CG5 Interview

In this 2023 interview, CG5 talked with us about YouTube, TikTok, songwriting, relatability, and the way he connects with fans online.

At the time, CG5 had built a large audience across YouTube and TikTok as an independent singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Phoenix.

Why CG5 Joined TikTok

CG5 said TikTok made sense because he already had an established YouTube audience and saw people moving toward the newer platform.

CG5: “I already had a platform on YouTube, and I figured that, since Tiktok was at a high rate of growth of users, I should bring my followers over there. I can cater to them on the platform that everyone was starting to use more than YouTube at the time. I created my TikTok account in 2019, and it started really growing in 2021, and then here we are, fresh after the trend that just happened.”

How He Connects With Followers

He also credited some of his TikTok growth to the connection he had already built with fans on YouTube.

CG5: “The reason I’ve been able to scale on TikTok so well is because I feel like I’ve already created a connection with followers from my bigger platform, YouTube. People enjoy seeing famous celebs and creators that they already love making fun videos — just being themselves. And that’s what I do!”

YouTube and TikTok Serve Different Purposes

CG5 said he approached the two platforms differently. YouTube was where he put more polished, longer-form music videos, while TikTok gave him room to be more casual.

CG5: “The difference between YouTube and TikTok is that YouTube is where I post my longer music videos that have a higher production quality and are more polished versus the much shorter videos on TikTok, that tend to be much more casual and fun!”

Why Relatability Matters to CG5

CG5 also discussed being a neurodivergent artist and why sharing that part of himself mattered to him.

CG5: “The internet is built on relatability. And there are many people on the internet that are neurodivergent, such as I. Nobody wants to feel alone, and to have people know a big part of you that makes you who you are, brings confidence to that community that can relate most to your circumstances. If I can make even one fan feel less alone by sharing that I am just like them, then for me, it is worth it sharing.”

What It Felt Like When His Music Went Viral

CG5 had already seen his music take off on TikTok before this interview. He pointed to “Absolutely Anything” as an earlier example of a song spreading widely on the platform.

CG5: “When I saw as many people as I had ever seen in a long time use my sound, since my song Absolutely Anything (“I used to be so beautiful now look at me”) going absolutely insane in 2019, I was very pleasantly surprised. And I was ready to kill it as much as possible. Hopefully, many more people have figured out who CG5 really is. Because he is ME. And I sound like him too.”

Where to Follow CG5

At the time of this interview, CG5 was active across several platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter.

For another creator profile, read who Vee Rivera is.

Platforms change faster than most families can remember their passwords, but this 2023 conversation still shows how much CG5 thought about connection, not just reach.