Jovynn creates a luxurious atmosphere for her TikTok videos. Her set glows with a soft wash of color while the heart-shaped audio-visualizer pulses on the wall behind her. Her plush, cozy outfits and bold makeup looks complement the rich scene. The true star, however, is the music. Built on unexpected mashups and satisfying transitions, Jovynn’s sounds invite you to sink in before she pulls the floor out from under you with the drop.
Jovynn describes her content this way: “Fun, vibey, anything that Gen Z’s would love!” She says she prefers to keep her posts lighthearted, telling us, “I don’t like being all serious on the app, I love to mix music with a little bit of comedy.”
We had the good fortune of getting to know Jovynn in a recent interview. She gave insight into how she got started, how she approaches content creation and where she hopes to take her music in the future.
Jovynn
Fans: 8.3M
Uploads: 902
Likes: 147,500,000
Content type: Music
Jovynn discovers TikTok
Jovynn didn’t come to TikTok directly. Like many, she was drawn to the app after encountering its signature short-form video clips on other platforms. “I was scrolling through Twitter before the pandemic started,” Jovynn recalls, “and people were sharing memes and dance videos from TikTok. They looked like they were having loads of fun!” Jovynn had to check out the app for herself. “Eventually,” she admits, “[I] fell into the trap-hole of continuous scrolls.”
For her first TikTok post, Jovynn made a dance trend video for the song “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey. That was enough to get her hooked: “After that, I just kept posting a bunch of random humorous videos and participated in trends every once in a while.”
It took Jovynn some time to land on the style of content she is known for today. Early videos included everything from POVs to tattoo tours to makeup and hair tutorials. Whatever the format, it’s clear that Jovynn was having a ton of fun on the platform from the beginning. “I was a huge TikTok addict,” Jovynn concludes.
Finding focus
These days, Jovynn’s main focus is music, specifically mashups and remixes of popular dance, electronica and hip hop tracks. She gave us a quick rundown of how she comes up with new video ideas: “Whenever I see a trending sound, I’d brainstorm the best track to mix it with. It’s like having a Spotify playlist in my head and using my brain as a tool to Shazam. If it goes well with a recent trending sound, I’d do my best to come up with the best transition method to blow the audience’s mind.” Jovynn relies on both deep music knowledge and the ability to keep up with current trends to keep her content fresh. “Curating a mashup takes lots of knowledge on the sounds that people enjoy,” she tells us.
Surprising the audience with a great mashup also takes creativity: “What the audience craves is a sudden switch.” Jovynn notices her sounds tend to appeal to two main audiences, saying “Anything that’s catchy has a potential [for] inspiring others to create a dance or lifestyle video, whereas TikTok transitioners would enjoy sounds with any form of loop or stutter.”
Regardless of which category a viewer falls into, Jovynn wants them to walk away feeling one thing: inspired. She recalls that finding the right sounds for her early videos was always a struggle. “My inspiration usually starts with a song,” Jovynn explains, “It helps me a lot on visualizing.” With this in mind, Jovynn’s main goal is to spark creativity in others. She says, “The best influence I could have on someone is to motivate them on doing what they love, or feeling something from what I create.”
TikTok’s unqiue appeal
While Jovynn remains active on Twitter, TikTok has become her platform of choice. “Most trends start on TikTok,” she says, “There’s always something new on there every day.”
But it’s not just about having new content to consume for Jovynn. “Being active on TikTok helps to predict the future trends,” she explains, “which helps to benefit my contribution to the community as well. I’ve come across so many people who showed me videos posted on other platforms which I’ve already seen on TikTok.”
Indeed, TikTok has become known as an incubator for viral trends. Plus, the platform’s highly personalized algorithm and For You page seems to help new creators quickly find an audience. “The app’s a trendsetter, and I love the way the algorithm works on there,” says Jovynn.
Social synergy
Still, Jovynn sees value in other social platforms. “All individual platforms complement each other,” she says. Jovynn is active on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and, of course, TikTok. She says posting to a variety of platforms helps her content reach a larger potential audience. “It allows my audience to explore more of my work,” she tells us.
Rather than post the same video all over the web, however, Jovynn uses each platform for a specific purpose. “For example,” she says, “I post short mashups and a couple lifestyle videos on TikTok and Reels, but if people are keen to receive the latest updates on my upcoming projects or just to see what I’m doing [in] day-to-day life, they’d resort to Instagram. YouTube’s more of a platform to share a longer version of what my audience wants — full mixes, etcetera.”
Jovynn believes each platform has value when it comes to connecting with her audience: “I think with each platform, it allows your viewers to get to know you better, and it brings lots of new opportunities from all the active users on each different social platform.”
How Jovynn avoids burnout
Despite her success, Jovynn still faces certain challenges as a creator. When asked about her biggest source of stress, her answer was clear: burnout. “Being a creator means having to be consistent and to keep up with the trends,” Jovynn tells us. “It can be a struggle to balance out content for brand deals and our own original stuff; we can only have so many ideas in a day.” She says the pressure can be exhausting: “Having to come up with something new every day can be quite tiring to my mind, and sometimes could ruin the fun of my whole experience in the app. There are days where I’ll feel a hit of motivation, but the day after, I’ll be brain dead.”
Though the threat of burnout looms over every creator, Jovynn is working on ways to stay consistent without becoming overwhelmed. “This year I’ve found the cause of my burnouts,” she explains, “and that’s multitasking. I put a lot of pressure on myself daily to come up with new ideas, and my mind’s always moving from one thing to another.” So what’s her solution? Stick to one thing at a time. Now, she approaches each project or campaign individually, making sure it’s complete before moving on to the next project.
It turns out this strategy does more than help Jovynn manage her schedule. “Having patience, perseverance and determination also helps to bring out the best content. When a project is rushed, it usually doesn’t work out the way I’ve planned,” Jovynn reflects. “Dissatisfaction could also be one of the root causes to my burnout, so one of the things I’ve learned is to take one at a time.”
Learning from experience
Aside from advocating for a ban on multitasking, Jovynn had this advice for aspiring creators: “As cliché as it sounds, don’t quit on your passion for creating content, and don’t focus on the numbers.”
She reminds us to focus on making what we enjoy first, saying, “When you’re putting the stuff you like out there, people are going to notice you and you’ll attract the right crowd of yours eventually.”
The other key, she tells us, is to be consistent: “I know I may have complained earlier about being consistent on the app. As stressful as that sounds, it actually helps. Putting your content out on social media is like trying your luck on a jackpot. You never know which one’s going to do well.”
“Everybody has the potential [to go] viral,” she continues, “so don’t focus too much on that. Focus on what you like to do best. Participate in any trends of your niche, and don’t be afraid to experiment with them!” Summing it up, she says, “Keep the grind going. People are always on the search for new entertainment.”
Inspiration brings opportunity
With luck and determination, Jovynn is now able to make a full-time living doing what she loves. “My main service is social media advertising,” Jovynn reveals, “I solely make money off of brand deals.” Lately, she has been especially excited to work more closely with the music industry: “Now that my niche is widespread, I get to expand my opportunities by working with labels to promote the releases of their artists as well.”
Looking ahead, Jovynn aims to use TikTok as a launchpad for her own music career. She tells us, “I’m hoping I’ll get to transition fully into music, as I enjoy creating sounds the most.” Indeed, she is already succeeding in that regard, having just released her debut single, “Your Attention,” now streaming on all platforms.
“I hope I’ll get to use my platform for good and create original music for my audience to use and enjoy,” Jovynn continues. “I hope, with my music, I’ll get to engage and play to a live audience instead of having them watch me through a screen.”
Ultimately though, Jovynn simply wants to build a community around her music: “It’d be interesting to see everyone unite together through TikTok and have an amazing time with great music,” she muses. With Jovynn’s infectious creativity and excitement, that sounds like a real possibility.