For me, part of the appeal of TikTok is seeing smaller, less polished videos from people who don’t fashion themselves as influencers. But what do I know? The company has announced it is holding its first U.S. awards show later this year. It seems the Oscars-ification of short form video is here.
In a blog over on the TikTok site, the company said the show, fittingly called the TikTok Awards, will be held in the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2025, and will “honor the creators who have inspired, entertained, and connected communities across the country.”
To that end, the site also says it will invite users to “vote for their favorite creators” starting on Nov. 18. So, how will all of this go down?
Who is nominated for the TikTok Awards?
TikTok says it will have announce nominees in 14 categories, including Creator of the Year, Video of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and Muse of the Year, whatever that means. But don’t assume you can put forward any old channel for an award.
Towards the end of its announcement post, TikTok included a “Meet the Nominees” section that makes it clear the company has already chosen the competitors—and it might not be anyone you recognize. As someone who has spent a total of 13 hours on TikTok over last week (the things I admit for this job), I only recognize one of them.
To be fair, the company says there are “more to come,” so it’s possible someone I recognize will get added to the list of options. Regardless, it seems like the nominees are being chosen by some internal board, so your mileage may vary on whether you agree with the picks. Personally, I’ll admit that a lot of my favorite channels are journalists, spicy comedians, and political commentators, so it’s possible they’re not showing up here due to an effort to appear apolitical and family friendly. (Justice for Dave the cat, though).
You can vote
Voting for the TikTok Awards will start on Nov. 18, and the company says you can cast your votes using the in-app TikTok Awards hub. While it’s currently unclear how you’ll find the hub, my guess is it will show up as a pop-up over your feed when you first open the app, as it did with prior TikTok giveaways. I’m sure nominated creators will also be quick to link users to the hub.
It’s unclear at the moment how many votes users will get to cast. Some sites, like Crunchyroll, like to let users vote on their awards once per day, likely to encourage engagement or discourage dummy accounts. Whether TikTok will implement a similar system remains to be seen.
How to watch the TikTok Awards
If all you want to know is who wins, then you’ll be able to watch the TikTok Awards themselves live on Dec. 18 starting at 6 p.m. PT, with a “red carpet livestream” starting an hour before. If you’re comfortable watching from your phone, you’ll be able to tune in via the TikTok app, but for better TV integration, TikTok says Tubi will also host the program. If you happen to show up late, Tubi will also have an archive of the Awards available to watch on demand “the next day.”
Can I go to the TikTok Awards In Person?
While TikTok is promising “an immersive IRL experience with interactive moments,” it’s not posting any links to purchase tickets, which means the event is likely invite-only. That’s probably important for creator safety, but a bummer for anyone looking to help bring “the For You Feed to life,” as TikTok puts it.
Are these really the First TikTok Awards?
While 2025 is the first year the U.S. has had TikTok Awards, prior years have seen them come to countries including Korea, Japan, Australia, and Brazil. Likely, the delay has been due to the app’s uncertain future in the U.S., but with a final deal now reached transferring control of the company to U.S. entities, it’s likely TikTok is looking to make up for lost time by amping up its presence in the country.
So, will you be watching the TikTok Awards? Personally, I’m not sure they jibe with what I like most about the app—there’s a whole category celebrating people who sell via commission with the TikTok shop, something I immediately scroll by whenever I see it—but it could be a funny way to spend an evening, I suppose. So, basically the same approach I take with the Oscars—and at least it should make for some good hot takes on the accounts I do watch.
