If you’re on TikTok as much as I am, you’ve probably heard thuy’s music grace your FYP. The Los Angeles-based artist knows a thing or two about creating a viral sound for TikTok. Boasting over 658,000 followers on the platform, thuy’s vulnerable tracks have reached a broad audience with over 9 million TikTok videos using the sped up version of her song ““girls like me don’t cry.” “It’s just very validating that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” thuy tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview.
This isn’t her first viral track. In 2020, thuy found success online when her 2017 track “All Night Long” went viral. Since then, thuy’s career has reached new heights as her songs continue garnering online virality.
So what’s her secret to creating viral songs? “Pivoting when things don’t work out,” she says. “It’s trying everything, like focusing on certain lyrics that you feel would be relatable to people and restructuring it.” One method that’s proven successful for her is turning feedback from her supporters into action.
“There was one song that I kept using a certain part of and it would do kind of well, but I felt like it just never skyrocketed [on TikTok],” she says. “One time I was reading the comments, and I saw a comment that says, ‘I love this song when she sings this part,’ and I was like, ‘This is it!’”
thuy has worked hard to get to where she is today and her persistence is paying off. On April 13, she’s set to perform at Coachella for the first time, making her the first Vietnamese American female artist ever to play the iconic festival. “I’m honored,” she says. “But I’m trying not to let the pressure crumble me.”
As Coachella approaches, thuy is making sure her set feels like a “party” for festival goers. The creative process of putting together her performance for the festival has taken “so much planning,” but thuy is excited to put on a completely “different” show from what her fans know of her.
“This is not a one-man show. It’s a 30+ person production,” she says. “For anyone who has gone to my shows, it’s always a party. I have fans that have gone out to all of my shows, [and this] is going to be different from what they’ve seen in the past.”
After Coachella, thuy’s next goal is to release new music later this year. Long-term, the “don’t miss me too much” singer is manifesting a Grammy nomination. “I never thought I could say that,” she tells Her Campus. “But this year, I remember watching [the Grammys] and visualizing myself out there.”
For any young creatives doubtful about chasing their dreams, thuy has some advice: “Don’t let the things that scare you keep you from at least trying.”