Drone footage of a man dancing is now one of TikTok's most ...

A post from @totouchanemu, aka David Allen, which contains elements from all five of TikTok's most-liked posts ... somehow. Skiptocontent AcrosstheYahooNetwork InTheKnow Yahoo Mail Entertainment Finance Life Sports Fantasy Weather About PrivacyPolicy Terms It’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. @totouchanemuImaynothave@maxtaylorliftsdumpybutIdohaveadrone.♬STAY–TheKidLAROI&JustinBieber Allen,a32-year-oldTexasnative,toldInTheKnowthathisnewfoundviralfame(whichhe’sconvertedinto5millionfollowersandcounting)doesn’tfeelrealyet.Hedoesn’tquiteknowhowtodescribeit. Hehasplentyoftimetofigureitout,though,becauseevenhisownspinoffsandadaptationsofhisoriginalviralvideo(suchasoneco-starringBellaPoarchandacoupleofalpacas)havegonemassivelyviralaswell. @totouchanemuIthoughtIhadreachedmaximumvibes.Then@bellapoarchturneditupto11.♬STAY–TheKidLAROI&JustinBieber Likemanyothercreators,AllenstartedpostingduringtheearlystagesoftheCOVID-19pandemicinApril2020. Allendoesn’treallyrememberwherehegottheusername“@totouchanemu”(read:“totouchanemu”)fromexactly,buthedoesknowthatitallbeganwithareal-lifeemuheoftensawatafriend’shousewhilegrowingupinTexasandthatheneveractuallytouchedit. Emusighting,courtesyofDavidAllen Atfirst,Allen’sTikTokvideosdidn’treallygainmuchtraction,buthisfriendsonFacebookdidlovewhathesharedontheapp.So,hekeptatit. Slowlybutsurely,hisvideosstartedgoingviral.Headmittedhewashavinga2-weekdryspellwithlowviewswhenhispost— thatpost— tookoffinawaythatwouldseehimwrittenintotheTikTokhistorybooks. Intryingtodissectwhathethinksmadehisrecentvideossolegendary,Allencredited“research”fromothercreators,whichistakinginspirationfromothersandbuildingonittocreateatrend.That’soneofthemostcharmingaspectsofTikTok— atributetoanothercreatorlike@maxtaylorlifts,whilefullygivingthemcredit,canbecomeaphenomenoninitsownright. “Acoupleofthingscaughtmyeye,”Allensaidof@maxtaylorlifts’sinitialpost,laughing.“Firstofall,hewashisrearendisridiculous.Butthenthesecondthingthatcaughtmyearwasthesong.” @maxtaylorliftssmh♬STAY–TheKidLAROI&JustinBieber 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.” @drphilHow’smychoreography,@totouchanemu?♬originalsound–Dr.Phil ThoughTikTokhasawhopping100millionmonthlyusersintheU.S.,peoplestillassumeit’sanappdesignedforteenagersonly.That’sjustnotthecase.It’sinclusiveofyoungpeoplewithinitscommunitystandards,butplentyofmillennialandoldercreatorsthriveontheapp,anditsbaseofearlystarsisstartingtogrowupaswell. Allenofferedafewwordsofadvicefortheyoungfolkswhostumbleuponhiscontent. “Idon’tmindbeinginmythirties.I’veneverbeenhappierthannow,”hesaid.“Iwouldjustliketotell[theyoungerpeopleontheapp]itgetsbetter.Yourjointsstartpoppingalittlemore,butotherthanthat,itgetsbetter.” CourtesyofDavidAllen 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. InTheKnowisnowavailableonAppleNews— followushere!   Ifyouenjoyedthisstory,readabout theTikTokuserwhosparkedadebateaboutbonecollection. MorefromInTheKnow: TikTokerexposesalleged‘deceptive’marketingforpopularbeautyproduct This$15drugstorefoundationisgoingviral(again)onTikTok The‘bestironI’veeverowned’:Amazonshopperslovethis2-in-1hairstraightenerandcurler Sephora’s2021Accelerateprogramfeatures8newBIPOCbeautybrands TrendingNow BrooklynitehuntsforManhattanapartmentclosertohisoffice SpecialOfferforYou Valentine'sDaygiftsareupto60%offatNordstromRack ShopNow Listentothelatestepisodeofourpopculturepodcast,WeShouldTalk: Share Facebook Twitter Mail GetInTheKnowdeliveredtoyourinboxdaily. We'rekeepingyouInTheKnowonthestoriesthatmattertoyou. Bysubscribing,youagreetoInTheKnow's Termsand PrivacyPolicy. 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