ICYMI

What’s Really “Up” With That TikTok Dance

Mya Johnson and Chris Cotter on the “Up” dance challenge—and what it’s like to see their moves go viral without them.

Episode Notes

On the latest episode, hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher talk to the teens. Mya Johnson and Chris Cotter are two teen TikTok stars who created a dance challenge set to Cardi B’s No. 1 hit “Up.” Fellow TikTok creator Addison Rae appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform their dance, along with seven other popular TikTok dances, without giving credit to any of the creators. A Twitter user tweeted a side-by-side video of Chris and Mya’s original choreography and Addison’s tepid Tonight Show performance, demonstrating just how watered down the moves had become.

Chris and Mya are here to discuss how the two first linked up, what they thought about Addison Rae’s performance, and the experience of watching their moves go viral without them.

About the Show

Join Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton twice a week as they gaze deep into the online abyss—and tell you what’s gazing back. All episodes

Hosts

  • Rachelle Hampton is a culture writer and reporter at Slate and co-host of ICYMI. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian Magazine, and In These Times. She still hasn't recovered from Tumblr’s demise.

  • Madison Malone Kircher is a senior writer at Slate and co-host of ICYMI. She was previously a staff writer at New York magazine, where she covered internet culture and edited New York’s Approval Matrix. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Vulture, and the Cut. Madison lives in Brooklyn, where she regularly drops her phone on her face watching TikToks in bed.