Why Does Everyone on TikTok Use the Same Weird Voice?

If you can hear a melodic, drawn-out voice in your head right now, then you know what I’m referring to. The videos that feature said voice often start with a greeting – “heeeyy guysss” or “comee with me tooo” – followed by a makeup tutorial, a healthy recipe or a monthly clothes haul. It strikes the perfect balance between buoyant yet flat; it gives just enough away, without really giving anything away; it keeps me from scrolling past the video, but I can’t put my finger on why – essentially, it’s creative genius. 

Don’t know what I’m talking about? My Big On TikTok pal, Pia Valentiner, calls it “lavender voice” and reckons it engages viewers because “people like listening to the soft tones”. Another friend agrees, likening it to a “type of ASMR” – the term that exploded on the internet in the 2010s, meaning the relaxing, tingling sensation evoked by seemingly-mundane sounds. A third moans it reflects “the homogenous monotony of the content consumed” – before admitting that in the first ten minutes after a TikTok binge, he finds it impossible to read anything without the automated text-to-speech voice whirring in his head (more on that later). 

But who started this mysterious trend? Is it some kind of magic spell for attracting new followers? And why is it so addictive to listen to?

The first thing to clarify: TikTok voices are heavily linked to the content of the video. A video of a skunk doing a handstand (yes, this exists) is going to be narrated differently to a video of overnight oats. Christian Ilbury, a sociolinguist at the University of Edinburgh, compares it to people’s phone voice for picking up important calls.

“We talk differently depending on who we’re speaking to, and the context – regardless of whether we’re on TikTok or not,” explains Ilbury. “It’s just that people are noticing a style becoming associated with influencers or micro celebrities.” That style is probably quite reminiscent of someone explaining something to you IRL, “it might be overly informative or really colloquial”.

When Joceyln Claybourne (AKA @degrassi_kid) first started posting on TikTok in lockdown, she intentionally put on a different voice and finds it “cringey” to look back on. “It was this kind of nasally, presenter voice where everything was enunciated and annoying,” says the 29-year-old. “It wasn’t a casual voice you’d use in conversation, but more of a choppy voice meant to get your attention – even if it sounded unnatural.” For Claybourne, each TikTok video felt like a performance.

For other content creators, the TikTok voice comes naturally. Ashley Nkadi (@bellewoods), a 28-year-old lawyer-in-training, believes her TikTok voice is “pretty much” her natural voice. “I’m from the Midwest, where a lot of people sound like this – almost nasally and higher toned,” she says, adding that U.S. newsreaders are often asked to aim for a Midwestern accent because it feels familiar and relatable – no matter where you’re based. Nkadi has noticed a lot of TikTok cleaning and organisation content (yes, this also exists) has this type of voiceover, describing it as “palatable”, “easy on the ear” and “able to resonate with everyone”.

Nkadi thinks her voice may make it easier for her to get “more traction with all types” of followers. “A lot of Black content creators talk about feeling like they're only getting marketed to Black creators as soon as they start talking, or appearing in their videos, because of the algorithm,” she says. “I don’t think I experience that issue because of the voice I have.” 

The TikTok voice is also synonymous with the quest to be a successful content creator. Nicole Holliday, an assistant professor of linguistics at Pomona College, explains that all content creators have the same goal, broadly speaking – to keep people on their page. To achieve this, influencers use floor holding strategies, such as lengthening the end of a phrase, and filled pauses – those “aaands”, “soooos”, “uuums” and “likeeees” that have become common parlance on the app. “It’s not because they’re worried about being interrupted, it’s because they don’t want you to think they’re done,” says Holliday. “This is normal in conversation, it’s just that content creators are really incentivised to keep the floor, so they’re doing that in an extreme way.”

A growing number of influencers are aware of TikTok voice – or “TikTalk”, as some call it. In 2021, Jade Brandt (@itsmejadeb) shared a video asking, “Who decided this is how we’re going to talk on TikTok?” while doing her impression of an over-enunciated drawl. Meanwhile, @noahglenncarter revealed to his followers in December that he uses a TikTok voice in his videos. “I talk a certain way in my videos I don’t talk like in real life,” he says. “I’ve done this for so long I don't think I remember how to talk normally to a camera anymore.”

There’s something else going on here, too. Some creators have highlighted that one iteration of the TikTok voice is neither British or American, but floating somewhere in-between. The hashtag #midatlanticaccent currently has 8.8 million views on the app: Think Audrey Hepburn’s soft purr in Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Orsen Welles’ stentorian narration in War of the Worlds. 

Holliday explains that, like the old Mid-Atlantic accent, this version of the TikTok voice is “devoid of many strong regional markers”. However, she notes that with TikTok voice there’s also a “general pattern of hyperarticulation”, such as not flapping the “t” consonant. “This is above standard,” says Holliday, adding that it sounds “authoritative” and “has no stigmatised features”. 

Love it or loathe it, the voice is a tried-and-tested method on TikTok. Dallas Ryan, 23, (@thedallasryan), says the cadence he uses on his TikTok celebrity gossip page is part of the “online persona” of being a content creator. “First impressions are everything and I like to portray myself as best as possible,” he says. “There will be times where I’m not in the best mood but –when it’s time for me to tell you what’s going on with Kylie Jenner or Addison Rae – a switch goes off in my brain and I go from regular me to TikTok me.” 

This all had to start somewhere, right? Enter TikTok’s boomer uncle, YouTube. TikTok’s “hey guys” and “welcome to my page” introductions feel like a hangover of YouTube’s heyday – when vloggers like Casper Lee and Bethany Mota would pounce onto our screen and yell “WHAATT’S UP?” in an enthusiastic, chirpy-like-your-mum-in-the-morning way. On TikTok, these phrases play a similar role in the videos, only a few octaves lower with (thankfully) less yelling. 

If you feel like you’ve heard these phrases a million times, it’s probably because you have. A 2021 research report from YouTube found that “hey guys” was the most popular greeting among vloggers, followed by “what's up?” and “good morning”. Ilbury says these conversation starters are a way for influencers to create a sense of belonging among their followers. “People are vying for attention in a limited economy of attention. They really want you to stop on their video, and the way to do that is making it interesting and familial,” he adds.

I’m curious to know if any creators think TikTok has altered their offline voice for good – like actor Austin Butler post-Elvis. Although Ryan’s voice hasn’t undergone such a long-lasting transformation, he says he sometimes hears the TikTok voice in his head when he’s thinking about celebrities. “If I think of a phrase like, ‘So-and-so has responded to recent rumours,’ it’ll be in my TikTok voice,” he says. Ryan also finds it hard not to slip into his TikTok voice when there’s a camera in front of him, adding: “I’ve tried to use my regular voice for a video before, but it just feels weird.”

What about the human that’s behind TikTok’s automated speech-to-text voiceover used by millions worldwide? Recently revealed to be radio host Kat Callaghan, she says the voiceover is “definitely different” from her regular voice, but that you can “absolutely hear it” every now and again. “I don't say every sentence in life with that upper inflection at the end, but there is a little bit of 'Kat' in there,” says Callaghan. “A lot of people have commented on my natural vocal fry [the lowest tone of your voice characterised by its deep, creaky, breathy sound] in my regular speaking voice, which you can absolutely hear creeping into the TikTok text-to-speech feature.”

Much like the chicken and the egg debate, there seems to be no answer as to who started this mysterious vocal trend. What we do know is, ironically, the influence of so-called “influencer speak” isn’t that large.

“Language has already changed in response to the fact we are online all the time – even in the last 20 to 30 years,” says Holliday. “Most humans are not influencers, and will never be exposed to this. It’s not really going to drive large-scale language change, it’s more of a style you can put on.”

Well, that’s it from me guys. Thanks for reading and come back again soon!

@alice_hall8