TikTok Launching Music Competition for Unsigned Acts

TikTok has passively aided in the discovery of musical talent for years. Now the social media platform's live element is taking that discovery to another level with its new music competition, "Gimme The Mic." 

The details: A competition for unsigned artists through TikTok LIVE, "Gimme The Mic" will have three phases: Audition, Semi-Final, and the Grand-Finale. Hopeful entrants must be 18 or older and can enter by registering on the app's audition page and sharing a submission video with the hashtag #GIMMETHEMIC through August 16. Thirty U.S. creators will be selected to compete in pairs in the Semi-Final, a series of Multi-guest LIVE videos on @tiktoklive_us from September 1 to September 3. Fans who tune in can vote for their favorite artists in real time, and the Top 10 contestants will move on to the U.S. Grand-Finale on September 10.

Along with being crowned the U.S. Gimme The Mic champion, the winner of the Grand-Finale will receive 50,000 Diamond rewards (which can be withdrawn from the lucky winner's account in exchange for monetary compensation and not actual diamonds) and the chance to compete in TikTok's LIVE Global Finale on September 22 and 23, where winners from around the world will compete to be named the best of the best, kind of like the Miss Universe pageant but it's singing and TikTok.

What they're saying: "We are committed to creating fun and entertaining ways to elevate our talented community and support them as they share their passion and creativity with the world," TikTok said in its announcement. "Gimme the Mic is a chance for contestants to showcase their talent to a wider community."