It’s an epic tale: a band of brothers, torn apart by the constant desire to prove themselves to their leader. Who will become second-in-command to the man in the blue tie, and who will fall down the ranks into social oblivion? This isn’t the plotline of some HBO original series: This, my friends, is the TikTok Rizz Party. (I cannot believe I just wrote those words down.)
No, I haven’t been possessed by some 10th-grade boy, chat. I’ve just fallen victim to the slew of videos, edits, and deep-dives into a group of teenage boys hopping around to Kanye West. Dubbed the “TikTok Rizz Party,” the edits have taken over the FYP, amassing millions of views and sparking discourse about friend group dynamics. And while I’ve stumbled down the TikTok Rizz Party rabbit hole, I must admit that it’s been entertaining AF. No cap.
If you’re still lost, let me fill you in. On March 10, the event company Island Entertainment posted a video of a group of teenage boys singing (shouting?) along to “Carnival” by Kanye West with the caption, “The boys showing how it’s done at Jillian’s sweet 16.” The video went mega-viral, racking up over 50 million views and almost 7 million likes.
Given the virality of the video, internet users are scrapping up different angles of the group (along with other videos from this chick Jillian’s Sweet 16). And since then, TikTok users have been analyzing the clips even further — and they’ve got some theories about the hierarchy within the friend group.
One creator, @usergoofball, also fell down the rabbit hole. His video, which has over 4 million views and 500k likes, features his official analysis of the TikTok Rizz Party friend group. “I just wanna point one thing out: this kid right here,” he says, pointing to a screen grab of the teen in the blue tie, “is definitely the group leader.”
He analyzes the video further, saying that the other members of the group are copying his movements exactly. “It’s like he’s the lion and they’re the sheep.”
But Blue Tie Kid isn’t the only standout to come out of the internet’s new favorite meme. Users are also hyperfixating on other characters in the video, like The Background Duo, “White Shirt MF,” and (my personal favorite) Tongue Kid. They’re even going so far as creating backstories for these random teenagers. The internet is so bored.
Like, people on TikTok are like National Geographic out here.
They’re even making boygenius edits.
But this isn’t the first coming of the term “TikTok RIzz Party.” In fact, it’s been around for a while.
What is the “TikTok Rizz Party?”
Surprise! The Island Entertainment clip isn’t the actual TikTok Rizz Party. The term actually comes from a meme that surfaced in May 2023. Florida-based Instagram user @23ryan_ posted a photo to his story saying someone left a pamphlet on his car window that promoted a “TikTok Rizz Party” on the 18th of the month. What, no invite for me?
What should you do with all of this new information? That’s up to you. I, for one, will be scrolling through cooking videos in an attempt to scrub my algorithm clean of the TikTok Rizzlers… before I too fall under the wrath of Blue Tie Kid. That’s enough internet for today.