TikTok has enlisted a celebrity partner as the first user of its new feature. Billie Eilish showcased her listeners’ creative talent by putting them in the “Fan Spotlight” after the release of her new album.
Eilish released her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, on May 17. To promote her ten new tracks, Eilish took to TikTok, where Hit Me Hard and Soft has been supported by an array of in-app features. Responses to the album have been collected on the #HITMEHARDANDSOFT tag, and fans can collect Eilish-themed icons for their For You Pages. There are additional animations to discover by searching Eilish’s name and that of her new album.
But the most intriguing feature associated with Hit Me Hard and Soft is Fan Spotlight. On the music tab of her official TikTok page, Eilish has pinned videos from fans that deserve special recognition. Fan Spotlight users can pin up to five clips at a time; the pins expire after a week, at which point artists can choose to highlight additional pieces of fan-created content.
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As TikTok looks to solidify its position as a driving force in the world of pop music, its artist-centric features will play important roles. The power of those products was on display last month, when TikTok employed an array of features to celebrate Taylor Swift‘s new album The Tortured Poets Department. That partnership went on even as TikTok navigated a dispute with Swift’s record label UMG. That disagreement has since been resolved.
Fan Spotlight may seem like a frivolous feature, especially since TikTok is currently engaged in a legal battle that could decide the fate of its operations in the United States. But these types of partnerships do matter. Groups like the Blinks have shown that they have the power to reshape the digital media landscape, and TikTok is paying attention. It will have plenty more opportunities to try out Fan Spotlight later this year. Other artists who have albums due out in the coming months include the K-pop outfit aespa, singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor, and pop star Camila Cabello.
