The collaboration between Eurovision and TikTok is transforming the music marketing landscape. The content for this year’s event has already garnered an astonishing 1.5 billion views on the platform, surpassing the total views from the previous year. The excitement isn’t solely concentrated on the final event, as participating countries are seeking out artists who already have a substantial following on the app to capitalize on the hype.

James Stafford, one of TikTok’s UK bosses, says the two platforms work well together because they’re both about “inclusion and creative expression.” TikTok gets to know the acts early on and helps them build their fan bases and prepares them for their social media journey. The app also works with artists to be discovered so that when they hit the stage, they have more than three minutes to convince the world to vote for them.

The UK’s most successful entry in years, Sam Ryder, got his break on TikTok and now has more than 14 million followers. Mae Muller, who was selected to follow Sam in 2023, also had a healthy fanbase on the app before her selection. This year’s Cyprus entry, Andrew Lambrou, was also selected to sing for his country because of his social media presence.

Andrew, who’s Australian-Cypriot, has a TikTok following of 700,000. He says that singing and music have always been his passion, but the reaction from fans worldwide made it feel “even more special.” However, the constant online scrutiny means he’s always under pressure to be at his best. Behind-the-scenes activity like rehearsals is usually “the space where you’re allowed to stuff up.” But when things are public, you kind of feel like “I don’t really want to make any mistakes at all” just because people are going to be seeing this and comments will be shared. There’s just a little bit of pressure.

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