Universal and Illumination announce TikTok singing competition winner at "Sing 2" premiere

Universal and Illumination announce TikTok singing competition winner at "Sing 2" premiere

December 23, 2021

Announcements

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment have announcedJulia Minichielloas the winner of the #Sing2gether TikTok singing competition for her version of "Girl on Fire" from animated hit Sing 2, starring Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Tori Kelly, Halsey and Bono. Witherspoon made the announcement at the world premiere of Sing 2 in Los Angeles on December 12, with Minichiello in attendance.

"When I was called up onto the stage as the winner I was so surprised and honestly starstruck! It was such an exciting moment for me and it felt like the start of my dreams finally coming true," said Minichiello.

Universal and Illumination launched the massive TikTok-wide singing contest for one week in late November to promote the highly-anticipated sequel. The competition offered one talented TikTok creator the opportunity of a lifetime—a free trip to Hollywood to attend the Sing 2 premiere live at the Greek Theatre and a record contract with Republic Records.

The competition was kicked off by Witherspoon and the rest of the Sing 2 cast, who encouraged participation via the hashtag #Sing2gether.TikTok users could enter the competition by singing along to a popular song from Sing 2 and tagging #Sing2gether and #contest. With every hashtag challenge submission, Universal and Illumination donated (up to $250,000) to the Education Through Music non-profit which helps under-resourced schools provide music as a core subject for all children. 

More than 1.6 million videos were submitted for the challenge, including Minichiello's moving rendition of "Girl on Fire," which caught the attention of contest officials.

The announcement came as a complete surprise to Minichiello, who was flown to the event thinking she was just a finalist. When her name was announced, she was brought on stage and awarded with a recording contract from Republic Records. Minichiello also appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she talked about the contest and her experience.

Universal and Illumination sent a small film crew to capture the winner's experience in LA, including behind-the-scenes content at the Sing 2 premiere. The footage was featured in a TikTok TopView ad on December 20 to promote the film, which hit theaters on December 22. The Sing 2 official TikTok account@singmoviealso published a video thanking the TikTok community for their incredible submissions.

By partnering with TikTok, and tapping into the platform's highly engaging Hashtag Challenge format and talented user base, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment were able to drive massive awareness and engagement around the world premiere of Sing 2.

This was truly a first-of-its kind project. Universal and Illumination embraced the power of the TikTok community to find talented aspiring artists in-app and invited them to be a part of the movie in real life. Through a Hashtag Challenge, Julia was identified as a finalist, and given a once-in-a-lifetime experience to engage with the cast of Sing 2 and follow her dreams of recording in a studio. The magical week was turned into a TopView for the entire TikTok community to experience.

"The #Sing2gether initiative once again shines a light on talented individuals dreaming big dreams on TikTok every day." said Edvin Dapcevic, Team Lead - Media & Entertainment, TikTok. "The amazing partners at Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment went above and beyond in creating this unforgettable experience for our community. It was a true pleasure for our entire team to watch this come to life."

This contest, which offered one of the most memorable and life-changing prizes imaginable, was an incredible opportunity to not only embrace the up-and-coming talent on our platform, but to also make their dreams come true. Our mission is all about elevating creators and we're excited to see this campaign do just that!