Drone footage of a man dancing is now one of ... - Yahoo! Sports

At first, Allen's TikTok videos didn't really gain much traction, but his friends on Facebook did love what he shared on the app. So, he kept at ... ReadfullarticleKelseyWeekmanAugust21,2021,12:27AM·5minreadIt’shardtoidentifywhatinvisiblestringtiesTikTok’smost-likedvideostogether.You’llfindprofessional-gradefootageofamanlip-syncingonamountain,awomanbobbingherheadtoaBritishdisstrack,anintenselygorgeousdrawingoflips,apopstartryingoutanewtrendandanincredulousfellowpeelingabanana.That’sjustthetopfive. Quicklyascendingtothetopofthelistisapostfrom@totouchanemu,akaDavidAllen,whichcontainselementsfromallfiveofthosedistinctvideos—astunningbackdrop,impressivecameraequipment,authenticity,talent,reliabilityandself-deprecation. Clockinginatjustshyof35millionlikesand207millionviews(numbersthatarerapidlyrising),Allen’smega-viralhitutilizestheinfectiouspowerofthesong“Stay”bytheKidLAROIandJustinBieber,“dumpy”-shakingdancemovesinspiredby@maxtaylorliftsandpicturesquedroneshotsenabledbyhisjobasaprofessionalphotographer. Allen,a32-year-oldTexasnative,toldInTheKnowthathisnewfoundviralfame(whichhe’sconvertedinto5millionfollowersandcounting)doesn’tfeelrealyet.Hedoesn’tquiteknowhowtodescribeit. Hehasplentyoftimetofigureitout,though,becauseevenhisownspinoffsandadaptationsofhisoriginalviralvideo(suchasoneco-starringBellaPoarchandacoupleofalpacas)havegonemassivelyviralaswell.Likemanyothercreators,AllenstartedpostingduringtheearlystagesoftheCOVID-19pandemicinApril2020. Allendoesn’treallyrememberwherehegottheusername“@totouchanemu”(read:“totouchanemu”)fromexactly,buthedoesknowthatitallbeganwithareal-lifeemuheoftensawatafriend’shousewhilegrowingupinTexasandthatheneveractuallytouchedit.Atfirst,Allen’sTikTokvideosdidn’treallygainmuchtraction,buthisfriendsonFacebookdidlovewhathesharedontheapp.So,hekeptatit. Slowlybutsurely,hisvideosstartedgoingviral.Headmittedhewashavinga2-weekdryspellwithlowviewswhenhispost—thatpost—tookoffinawaythatwouldseehimwrittenintotheTikTokhistorybooks.StorycontinuesIntryingtodissectwhathethinksmadehisrecentvideossolegendary,Allencredited“research”fromothercreators,whichistakinginspirationfromothersandbuildingonittocreateatrend.That’soneofthemostcharmingaspectsofTikTok—atributetoanothercreatorlike@maxtaylorlifts,whilefullygivingthemcredit,canbecomeaphenomenoninitsownright.“Acoupleofthingscaughtmyeye,”Allensaidof@maxtaylorlifts’sinitialpost,laughing.“Firstofall,hewashisrearendisridiculous.Butthenthesecondthingthatcaughtmyearwasthesong.”Allenexplainedthatherefusedtobeelitistaboutwhatmusicheincludedinhispost.Thesong“Stay”wascatchy,andhelikedit.Sprinkleinsome“crazyvisualeffects,”andboom—historymade. AnotherlayerthatAllensaidmayhaveaddedtotheappealofhispostisthefactthatheslowlyeasestheviewerintothebigclimax.It’snotjustdronefootage.It’sclipsofhimwatchingavideo,gettinginspired,grabbinghisequipmentandthencomesthebigfinish.Lastly,heknowsthatthereasonthatbothheandotheruserslike@maxtaylorliftscangetawaywiththoserump-shakingdancemovesisconfidence.Hesaidhedoeswhatmakeshimhappyoverwhatimpressesrandomstrangers,butintheprocess,hemanagedtodobothofthosethingsonamassivescale.“Ihaveprobablytheworstbuttintheworld,butI’mgoingtoshakeitjustlikeMax,becausewhocares?”Allensaid.“Ithinkthatjustcomeswithage.Like,Ithink10yearsago,Iwouldneverhavewantedtodothesevideosbecausepeopledoseeitandpointandlaughatmesometimes,butIdon’tstop.” ThoughTikTokhasawhopping100millionmonthlyusersintheU.S.,peoplestillassumeit’sanappdesignedforteenagersonly.That’sjustnotthecase.It’sinclusiveofyoungpeoplewithinitscommunitystandards,butplentyofmillennialandoldercreatorsthriveontheapp,anditsbaseofearlystarsisstartingtogrowupaswell. Allenofferedafewwordsofadvicefortheyoungfolkswhostumbleuponhiscontent.“Idon’tmindbeinginmythirties.I’veneverbeenhappierthannow,”hesaid.“Iwouldjustliketotell[theyoungerpeopleontheapp]itgetsbetter.Yourjointsstartpoppingalittlemore,butotherthanthat,itgetsbetter.”Althoughthecommentsonhispostsare99%positive,afewnaysayershavebrokenthrough“likeaparasite”totellAllenhe’soverdoingit.Hesaidheknowshisschtickwon’tlastforeverandthat’swhyhe’shavingsomuchfunwithitrightnow.“IkindofagreewithpeoplewhosayI’mmilkingit.I’mlike,youknowwhat?Ithinkfromtheirperspective,Icouldseethat,butI’mgoingtodoitanywaybecausethisisanopportunity,”heexplained.“Notmanypeoplehaveit.”Allensaidhehasquiteafewfuturecollaborationsintheworks,buthe’shesitanttoannouncewhotheyarebecausehe’sjustrollingwithit.Maybethat’spartoftheappealtohisposts,aswell. “WillIalwaysbethedroneorbootyshakeguy?”Allenmusedinoneofhisposts,beforedecidingthatthe“bootyshakeguy”isactuallyagreatthingtobe.“Okay!😎”ViewthispostonInstagramApostsharedbyToTouchAnEmu(@totouchanemu)ForunabashedlyauthenticcreatorslikeAllen,theskyisthelimit.Italsodoesn’thurttohaveadrone. Here’severythingcoffeeloversneedforabettercupofjoe:InTheKnowisnowavailableonAppleNews—followushere!Ifyouenjoyedthisstory,readabouttheTikTokuserwhosparkedadebateaboutbonecollection.MorefromInTheKnow:TikTokerexposesalleged‘deceptive’marketingforpopularbeautyproductThis$15drugstorefoundationisgoingviral(again)onTikTokThe‘bestironI’veeverowned’:Amazonshopperslovethis2-in-1hairstraightenerandcurlerSephora’s2021Accelerateprogramfeatures8newBIPOCbeautybrandsThepostDronefootageofamandancingisnowoneofTikTok’smost-likedvideos—andnooneismoresurprisedthanthestarhimselfappearedfirstonInTheKnow.1.NovakDjokovic'svisacanceledagain,puttingAussieOpenstatusinjeopardy2.Report:NBAtoscrapdailyCOVIDtestingforplayers,coachesascasessurge3.MLB,playersunionfinallymeet,butlittleprogressmadetowardendinglockout4.NHLannounces2022All-StarGamecaptains,fullrosters5.TexansfireCulleyasheadcoachafteronedisastrous4-13seasonUSATODAYSportsOpinion:TheidealheadcoachingcandidateforeachoftheNFL'ssevenopeningsBreakingdownthebestpotentialcandidate(andafewalternatives)forthesevencurrentheadcoachopeningsintheNFL.8hagoSNYAnalyzingKnicks'tradeforCamReddish,includingplayingtime,long-termfuturewithteamTheKnickshavemadethefirstbigtradeof2022,acquiringCamReddishfromtheHawks.Here’salookatafewthingstoconsiderintheaftermathofthedeal...3hagoYahooSportsSoundsliketheColtsrecognizetheirCarsonWentzmistake,butmovingonistrickyThesameproblemsWentzhadinPhiladelphiarearedtheiruglyheadformuchoftheseasoninIndianapolis.HerearethedecisionstheColtshavetomake,andtheirtimelinetomakethem.12hagoTheDailyAdvertiserShaquilleO'Neal'ssonShareefistalkoftheTigersafterLSUbasketballbeatsFloridaThecontributionbythesonofformerLSUstarandNBAgreatShaquilleO'NealwasthetalkoftheTigersaftertheirthirdstraightSECwin.21hagoTheIndependentMartinaNavratilovatellsNovakDjokovicto‘gohome’andwalkawayfromAustralianOpenDjokovicisdeterminedtostayinAustraliaandcompeteforarecord21stGrandSlamtitle1dagoDraftWire2022NFLmockdraft:New3-roundprojectionsatregularseason’sendDraftWireeditorLukeEasterlingupdateshisearlyprojectionsforthe2022NFLdraftfollowingtheconclusionoftheregularseason14hagoPatriotsWireLeSeanMcCoyrecountsconversationwithRobertKraftaboutTomBrady’sdepartureItseemsRobertKraftlaiddownthegauntletforBillBelichick.17hagoNBCSportsBayAreaWhySteveYoungisbaffledbySeanMcVay'sgameplanvs.49ersSteveYoungcouldn'tunderstandSeanMcVay'ssecond-halfthoughtprocessintheWeek18regular-seasonfinalebetweentheRamsand49ers.13hagoHoopsHypeDonatasMotiejunascallsoutPistonsforvoidingBolBoltradeAfterlearningthatthePistonsvoidedtheBolBoldeal,Motiejunasspokeoutaboutthesituation."IwasfailedonphysicalsandtoldbyDetroitdoctorsIwillnotplaybasketballagain.Sixyearslater,Iamstillhereandhavemanyyearstogo,"...13hagoEaglesWireTomBradyontryingtobegoodasport;NotshakingNickFoleshandafterSuperBowlLIIlossDuringaThursdaysessionwiththemedia,#BucsquarterbackTomBradyaddressedclaimsofpoorsportsmanshipandhisallegedrefusaltoshakethen#EaglesQBNickFoleshandsafterSuperBowlLIIloss13hagoYahooSportsNovakDjokovicfacesdeportationafterAustraliarevokeshisvisaagainDjokovicfacesdeportationthreedaysbeforethestartoftheAustralianOpen.2hagoNBCSportsBayAreaWhyStephCurry,Warriorsaren'tpanickingafterblowoutlossvs.BucksMakenomistake,theWarriorsarefacingrealadversity.ButthereisnopanicafterahumiliatinglosstotheBucks.4hagoTheTelegraphStefanosTsitsipasaccusesNovakDjokovicofmakingAustralianOpenplayers'looklikefools'OneofNovakDjokovic'smainrivalshasaccusedtheworldNo1ofmakingvaccinatedplayers"looklikefools"attheAustralianOpen.21hagoNBCSportsBayAreaBobbyPortissaysshimmywasn'tdirectedatStephCurryafterbuzzer-beaterBucksforwardBobbyPortisclaimshewasn'timitatingStephCurry'sshimmyThursdaynight.3hagoDelawareOnline|TheNewsJournalDelawaremanbefriendsAntonioBrown,gainsfollowersonInstagram.TomBradyoffershimajobHowdidaDelawaremangetajobofferfromTomBrady?Here'severythingyouneedtoknow.9hagoWarriorsWireNBATwitterreactstoWarriors’uglyblowoutlossvs.GiannisAntetokounmpo’sBucksAfterGiannisAntetokounmpoledtheBuckstoablowoutwinovertheWarriors,NBATwitterweighedinwithdifferentreactions.Here'salookatwhatfansandanalystsweresayingonThursday.5hagoCollegeFootballNewsNFLExpertPicks,Predictions,Lines:Playoffs,WildCardWeekendNFLexpertpicks,predictions,linesforthe2022NFLPlayoffsWildCardWeekend7hagoBearsWireDanGrazianorevealsearlyfavoritesforBearsheadcoachjobDanGrazianosaysthereare3candidatesemergingasearlyfavoritesintheBearsheadcoachsearch.Andtheyallhavesomethingincommon.18hagoGreenBayPress-GazetteThetemperaturesfortheGreenBayPackersdivisionalplayoffgameatLambeauFieldcouldrivalthecoldestinNFLhistoryAaronRodgersandtheGreenBayPackerswantedacoldNFLplayoffgame.TheyshouldgetonefortheNFCdivisionalroundJan.22orJan.23atLambeauField.12hagoNBCSportsBayAreaWarriors'KlayThompsonhilariouslyreactstonotgettingballwhenwideopenKlayThompsonhadaveryKlay-likereactiontonotgettingtheballonanopen-lookintransition.1dagoMoreStories