It has been a year filled with fun, laughter and extraordinary moments as we watched millions of South Africans jump onto TikTok, the world’s leading destination for short-form videos, to express themselves and entertain others in 2019. Through viral challenges, popular stickers, filters and effects, South Africans took centre stage in 2019 to show off their greatest attributes in ways that tugged at our heartstrings or made us roll on the floor with laughter.
As the year draws to a close, all users were invited to vote for their favourite and the most creative video content based on five different categories.
Without further ado, here are the 2019 winners based on user votes:
- Best in Comedy:
The first category celebrates the TikTok comedians who kept the community laughing in 2019. The award in this category goes to comedian, @troysheperds, who is known for his local South African humour. When he isn’t imitating women and cross-dressing, he’s commenting on relatable, cultural differences in a light-hearted and humorous way.
- Best in Dance:
Known for featuring the coolest tracks, TikTok hosted a number of dance challenges that got everyone’s feet moving this year. One of the most popular was the #MacarenaChallenge. And the award goes to professional dancer, @kelly_kikx!
- Best in Fashion:
This category includes the TikTok creators who kept up with 2019 fashion trends and how they shared this with the community. Based on her glowing videos, makeup artist @glowup_entle was crowned 2019’s TikTok fashionista.
- Best Moving Moment:
Browsing through TikTok can often be an emotional journey as you never know what content you’re going to find. We have to congratulate @chanegrobler as she definitely kept the community in touch with their emotions this year through her boss acting skills.
- Best Transition:
TikTok videos are best watched with a smooth transition between compiled videos. But who was the smoothest of them all? We say @curlykenter. Congratulations.
As a platform that encourages creative expression, TikTok has naturally attracted a diverse list of local celebrities who are using TikTok to create bite-sized, fun videos that give fans a sneak peek into their day-to-day lives. The most popular creators in 2019 include Pearl Thusi, DJ Zinhle, Sho Madjozi, Mr Cashtime (K.O), and Busiswaah.
Furthermore, as a platform that empowers users to showcase their true selves and real lives, TikTok has also served as the launchpad for an array of local creators. The most popular creators in 2019 include @wianmagic, @chanegrobler, @kelly_kikx, @witney8 and @troysheperds. These creators are only a few that have gained a massive following during 2019 and have been connecting with the local community as well as a global audience.
That’s a wrap: 2019 was indeed an unforgettable year for TikTok in South Africa, with one of the most popular challenges being #BringItHomeBokke, which gave everyone a chance to not only to be part of a historic moment, but to celebrate diversity and creativity through content. South Africa also closes the year with the most popular and memorable music hits on TikTok Absolutely Anything by CG5 amongst other favorites such as The Git Up by Blanco Brown and Dames by Biggy.
Wait, it’s not over yet: Before 2019 officially comes to an end, TikTok has yet another challenge for creators to share the festive joy with fellow users. Look out for the Summer Christmas challenge which will start from 20 December 2019. To join in on this challenge, simply look up #MzansiXmas on TikTok and share your version of a local Christmas.
Here’s a sneak peek at what other creators have already posted:
Follow Gadget’s Editor-in-chief, Arthur Goldstuck, on TikTok: @arr2gee