What is TikTok's Hype House?

WTF is Hype House? It is only fitting that a house dedicated to creating online content would go viral. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be discussing what exactly is The Hype House. Based in Los Angeles, The Hype House is all about bringing together young creators – primarily ones associated with TikTok – in an environment designed to encourage a constant flow of content. Intended as a space for TikTokers to meet and do their thing, The Hype House is all about those coveted collaborations, making it easier than ever for TikTok's famous faces to team-up for a brief dance session or to lip-sync to a trending song. In certain ways, The Hype House is following in the footsteps of Our2ndLife or Jake Paul's Team 10, just with the focus understandably being on TikTok-style content over other social media platforms [1] [2] [3]. TikTok would be nothing without its creators, so that raises the question of who exactly is part of The Hype House? While there are millions of active TikTok users, only a select few form part of this collective, with the total being around 19. Every great idea must originate somewhere and, in the case of TikTok's LA residence, the ones who should be thanked are Thomas Petrou, a 21-year-old YouTuber associated with Team 10, and the 17-year-old Chase Hudson, otherwise known as Lil Huddy, a TikTok star with an ever-expanding fan base [4] [5]. While Hudson and Petrou were crucial to getting this ball rolling, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Some of TikTok's most prominent contributors are part of The Hype House, including the likes of the D'Amelio sisters, Avani Gregg, Connor Yates, and Addison Rae; creators with millions upon millions of followers on the short-video social media platform. However, as the name suggests, The Hype House is not just about the stars who are already dominating the scene; no, this collective is meant to support aspiring creators seeking to establish a fan base. Creators like Wyatt Xavier, Hootie Hurley, Calvin Goldby, and Patrick Huston may not yet have quite the same following as The Hype House's biggest names, but that is nothing a few collaborations cannot fix [6] [7]. Nick Austin, Daisy Keech, Ryland Storms, Alex Warren, Kouvr Annon, Jack Wright, James Wright, and the Lopez Brothers round up the rest of The Hype House collective. Now, in all fairness, just because someone is part of this team does not mean they live at the house full-time; otherwise, TikTok would need to set up a Hype Block [7]. So, who actually calls The Hype House home? At the moment, Alex Warren, Daisy Keech, Kouvr Annon, and – of course – Thomas Petrou live in the residence full-time, while the remaining creators are constantly dropping in and out, with many of the young creators returning home to school [8]. While all the members have their dedicated fans, The Hype House's most popular name is undoubtedly Charli D'Amelio. In the space of less than a year, the 15-year-old viral sensation has accumulated more than 20 million followers on TikTok by uploading short clips that typically feature D'Amelio dancing or lip-synch to songs trending on the platform. D’Amelio was nothing short of an overnight sensation, with all the creator’s dance videos spreading like wildfire and inspiring many to do the same, even earning her a spot next to Jennifer Lopez in a TikTok promo for the Super Bowl halftime show [9] [10]. Unsurprisingly, the majority of The Hype House’s creators are primarily known on TikTok, although a few have followings on other platforms. Daisy Keech has a strong presence on Instagram and YouTube as a fitness model, with some of her videos obtaining well-over 1 million views [11] [12]. Along with a TikTok fan base in the 8 digits, Addison Rae’s Instagram profile has over 3.5 million followers [13] [14] [15]. Chase Hudson’s rise to teenage heartthrob status might be mostly associated with TikTok, but Lilhuddy is also huge on Instagram, and the same can be said about Avani Gregg and various other members of The Hype House collective. [16] [17] [18]. Much like TikTok itself, most of The Hype House’s social media personalities are still developing when it comes to content, style, and presence; also like TikTok, at the moment, the sky really does seem to be the limit [19]. As the duo primarily responsible for The Hype House, Hudson and Petrou share most of the responsibilities when it comes to managing and financing the project. Towards the end of 2019, the two influencers came up with the idea of installing this TikTok collective and, within weeks, found the ideal pad to rent in Los Angeles. As the one living full-time at the Hype House, Petrou handles most of the day-to-day duties, be it scheduling the use of the famous TikTok bathroom or ironing out any inevitable disagreements [1]. What exactly is the point of The Hype House? The goal is to help young influencers expand their reach by forming a network of collaborators who work together in a controlled environment dedicated to producing consistent content. As such, The Hype House is not a place to throw massive parties, and creators are under a strict mandate to maintain their workflow in order to remain part of the collective. While similar to something like Team 10, The Hype House is positioned less as a business that teaches budding influencers how to obtain a million viewers quickly, and more as a group of young colleagues who have come together to help each other grow. Petrou and Hudson might have started this project but The Hype House has no designated leader and the creators own their respective content [1] [20]. Despite not living at the house, as the one with the most followers and clout, Charli D'Amelio has been The Hype House’s star since its inception. Often featured prominently on TikTok's “For You” page, D’Amelio’s clips are seen daily by millions of people, spurring other users to produce response videos and leading many to credit her for the group’s initial success [21]. While The Hype House is the biggest name in the game, it is not the only TikTok house out there. The Sway House serves a similar purpose, while quite a few other houses have been created or are in the works that hope to provide a productive and more diverse place for creators to work their magic [25]. The Hype House got off to an impressive start, with its page quickly accumulating millions of followers on TikTok; however, the project has attracted its fair share of criticism. Social media houses do not exactly have the greatest track record, and The Hype House has yet to prove whether it can buck such a trend. While the house's videos are doing well, that is a natural result of bringing together popular creators with preexisting fan bases. The mere idea of seeing Charli D'Amelio and Chase Hudson in the same video is enough to attract viewers, regardless of the quality of the video’s content. While that's a good start, the real challenge is maintaining that momentum once the early hype dies down [22]. While TikTok is no longer solely for 15-second lip-syncing and dancing clips, content in that vein is still the most dominant on the platform and, by extension, The Hype House. Along with lacking much in the way of diversity in its members, The Hype House's content has been rather one-note and too reliant on collaborations at the expense of experimentation or creativity. The collective seems genuine in its ambitions, but the content is not quite there yet to justify the "hype." Add the fact that many of The Hype House's creators are not even 18 yet, and it is not too difficult to understand why TikTok's most popular group has attracted some opposition [23] [24]. Only time will tell if the hype can withstand the hostility.