By GIULIA CROUCH
At 23, Holly has 16 million fans, needs bodyguards and earns so much that her mother has quit her job. So what does she do? Even mum can’t explain!
WITH the exaggerated expertise of a mime artist, Holly H tilts her head coquettishly towards the camera and pretends to whistle a perky five-note tune. Her pouted lips are glossy, her brown eyes wide, while her manicured fingernails tap to the quickening pace of a background beat.
The video is all over in 15 seconds. Its appeal – to anyone over the age of 21, at least – will be baffling. But this short clip has been viewed a staggering 77.2 million times since being uploaded to social-media platform TikTok last year. It’s a figure which the producers of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, which attracts ten million per episode, can only dream.
It has propelled Holly H to phenomenal internet superstardom. In this very modern world, she is as big as Beyoncé and One Direction. In fact, Holly, 23 – full name Holly Horne – is probably the biggest global star you’ve never heard of.
Her devoted army of 16million fans, mostly aged between eight and 15, pore over every detail of her daily online posts, which involve lip-synching to current pop hits or performing goofy dance moves.
But while Holly’s videos may appear childlike and innocuous, she knows exactly what she is doing. Such is her appeal to her international audience that her online business pulls in an estimated six-figure salary from promotional partnerships with some of the country’s biggest brands.
TikTok’s peculiar format, which hosts videos less than 59 seconds long, is described as ‘junk-food television’ – instant gratification for those who consume their entertainment in bite-sized, attention-grabbing pieces.
Clips are usually funny, silly or slapstick in tone and, if not paused, will play continuously on a loop.
The effect is so hypnotic – and strangely addictive – that there is an in-built ‘digital wellness alert’ that flashes up at intervals of 40 minutes if you fail to take a break.
‘I’m strange on the internet,’ shrugs Holly, when asked how she describes her job. ‘That’s what I do.’
No one is more bemused by her stratospheric success than her mother, Jody. ‘My friends are like, “What is that?”’ Jody, 45, tells The Mail on Sunday. ‘I say, “Honestly, it’s weird. I don’t really understand it but she’s making money out of it so we just go with it.” And it’s a lucrative career. It shocks me.’
On fast-growing platforms such as TikTok, these snappy videos are a huge promotional tool for brands keen to tap into the youth market. They jostle to be featured on Holly’s clips and, as a result, she has bulging wardrobes full of free fashion items and accessories. It has proved so successful that Jody has been able to give up her job as a secretary.
In fact, Holly – who still lives at home with her siblings, Megan, 19, and Phoenix, 12 – has moved the family from Guernsey to a four-bedroom home on a private estate in West Sussex so she can be closer to London to meet advertisers and agents.
It’s all a far cry from the legions of other 23-year-olds moving back home after university to scrounge off the Bank of Mum and Dad.
Holly has worked with pop bands such as Maroon 5, promoting their songs. She has also hobnobbed with Robbie Williams and even shares a management team with Ricky Gervais and Adele.
A team of beefy bodyguards accompanies her to events in case things get ‘out of hand’ with her fans – 80 per cent girls, 20 per cent boys, according to her TikTok data – who can become ‘hysterical’ when they spot their idol. ‘It’s so sweet,’ Holly says, genuinely.
The first time she was recognised was at an ice-skating rink in Guernsey. The fan in question was so stunned to see her that she nearly passed out. But Holly won’t hear a word against them.
After all, her many fans are responsible for her extraordinary success, which is easily quantifiable by the number of views and ‘likes’ displayed on each of her TikTok videos.
The platform is China’s first successful attempt to tap into the Western social media market. Its growth has been phenomenal. There were more than 500million downloads of its app in 2019 alone, bringing its total number of users to nearly 1.5 billion.
In particular, TikTok has voraciously drawn in under-18s.
But as a result, the platform – like many social media sites – has faced stark criticism for failing to protect its young users from the darker side of the internet. It was temporarily banned in India over concerns about the spread of pornographic material, and there are fears it could become a hunting ground for paedophiles.
Many parents are still unaware that TikTok even exists, and the company has been criticised for allegedly failing to tighten up controls restricting content to users under 13.
TikTok, however, insists protective measures are in place on its platform because users have to submit their date of birth, which means they see only age-appropriate content.
And Holly herself is vigilant that all of her videos are child-friendly. For all her frivolity on screen, she is running a business – and like any successful internet entrepreneur, she takes it incredibly seriously.
Her appeal, carefully crafted, is that of an urban, 21st Century Disney princess. She has been compared to US pop star Ariana Grande but in person she is altogether more childlike. Her long brown hair is in cartoon-like French braids, her pointy nails manicured with sparkly polish. The doe-eyed expression she employs to great effect online is exaggerated by huge, stick-on eyelashes and her make-up, which has an airbrushed effect on camera, is rather heavier when seen in the flesh.
She confesses that every morning involves an elaborate, hour-long ritual to layer her foundation, apply thick black eyeliner and purple eye shadow, and perfect her eyebrows and lips.
Just as Holly is always camera-ready, so is her family home where she films her videos. The walls – including those in her bedroom – are purposely left white so they look good on film and there are professional studio lights on standby for the perfect shot. Huge comfortable green velvet sofas in the lounge provide a backdrop to her latest acts.
‘It’s definitely an Instagram house,’ Holly says, unabashed. ‘Mum took into account my selfies when she got the bathroom here,’ she says, pointing to the luxurious white marble sinks.
In her bedroom there is an enviable array of designer handbags – from brands such as Mulberry and Louis Vuitton – dumped unceremoniously on the floor, and a pile of fluffy
Her carefully crafted appeal is of an urban, 21st Century Disney princess
toys on the bed. One of her new iPhones has a SpongeBob SquarePants case, thanks to her big brand deal with Nickelodeon.
‘They keep sending me stuff,’ Holly sighs.
But then, every moment is a potential filming opportunity.
It grew from a simple hobby when Holly was 17 and still at school. Despite performing well academically, Holly says she suffered from anxiety and TikTok became a form of escapism.
She was never popular, or part of the ‘in’ crowd, explains her mum. ‘She was always a bit different.’
It was a trait which, in the end, served her well. Despite earning a place to study media at the University of the Arts London, she made the difficult – and brave – decision to turn it down to pursue her social media success.
‘She said she wanted to carry on with what she was doing online, which I didn’t understand,’ admits Jody.
But the gamble paid off. After three months, Holly had 10,000 followers. After 18 months it had hit a million.
Now, Holly not only manages her TikTok account but regularly updates her profiles on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.
And her greatest supporter is her mum. Jody rejects the idea she’s a ‘momager’ – the phrase coined to describe Kris Jenner, the pushy mother (and manager) of US reality star Kim Kardashian and her sisters Khloe and Kourtney. Even so, Jody is heavily involved in sorting out Holly’s diary, overseeing her merchandise sales and, most importantly, making sure she eats properly.
‘There’s too much stuff going on for her to do it on her own,’ she explains.
‘She works through the day and the night. You don’t get a day off. I’ll say, “Hol, please get some sleep.” Or I ask if she’s remembered to have her tea. Mum stuff.’
So what exactly does a day in the life of a TikTok superstar look like? At 8am Holly posts her first video and then spends time chatting to her fans online, a job she returns to throughout the day and which she considers crucial to her success.
By 9.30am she is mapping out her strategy for the week ahead, so there is a bank of ideas at her disposal.
An hour later she has her daily call with her management team. Before midday there will have been a call with her publicist or a review of her hectic calendar.
The hardest work comes after lunch. Usually she’s filming videos and editing between 2pm and 6pm before settling down to chat with fans again in the evenings, often waking up in the middle of the night to make time for those in the US.
There is no time for boyfriends, she doesn’t go out partying and doesn’t drink alcohol. She insists she ‘can’t be bothered’. She has been offered – and turned down – six-figure sums to promote weightloss products, ever aware of the influence that she has on her very young audience.
It is to be applauded. Not many overnight stars could handle such instant fame, and the responsibility that comes with it.
‘It’s so hard to be growing up in this day and age,’ Jody continues.
‘I feel so lucky I grew up when I did, before any social media.
‘But Holly is very positive. She’s a really good role model to kids.
‘She’s never been wild. She loves watching Netflix and family things.
‘She’s quite weird, but she’s always been comfortable with who she is. I think that’s why she resonates with her fans.
‘She makes them feel it’s OK to be themselves.’
But isn’t there a downside?
‘No,’ insists Holly, emphatically, shaking her head. ‘Sometimes I feel a bit of pressure to post enough,’ she admits.
‘I don’t like letting anyone down.’ The BBC has recently hired another British TikTok star, Amelia Gething, for her own comedy sketch show.
Holly admits she would be open to a move into television, and says she’d love to be an actress.
And who knows what lies ahead. With a shrewd business brain, Holly knows that – just like her 15-second video clips – a brand such as TikTok may not last long in today’s fickle market.
But with her first live stage show already scheduled for next year, Holly is certainly optimistic about the future.
‘I’ll just move on to the next thing,’ she explains.
And as she disappears into her bedroom/studio to film another video, it’s obvious Holly isn’t worried.
After all, she has 16million fans awaiting her next move.
Holly is very positive and she’s a good role model – but she is quite weird