Joel M to Emma White: Northern Ireland's top 10 TikTok stars of 2022 – Belfast Telegraph

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Joel M and Emma White are two of NI's biggest Tiktok stars.
Joel M (25)
Sean Casey (22)
Emma White (19) Singer 1.5m TikTok followers
Serena Terry (36)
Olivia Neill (20)
Emma Kearney (22)
Luke 'iFerg' Fergie (23)
India Sasha (22)
Sophie Grier (24)
Ciara McKeown (29)
Ciara McKeown (29)
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Niamh Campbell Twitter Email

In the past two years, TikTok has grown in popularity as one of the world’s largest social media platforms. It boasts over one billion active users, spread across 154 countries, and many ‘regular’ people from Northern Ireland have become global celebrities through the app.
Although no software specifically shows the most followed or most viewed TikTok users from NI, the Belfast Telegraph has compiled a list of the top 10 local influencers who have shot to fame with their online presence, and garnered a number of business opportunities that wouldn’t have been made available to them without it. 

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Joel M (25)
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Bangor mentalist Joel Mawhinney has amassed a staggering following on the micro-blogging platform, astounding viewers with illusions that have been seen a staggering 381m times to date.
The 25-year-old even fronted his own BBC TV show, Life Is Magic, and has his own book titled Make Your Own Magic. He says that according to analytics, his main demographic is children under the age of 18 who love watching his tricks and wizardry.
The social media star has also recently found love with Dundonald model and Miss Great Britain for 2021, Eden McAllister.
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A knack for social media stardom clearly runs in the family, as Joel’s brother Ethan has racked up over 900k followers too, mostly posting pranks and comedy skits.
Joel praised “the amazing community” that he has managed to build through his account and encouraged other budding content creators to “find what you love doing, and do as much of that as possible”.

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Sean Casey (22)
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The Banbridge fitness guru is not only a TikTok celebrity, but also a qualified online coach and personal trainer. He uses his account to share fat loss tips, healthy recipes and workout ideas with people across Northern Ireland and beyond.
“Since I started on social media, I made the decision not to work with any brands or do paid promotion, as I want my content to be 100% authentic and just focus on providing people with free, helpful information, instead of trying to shove random products in their faces,” he said.
Sean has launched four successful businesses off the back of his online growth, including the Sean Casey Academy, in which he directly helps over 200 members reach their fitness goals.
He is also currently working on a third recipe e-book, has a business called the Social Circle, where he teaches people how to grow and monetise their social media presence, and has even started one-to-one business mentoring.

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Emma White (19) Singer 1.5m TikTok followers
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Like many TikTok influencers, Emma rose to prominence during the Covid-19 lockdowns, taking the time stuck at home to grow her online audience by posting her singing and vlogging clips.
Prior to the pandemic, the Derry teen had 50,000 followers around October 2019, with that number now growing to a colossal 1.5m.
While she loves TikTok, the 19-year-old is also a big fan of YouTube, where she engages with her fans more and can post longer content, with a current following of 337,000 (and growing).
She has recently signed a two-year contract with Manchester-based record company Ostereo and will be releasing her own music within the next 12 months.
Whilst she was initially made fun of by her schoolmates a few years back for posting videos to YouTube, Emma said that some of them ended up wanting ‘shoutouts’ from her after they saw how big her TikTok account had become.
“Just shows you how tables turn,” she said. “If I had listened to other people and didn’t believe in myself, I wouldn’t have this platform now!”

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Serena Terry (36)
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Derry mum Serena has proven that TikTok is not just for teens, as the 36-year-old has accumulated nearly 40 million views worldwide with her relatable, hilarious skits.
After initially making the riotous family-orientated sketches to keep herself entertained during lockdown, Mammy Banter’s newfound fame has led her to set up her own digital marketing agency CatchyCo, write a novel under publishing giant Harper Collins (with a second book on the way), perform her own comedy stand-up show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe festival, and she is even now writing her own sitcom script.
“That’s all been made possible because of TikTok,” Serena told the Belfast Telegraph.
She advised anyone hoping to start creating their own online content to “thicken your skin and remember anything you do within the creative space online is received subjectively, but it’s not always the consensus. If it makes you happy, do it!”

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Olivia Neill (20)
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If you love fashion and make-up, chances are, you’ve already come across Olivia Neill.
The Belfast beauty is now the face of Rimmel’s new Thrill Seeker Mascara, and posters of her face have been splashed across chemists and billboards throughout the UK.
The 20-year-old initially shot to prominence through her YouTube channel, which has over 786,000 subscribers, but admits that TikTok is now where she spends most of her time.
She is famed for her casual weekly vlogs, in which she updates viewers about her life. Her talkative nature has been so well received that last year she even started her own podcast called Inner Monologue, which involves half-hour episodes of the London-based influencer chatting non-stop about everything and anything.
The audio series even topped the UK Spotify podcast charts a day after its launch last November.

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Emma Kearney (22)
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Emma owns her own beauty salon in Newry, and has shot to social media fame in recent years thanks to her impeccable make-up skills, hilarious personal moments, and a very distinctive and infectious laugh.
The 22-year-old is also a senior Ulster Rugby player, and even shared a story about a time that she scored a try for the team, which led her to being put in an ambulance because she had a panic attack “out of excitement and couldn’t breathe”.
The uproarious influencer has partnered with numerous local brands, including Iconic Bronze tan and bPerfect cosmetics.
She said she “never expected” her content to take off in the way that it has, adding that “the best part is making people smile, all the opportunities I receive with my business and all the new people I get to meet”.

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Luke 'iFerg' Fergie (23)
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Luke "Ferg" Fergie, also known as ‘iFerg’ is formerly the world’s top player of the popular Call Of Duty Mobile game, and also recently reached the number one ranking of Apex Legends Mobile.
This summer, the mobile gaming expert became the new co-owner of Tribe Gaming, a North America-based mobile Esports and content creation organisation.
With over two and a half million YouTube followers as well, Ferg said he is “extremely excited for the future” and is “thrilled to be one of the leaders in the industry”.
At just 23 years old, he runs four YouTube channels in total, as well as his TikTok, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and his most popular content involves him live-streaming himself playing video games, and giving other gamers tips and tricks.

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India Sasha (22)
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Ballygomartin native India has a rare congenital hand defect called Symbrachydactyly. The condition affects people from birth and will leave them with short, often webbed fingers. Some might be missing fingers, as is the case with the Belfast celebrity.
A self-appointed “CEO of One-Handed Humour”, the business studies graduate said she always wanted to be her own boss and has done just that, having become a fully paid-up star of TikTok, rising to prominence quickly since starting to post videos on the app back in April 2020.
The 22-year-old now runs her own self-named disability advocacy brand. Speaking previously to the Belfast Telegraph, India said: “My brand is all about fulfilling this demand [for inclusive marketing] through ways of normalising disability in all areas of society that I can get access to.”
In recent times, she has appeared on ITV's physical game show The Void, online series The Aphetor Games, which was filmed in Greece, and she even attended a star-studded red carpet for the world premiere of Netflix programme, Anatomy Of A Scandal, starring Sienna Miller.

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Sophie Grier (24)
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Whitehead woman Sophie landed her dream job as part of an Abba tribute band right before the pandemic hit in 2020, and so her performance work unfortunately took a sudden stop after the world went into quarantine.
But soon, Sophie turned to TikTok, where she posts funny clips and of course, singing bits, and now, her group The Bjorn Identity are up and running again as well, meaning the 24-year-old gets the best of both worlds now.
“TikTok has given me lots of amazing opportunities,” she told this newspaper. “I’ve worked with major companies such as RiverRock and Dale Farm, and it’s been so amazing to collaborate with such well-known brands.”
While she has really valued the work opportunities TikTok has given her, Sophie said her favourite aspect has been meeting lots of new people.
“Even just walking down the street and bumping into someone who says, ‘I watch your videos’ or ‘you always made me smile during lockdown’. I think that’s really special. To have that connection with people right across the world, is really special and unique.”

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Ciara McKeown (29)
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Co Tyrone make-up artist Ciara is especially renowned for her showcasing of special effect cosmetics and extraordinary Halloween looks.
Her recreation of Bette Midler’s iconic character Winnie from the 1993 Hocus Pocus movie has been viewed over five million times alone.
In 2019, the 29-year-old even launched her own eyeshadow palette in collaboration with Irish make-up brand Inglot, to mark the company’s 10-year anniversary in business.
Having trained at Paddy McGurgan’s Make-Up Pro Store in Belfast, Ciara previously told the Belfast Telegraph: “In make-up circles now, the standard is so high. To stand out, I like to create looks that inspire other people or provide the shock factor.”
People in her small homeplace of Galbally are so used to her weird and wonderful creations that they do not bat an eyelid anymore when she goes out sporting one.
She said: “I drove around Galbally on St Patrick’s Day dressed as a leprechaun in full make-up, and no one even noticed me.”

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Ciara McKeown (29)
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