Topher TikTok meme: American boy goes viral as first TikTok star of 2023
An American boy called Topher has become the first big new TikTok star of 2023 with his catchphrase "Y'all already know who I am – my name's Topher".
Lots of people have been sharing funny impressions and making edits of him to appear as a character in TV shows and films or as a member of a pop group.
There have been more than 1 billion views of videos posted to the platform with #Topher and 400 million views of #TopherTok – the corner of TikTok dedicated to him.
It all started when Topher's big sister @allycat.03 posted a video on Christmas Eve of a family game where they had to take turns answering the question "If you were to introduce someone into our family, who would you warn them about?" His brother said Topher ... and when it was his turn he said, in a strong Southern accent: "Y'all already know who I am – my name's Topher". That video's now had well over 40 million views.
It wasn't long before people saw meme potential in Topher and started editing him into scenes from popular films and TV shows, including Avengers, The Batman, Barbie, Gillmore Girls and EastEnders.
He's also been edited alongside actors introducing themselves in interviews, including the stars of Stranger Things on Netflix.
Some people have made edits so he appears as an extra – or replacement – member of bands like One Direction, BTS and ABBA.
Latvian airline airBaltic were one of the first major brands to jump on what they described as "the first meme of 2023", on January 6, imagining Topher as one of their first passengers of the year. Other brands who've joined in include Pretty Little Thing, Sol de Janeiro and Benefit Cosmetics.
Topher has been recognised in the sporting world too, with Topher edits from the likes of NFL and Swansea City AFC. He even got to attend a basketball game in Kentucky, appearing on a big screen as a mini celebrity and with the team in a video about how to pronounce the word "gif".
Topher's sister posted on Instagram after the game, saying: "thanks to the @universityofky for giving topher a night to remember!🤍💙".
There are lots of impressions of Topher doing the rounds too – including influencers like Max Baledge (3m followers), who made people laugh with an impression of Topher saying what dessert he'd ordered in a restaurant, and Angelo Marasigan (5m followers) who was told he looked like Topher and dressed up like him.
Topher previously went viral on TikTok in April 2022 with more than 30 million views on his attempt at the Sprite Challenge – where TikTokers were trying to drink full bottles of Sprite without burping. On her back-up account, his sister describes the Sprite video as "the OG video that started #tophertok".
Spotting TikTok Trends
Topher is just one of the new trends picked up and tracked by our Buzz service, which highlights some of the big talking points emerging on TikTok and social media every day.
Buzz from Shooglebox is used by journalists, creators and brand teams who need to spot and stay on top of the latest trends.
It includes a constantly updated box of cards showing at a glance and linking to viral videos, TikTok trends and other things going big on social media. Buzz customers also get regular updates alerting them to some of the things they might otherwise miss or discover late.
This stack of cards for the Topher trend gives you an idea of how Shooglebox works – and how it could help you go from spotting a trend right at the start to tracking its development over time.
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