bryson DeChambeau… With over 1.6 million subscribers Bryson DeChambeau has been a pioneer of YouTube’s thriving golf scene, and now he’s taking the high-stakes challenges formula he used to build his channel and unleashing it on TikTok and Instagram to grow his audience there.
The professional golfer, and reigning U.S. Open champ, started a mission to hit a hole in one over his Dallas home on November 12th and has posted a video each day featuring his attempts to make the trick shot. Fifteen days later he’s still at it and the daily videos are doing massive numbers.
On Instagram he’s had over 69 million cumulative views for the challenge videos. Over on TikTok the same videos have been watched over 71 million times. While the cash he’ll be making from each platform is a drop in the bucket when compared with his pro golf earnings, I’m sure he’s thrilled with the money-can’t-buy virality he’s experiencing.
Holding space for Defying Gravity… If you haven’t heard this expression then you have a very healthy relationship with the real world, as nothing has gone *this* viral in quite some time.
For those who don’t have wifi, let me break it down into bullet points…
The press tour for the Wicked movie has been a carnival of fragility owing to the deep sincerity and high emotion of it’s leading stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo
Clips from red carpets, fan meet and greets and junket interviews have been everywhere. The pre-hype has been almost unavoidable.
There were many memes, but one went super viral last Friday because it felt a few more degrees unhinged than the others and sparked mass confusion
That video was from a junket interview by Tracy E. Gilchrist from the queer magazine Out where she (now infamously) said: “I’ve seen, this week, people are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that. And feeling power in that”.
The initial response from viewers was ‘WTF does holding space mean?’ with many struggling to comprehend what the journalist was saying.
In the video Erivo expresses a mix of shock and pride at the journalist’s claim. Gilchrist then takes a step back and clarifies the situation by saying: “I’ve seen it on a couple posts. I don’t know how widespread. But I am in queer media, so.”
The confusion, the backtrack and the overly emotional response by the actresses were the perfect mix and set the exchange up for widespread mockery on social platforms.
On Monday, after days of memes, Gilchrist broke cover and clarified what the expression means in a series of interviews, telling Variety that: “Holding space is being physically, emotionally and mentally present with someone or something. For me, it means being in the moment, not being distracted and feeling something on a cellular level.”
Now we all know! I should point out that after living in Los Angeles for many years ‘holding space’ is a regularly and sincerely used expression. After this I doubt it will be for much longer.
Female rage… Each week there’s a new reason for women to express their anger, fears and concerns on platforms like TikTok, and it’s becoming customary for them to soundtrack those videos with the Paris Paloma anthem LABOUR (the cacophony). So much so the track has made it to TikTok’s Top 50 chart and is sitting in position 12.
LABOUR was likely boosted by those who took to TikTok to share their thoughts on the idea that women should shout “Mom” when they feel in danger, as opposed to “help” given that so many women instinctively respond to that call.
A Bama Rush star’s love triangle… RushTok star Kylan Darnell has found herself in the middle of a TikTok drama after her newly revealed boyfriend was outed for seeing another girl. Grace Hale took to TikTok to expose her man for cheating with a “famous TikToker” and outed Darnell as the other woman by using a version of her catchphrase “have a great day, not just a good day!” in the post. Darnell has responded but says she’s saving the full story for a podcast. I will be seated when that drops.
Per Darnell’s wishes, I’m using this photograph to illustrate this story…
Trends, trends and even more trends
Screaming “mustaaaaaaaarrrrrd”… like Kendrick Lamar does on the track tv off from his surprise album GNX. The one word scream has captivated the internet, creating viral videos like this one from Munya Chawawa. Lizzo also got in on it during her aforementioned star turn on Kai Cenat’s subathon. I predict a new middle schooler battle cry.
✨Callback corner✨
"Demure" is Dictionary.com's 2024 word of the year after the viral success of Jools Lebron on TikTok. Back in August I told you about Lebron’s blow up after she posted a video titled “How to be demure at work” and gifted us the super catchy mantra “very demure, very mindful”. I said at the time that I hoped that demure had the legs to survive its viral moment and, well, here we are. It’s very cutesy!
I predicted last year that in 2024 we would see a walk back from woke and that corporate activism would die a slow death. I did not expect it to stretch to company rebrands, but after Jaguar unveiled its new logo and direction conservatives were big mad.
Maybe they’re feeling emboldened after Trump’s victory, maybe they really care about a legacy brand trying to survive in the wafer-thin margin business that is the car industry, or maybe they just love to stoke culture wars - your guess is as good as mine!
What I am sure of is that the anti-woke brigade’s predictable response to any sort of change is so loud that brands should use this to their advantage. All eyes will be on Jaguar when their new model launches, and that’s priceless.
For as long as Gracie Abrams’ smash hit track That’s So True continues to generate viral moments on TikTok, I am not going to stop wanging on about it. This week I’ve seen someone write and perform a response verse from the perspective of the other girl in the song, and besties filming each other as they take turns to lip sync a line. Never has a song created so many TikTok videos.
This week I’ve been…
OBSESSED WITH:
The wild talent of Steer Illustrations and the beauty of her incredible Christmas window display
Jack Harlow making a music video that looks like it’s been shot on Ring doorbells
Thanksgiving nails
This mom’s reaction to finding out she’s having twins after recently giving birth
READING: Meet Donald Trump’s ‘Human Printer’ in The New York Times (gift link)
WATCHING: Boybands Forever on BBC iPlayer. So. Much. Trauma.
LISTENING TO: The Good Whale from The New York Times
THINKING ABOUT: Whether expectations in the dating pool are out of whack because we’re over exposed to baddies?
You got this far…
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highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
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Email rr@bmend.com