Whew! TikTok is back, at least for now. As a music writer, I love TikTok because it gives me an opportunity to see aspects of artists I don’t get on other platforms and a close look into their lives. Sure, many artists post intimate looks into their daily lives on FB and Insta, but TikTok just seems to be made for tighter engagement.
While there isn’t an exact number known for how many musical artists post on TikTok, the platform has become a significant force in the music industry, with numerous artists utilizing it to promote their music and connect with fans and people like me. Thousands of musicians have found success through TikTok. The reach of TikTok for artists is undeniable; the top 10 most-followed music artists on TikTok have between 51 million and 94 million followers each. Over 70 artists broke through on the platform receiving major label deals in recent years.
One of those that I follow on TikTok to keep up with her life, even though she made the leap major success some time ago, is Maggie Szabo.
Maggie is an LA-based Canadian pop singer who I first met 11 years ago when I saw her perform her song “Tidal Waves and Hurricanes” at Hollywood’s Hotel Café. The song grabbed me and is still holding on a decade later.
Neither tidal waves nor hurricanes – nor Covid nor motherhood, nor anything – have held her back. She was part of the team that wrote “SloMo” for Chanel which won Third Place in the 2022 Eurovision. And she is a mom, a weight lifter, and a Multi-Platinum & Billboard #1 songwriter. Her song, “Uh Oh,” performed with Troy Samson, is featured in the Netflix movie “One of Them Days”, one of over 50 notable placements in film and television, including on platforms such as Disney, ABC, NBC, and Netflix.
So why do I love to follow Szabo on TikTok? Because besides being an incredibly talented singer and songwriter (with a new song out “Never Hurt Me”) she is now a mother of two young sons and has found a work-life balance that most people never quite achieve. I can watch it all on TikTok,
I can watch her weight-lifting in the gym and follow her progress (better than mine!). I can watch her in the recording studio with a baby on her chest, belting out her latest song, I can see her working out in the backyard with her husband, playing with the kids (I have met one of her sons and he is a big boy with lots of energy), and recording in her most comfortable hoodie. I even got to see a video of her packing to move into a new house.
Sure, other entertainers post “intimate” moments of themselves on TikTok and Insta and FB, but Maggie is not just another entertainer with a cellphone. She is a unique combination of stratospheric talent with 532 million streams in total last year, and a great down-to-earth human being who has her priorities exactly right. – children, family, and some of the best music you will ever hear.
What could be better?
Listen to her latest song, “Never Hurt Me” on Spotify and other major platforms; follow her on Instagram, FB and of course, on TickTok
Photo. Maggie Szabo at the Hotel Cafe concert on 11.1.2013 where I first saw her. Photo by Photo by Justin Higuchi
