Whar ‘Group 7’ is, and how its creator won at TikTok

Are you in “Group 7”? The fact that millions want to be could be chalked up to an L.A. singer who was determined to use TikTok to get her music before the public.

Sophia James took on the social media platform’s algorithm last week, and now TikTok users want nothing more than to be a part of “Group 7.”

On Monday, professional tennis player Naomi Osaka posted a TikTok video with the caption, “If you’re not in group 7 keep scrolling.”

Even real estate mogul and “Shark Tank” shark Barbara Corcoran flexed her muscles with the post, “How it feels waking up in Group 7.”

So, what is this exclusive new TikTok club?

‘Group 7’ — not a club

First off, it’s not a real club but a social media trend that James, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter, started as a “science experiment.”

On Oct. 17, James posted a series of seven videos with her newly released single, “So Unfair,” as the soundtrack.

James’ goal: to “bully the algorithm” into exposing her song to new audiences and figure out which video, if any, would be seen by the most TikTok users.

“These days … you have to take to social media to get your music heard,” she said.

James told The Times that she’s typically reluctant to follow trends on social media but uses the platforms for “the sole purpose of promoting my music.”

She was a contestant on Season 18 of “American Idol” and made it to the show’s top 11 before being voted out. Around that time, in 2024, James released her first album, titled “Clockwork.”

Sophia James said her goal was to “bully” the TikTok algorithm so her music could reach a broader audience.

(Stephanie Saias)

“I’ve worked too long and too hard and put too much care into [the music] to not try using creative methods to get it out there, social media being one of them,” James said.

The first three videos she posted on TikTok weren’t labeled. In them, James’ talked about her latest parking ticket and her comments on the challenges of the algorithm. The fourth through the seventh videos are named “Group 4,” “Group 5,” “Group 6” and “Group 7.”

Likes, comments and shares — which come under the “engagement” umbrella term — numbered in the thousands for the first six videos.

James doesn’t talk in the first six videos, she either looks directly at the viewer or lip syncs to her song with the text, “I am posting a bunch of videos to and seeing which ones reach the most viewers.” Directly above that disclaimer she says if this is the video you’re seeing, that is the group you’re in.

But she took a slightly different approach in the “Group 7” video, which had garnered 3.3 million likes and more then 150,000 comments as of Wednesday.

“I don’t know what that says about you, but you’re in ‘Group 7,’ welcome,” James says.

A day after the initial post and into the weekend, “Group 7” became the new trend that celebrities, influencers and brands used in their video content.

How ‘Group 7’ went bonkers

“I don’t know if I could replicate it because I find that the algorithm is this kind of amorphous, ever-changing, mystical thing that no one can ever really crack,” James said.

Algorithms, by their very nature, are made to be manipulated; it’s just not easy to figure out, said Karen North, professor of digital social media and psychology at USC.

“But it is true that there are strategies and tricks that you can try that will promote your content,” she said.

To start, North said, it’s important to understand the algorithm for TikTok operates on a point system in which the more that users engage with a video — which is shown by the number of likes, the amount of time it is viewed, and the number of comments and shares — the higher the chances of it showing up on a user’s personalized feed or “for you page,” North explained.

Who engages with the content will also give the trend a longer shelf life and a broader reach.

That’s because when a brand, influencer or celebrity engages with content, such as an average user’s video, it creates the feeling that “we’re all connected to each other in a very personal way,” North said. TikTok users then want to participate in the trend their favorite celebrity or brand is talking about.

Another way that James was able to win at TikTok was that the musician turned her post into a game.

TikTok is a participatory platform, North noted, and James got the audience involved by seeing which “group” they would be in based on the video that turned up on their “for you page.”

“I’s not an accident that on TikTok is where you find the Tide Pod challenge, or the milk crate challenge,” North said. “It’s because the platform thrives on participation.

“So this is like the Harry Potter sorting hat of TikTok videos.”