The creator of “Group 7” still doesn’t know how she hacked TikTok’s algorithm

If you have On TikTok in the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed people posting about belonging to the “Group 7.”

The trend is actually an experiment by indie singer Sophia James, who released a series of videos for her song “So Unfair” in an attempt to game the TikTok algorithm and get more people listening to her music. After trying a few different approaches, and following typical TikTok formats, James started putting people into exclusive groups. Group 7, the final video in James’s “scientific experiment” on TikTok, has racked up more than 76 million views and generated hordes of comments and reaction videos, with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai even confirming her status as a member of the elite.

James began the videos on October 17, posting a video that follows the same TikTok formula we’ve seen since the dawn of the platform: herself talking and dancing to a song.Ha Song – and get a parking ticket. In her second video, she says, “It’s always been and always will be me versus the algorithm. And today I decided I’m going to win” while “So Unfair” plays softly in the background.

It wasn’t until the fourth video that she introduced the categories, telling TikTokers: “If you see this you’re in Group 4.”

“I post a bunch of videos and see which ones reach the most viewers,” the text reads as her song launches. “This is the fourth participant of the batch, so you are the fourth group.”

This ad did little to shake the algorithm, and neither did the videos for Group 5 and 6. But sometimes the best is left for last. After her Group 7 video went viral, James said, “‘So Unfair’ has definitely seen an uptick in listeners across the board, and it’s kind of spread through a lot of my other music as well, which is really cool.”

However, even James seems confused that she managed to hack the algorithm. WIRED magazine asked James why she decided to experiment and the double-edged sword of using social media as an independent artist.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Wired: How did you get started in this industry?

Sophia James: I’ve been making music ever since I had the ability to. My late mother was a professional singer. My dad was a touring drummer, so it was passed down to me audibly, and I also think it was encoded in my DNA in some way. I kind of won the lottery by being their daughter and being able to understand the world of live music and the hustle and bustle of musicians. From the beginning.