If you were on the internet in the late 2010s, you probably remember when being a “content creator” wasn’t a real career yet. We had Musical.ly, VSCO girls, YouTube drama, and eventually, the Hype House. Somehow, people like Charli D’Amelio, Loren Gray, and Baby Ariel went from teenagers making videos in their bedrooms to people whose names everyone seemed to know.
Recently, TikTok has been calling Charli D’Amelio the “internet’s Tamagotchi,” and honestly, the comparison is painfully accurate. We watched her grow up on our screens, watched her become famous and then… kind of watched the internet move on to the next thing.
So naturally, I had to ask: Where are all of our former internet favorites now?
The Ones Who Made It Out of TikTok
Not everyone who blew up online stayed trapped in the world of dance trends and influencer houses. Some creators managed to turn their internet fame into careers that reached far beyond the app that made them famous.
So of course we have to start with the internet’s Tamagotchi herself.
Charli D’Amelio is probably the best example. For a while, she was the internet, going from posting dance videos to becoming TikTok’s biggest star almost overnight. But instead of disappearing when the internet moved on, Charli started building a career outside of TikTok. She won Dancing With the Stars in 2022 with Mark Ballas and later made her Broadway debut in & Juliet in 2024. Now, in 2026, she’s been getting renewed attention online by showing parts of her personality “fans” have never seen before, so maybe the internet might actually be ready for its Tamagotchi again.
If Charli was the queen of TikTok, Addison Rae was definitely sitting somewhere nearby wearing a matching crown. She became one of the faces of the Hype House era, and for a while, it felt like she was everywhere–from dance videos and becoming besties with the Kardashians to an array of influencer drama. Addison eventually made the jump into acting and music, transitioning from a TikTok creator into a mainstream celebrity. One minute you’re making TikToks in your bedroom, and the next you’re starring in movies and performing at Coachella. Casual.
Someone who took a similar route to Addison is Nessa Barrett, who came onto the scene during TikTok’s early explosion and quickly became one of its most recognizable creators. While she initially gained attention through TikTok, she eventually shifted her focus toward music and built a career as an artist. Her transition is a good example of how creators began using social media as a starting point rather than the entire career.
While talking about internet star success stories, I feel like I have to mention Emma Chamberlain, who proved you don’t even need TikTok to become an internet celebrity. Emma became famous through her YouTube vlogs, known for their chaotic editing, unfiltered humor, and very much not polished-influencer energy. Since then, she’s turned that audience into a much bigger brand, from her podcast Anything Goes to Chamberlain Coffee, major fashion campaigns and red-carpet appearances.
Whether it was Broadway, movies, music, or building an entire brand, these creators figured out something important: you can leave the app without leaving fame behind.
The Ones Who Kind of Disappeared
Not everyone from the Hype House era became the next big celebrity. Some of the biggest creators simply became… less famous.
For instance, Bryce Hall. During the peak of TikTok, it felt impossible to escape him. Between the Sway Boys, YouTube videos, and constant influencer drama, Bryce was everywhere. He’s still creating content, but he’s definitely not the unavoidable internet personality he once was. And honestly, that’s for the best…
There areThere’s also creators like Avani Gregg, who stood out for her makeup and transformation videos during TikTok’s early days. She’s continued working in fashion, beauty, and entertainment, but her name isn’t quite as thrown around as it was during TikTok’s peak.
I guess since the Hype House has been mentioned, we can’t forget Thomas Petrou, one of the people behind the original Hype House. For a while, the house was basically influencer Hollywood. Before it, there was Magcon; then came both the Sway Boys, and the Hype House, which became the next generation of internet-famous teenagers living and creating together. Eventually, though, the hype faded, and the internet moved on.
On another side of the internet lived influencers like Danielle Cohn, who became one of the biggest names of the Musical.ly and early TikTok era, known for lip-sync videos, music, and plenty of internet drama. Her age became one of the biggest controversies surrounding her career after she publicly gave an older birth year, and her father later disputed it, sharing a birth certificate indicating she was in fact born in 2006.
Looking back, these creators are a good example of how quickly internet fame can disappear. One minute, everyone knows your name; the next, you’re wondering what happened to the person who used to be on your For You Page every single day.
Before TikTok, There Was Musical.ly
Before TikTok took over our phones, there was Musical.ly.
For anyone who wasn’t around for it (yuck, that made me feel old), Musical.ly was basically the place to be if you wanted to lip-sync to a song while aggressively pointing at the camera. It was simple, slightly chaotic, and somehow incredibly entertaining. In 2018, Musical.ly merged into TikTok, bringing many of its creators and users along with it.
Some of those creators became the original social media celebrities. Baby Ariel was one of the biggest names on the app, building a massive following through lip-sync videos before moving into acting, music and television. She was followed closely by Loren Gray, another Musical.ly superstar whose massive following eventually led her into music, modeling, and other creative projects.
The Musical.ly era also gave us creators like Kristen Hancher and Ariana Renee, better known as Arii, who built huge audiences through lip-syncs, dance videos, and lifestyle content. Both eventually expanded into other areas of entertainment and fashion;, although they did not retain the full amount of fame they once held, they still expanded their careers.
And, of course, we can’t forget Jacob Sartorius. He became one of the biggest teenage stars on Musical.ly and used his online following to launch a music career. For a while, he had the music, the merch, and enough fan accounts to make it seem like every teenage girl on the internet wanted to wear his sweatshirt. He recently sparked up again after starting a podcast called bangin’ out.
Looking back, these creators were basically celebrities in their own little corner of the internet. There wasn’t a massive influencer industry built around every trend yet. Then Musical.ly disappeared, TikTok took over and suddenly we were all expected to pretend we didn’t spend hours watching people lip-sync to the same song.
Honestly, those 15-second videos walked so TikTok could run.
Writers’ Suggestions: Wait… Remember Them?!
There are some internet stars who don’t necessarily fit neatly into the TikTok or Musical.ly categories but my fellow writers felt they absolutely deserve an honorable mention.
Sofia Grace – The pink, tutu-wearing YouTube star who became famous as a kid after her videos went viral. She later sparked a bit of drama around her pregnancy and her age. But she still continues creating content as a singer and television personality.
Zoe LaVerne – A major name during the early TikTok era who built a huge following through lip-syncs, dances, and relationship-content videos. She took a dark turn in her career when it was revealed she had dated MULTIPLE underage boys.
Lele Pons – One of the original Vine stars who transitioned into YouTube, music, and television. If we’re talking about people who figured out how to survive multiple generations of social media, Lele deserves serious credit.
Sienna Mae – A TikTok creator who became popular for dance and lifestyle content during the platform’s massive growth period. But had a similar downfall to Zoe, yet people still are torn on whose side they are on.
Cameron Dallas – An OG Vine star and one of the original internet celebrities. Before TikTok houses and influencer mansions, there was Cameron Dallas and Magcon making millions of teenage girls lose their minds. He has now resorted to making AI music online to grasp at the fame he once had.
This list could go on forever. The internet has produced an absolutely ridiculous number of “celebrities” over the last decade.
So… What Actually Happened to Everyone?
The funny thing about looking back at these creators is realizing how much the internet has changed in just a few years.
Musical.ly is gone. Vine is gone. The original groups like Magcon are no longer the internet powerhouses they once were. The Hype House and Sway Boys are basically internet history. The dances we couldn’t escape are now nostalgic throwbacks. And the people we used to see every single day on our phones are doing completely different things.
Some became actors. Some became musicians. Some stayed creators. Others became less visible as the internet moved on.
And maybe that’s the weirdest part.
We grew up alongside these people without actually knowing them. We watched them get older, change their careers, and move through different phases of their lives from the tiny screen of our phones.
The internet is constantly looking for its next Charli, Addison or Loren. There’s always a new trend, a new app, and a new person everyone suddenly knows.
But for a generation that grew up on Musical.ly, Vine and early TikTok, these creators will always have a special place in our internet nostalgia.
After all, you never really forget your favorite internet star from the era when you were twelve, sitting on your bedroom floor, watching the same 15-second video approximately 47 times.
And maybe that’s why calling Charli D’Amelio the internet’s Tamagotchi makes so much sense. We really did watch her grow up.