TikTok is the trending app with content flowing in from over 155 countries, giving the opportunity for anyone to “go viral” anywhere, anytime. For unsigned recording artist Mothica, she posted a clip of her (then) unreleased single, “VICES” and let the apps “for you” pages work their magic.
Mothica, also known as McKenzie Ellis, said in an interview with Idolator, “I shared a video of me crying in my car listening to the master of this song for the first time on TikTok,” the 25-year-old explains. “It has over 3 million plays…I wrote this song two months into getting sober.”
@mothicamusic listening to masters of my album... this ones about getting addicted to anything. cc: @itsevahoney ##recovery ##sobriety ##addiction ##originalsong
♬ Vices by Mothica but crying in my car - mothicamusic
Mothica’s TikTok may be under fifteen seconds, but she packed her life’s story into the three-minute song. The chorus includes the lyrics, “If it’s not drugs it’s drinks, if it’s not drinks it’s things, if it’s not things it’s people, places I don’t want to be. These vices, and I just don’t care what the price is, I’m tryna fill up the silence.”
Although the lyrics represent Mothica’s own experiences, the words feel universal to listeners. The song resonated with many people on the app, with the comment section filled with words of encouragement.
TikTok is a unique platform where you can use someone else’s “sound” in your own video. This concept pushed Ellis’s viral video’s view count up significantly, with some of the videos featuring her song garnering twenty thousand likes. TikTokers are even sharing their reactions to the clip by dueting the song with their experiences with addiction and sobriety.
Mothica took topics that are often treated as taboo and gave them an upbeat tempo and positive spin. The stigma attached to addiction creates a somber aftereffect, and Mothica’s song is the perfect clap back to it. The song’s popularity is skyrocketing, and she’s just what we need right now.
