Love it or hate it, TikTok is one of the largest video-sharing platforms on the web, with about half as many active users as the more established YouTube. While the Chinese platform has a long way to go before dethroning its Silicon Valley rival, TikTok seems like it’s here to stay.

However, it’s not just the social media giants who are competing, content creators are also in a competition for the attention of the average TikTok user. This is even true for the most prominent TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, who may soon lose her top spot to TikTok comedian Khaby Lame.

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The 18-year-old D’Amelio began her TikTok career in 2019 and became the most-followed creator the following year. In some ways, her rapid rise mirrors that of TikTok itself. Her channel continues to grow, and she currently enjoys an unmatched 141.5 million followers. However, the size of her fanbase is not unrivaled, as Lame’s account recently surpassed 140.4 million followers. Lame is also growing faster than D’Amelio. According to the analytics site Social Blade, Khaby Lame’s gained about 3 million subscribers over the last 30 days compared to Charli D’Amelio’s 1 million. If this trend continues, D’Amelio may lose her long-held spot as TikTok’s most popular creator.

Granted, it’s not strictly accurate to frame Lame and D’Amelio’s relationship as a rivalry. The two content creators are on good terms personally, having met in person this past January. The two also make different kinds of content. Charli D’Amelio is mainly known for her dancing and lip-synching videos, and her dance choreography helped propel her to internet stardom. Meanwhile, Khaby Lame produces dialogue-free videos parodying other internet clips. Thus, a follower gained by Lame is not automatically one lost by D’Amelio, and the highly diverse TikTok ecosystem seems big enough for both creators.

Still, only one of them can hold the top spot, and many fans are willing to make it a competition. Khaby Lame’s growth saw a boost in recent months thanks to his followers promoting #KhabyToNumberOne. While it’s hard to know how much of an impact the fan campaign had, it probably played a role. So far, D’Amelio’s fans have yet to organize any similar movement of their own. However, that may change as Lame comes closer to surpassing D’Amelio’s massive number of followers.

It’s also worth noting that this is not the only time that Lame nearly snagged D’Amelio’s top spot. The internet was full of similar stories back in February when the size of his fanbase last came close to rivaling hers, and that wasn’t the first time either. Yet, despite those close calls, she has remained queen of the popular app. Time will tell whether she manages to retain the throne.

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Source: Dexerto