Why are all the memes these days based around the number seven? Following the reign of “six-seven” comes “Group Seven,” an “in-group” of people who all received the same TikTok to their feed. “We all just collectively decided that Group Seven were the cool people, the ‘It’ people, the baddies,” influencer Jason Sappy said in a video explaining the joke (always a good sign). “You’re either in Group Seven or you’re no one, in my personal opinion, and I think that the internet would agree.” Yes, it’s all nonsensical. But, hey, maybe the enterprising musician who invented it is getting some streams. Below, a full explanation of the meme-that’s-barely-a-meme and the song that inspired it.
How did this start?
The whole shebang began as a way for musician Sophia James to promote her new song, “So Unfair.” She began by posting three separate videos in one night on October 17, complaining about a parking ticket, all scored to the single she’s promoting at the moment, which was released October 1. From there, she posted a video declaring, “If you’re seeing this you are in group four,” adding “I am posting a bunch of videos and seeing which ones reach the most viewers. This is the fourth post of the batch so you are group four.” All of the videos used “So Unfair” as the background. “You just have to post no matter what it is — it’s really quantity over quality,” James told the New York Times in an October 21 interview. “And so in my pursuit to get my music heard, I’ve really been trying all of these different strategies.”
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James then copy-and-pasted the same message up through group seven, which is the one that the algorithm latched onto. “I woke up the next morning and you know, like alakazam, the Group Seven video had hit the algorithm, and people just made it explode, and it became this hilarious, unexpected internet moment,” James told the Times. At the time of publication, James’s original Group Seven video has over 17 million views and over 2 million likes.
How and why did it continue?
People and brands like to be in on the joke. After James’s original TikTok, football teams like the 49ers, political groups, and ironic gay comedians all began using it for content. James herself posted multiple followups, including one that advertised a previous song of hers, “Sunshine and Apathy.” In all of them, the impenetrability of “group seven” as a concept is basically the point: The algorithms that get it, get it.
Did this actually help Sophia James?
Given that this is all starting from a musician making her own promo, the real operative question is if it actually helped her. Thus far, James did confirm to the Times that she’s gained 100,000 followers and a spike in listeners on Spotify. Additionally, search interest for both James and “group seven” has spiked over the past four days, with James currently outpacing her own meme. “So Unfair” currently sits at 75,000 streams on Spotify. Group Seven members, get to work.
