Meet Mikael Arellano: The Gen-Z Swiftie ruling TikTok from his room
He's making the whole place shimmer—literally.
Trends may come and go, but being a Swiftie is forever. And for Mikael Arellano, his viral dancing trends are giving him a special place in every Swiftie's heart.
When the global pop icon released her latest album Midnights on Oct. 21, Mikael found himself creating quick dance videos enjoying the chart-topping album. However, it was a certain runway walk that made his TikTok star power shine brighter.
In one of Taylor's new songs titled Bejeweled, Mikael filmed himself singing the pre-chorus lyrics, turning around to catwalk, then doing the jazz hands while Taylor crooned "making the whole place shimmer."
@mikaelarellano ♬ Bejeweled - Taylor Swift
It may be a simple concept, but it soon got Swifties (and the TikTok community at that) shimmering. In fact, when you look up the audio on the platform, a good majority of the 160,000+ videos are recreating Arellano's sashay and shimmer.
@ruby.ar.13 @mikael carlos ♬ Bejeweled - Taylor Swift
Just like the rest of TikTok's growing population, the 21-year-old only began making video content for fun during the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Back then, his videos weren't reaching the minimum six-digit watch views that he's charting now, but he was already certainly having fun doing so.
Fast forward two years later, and the highly-anticipated HBO series Euphoria came out with a second season. Being an avid fan of the trending show, Mikael's lipsync videos soon started popping up on people's FYP (For You Page).
His favorite scene to recreate was Sydney Sweeney's character of Cassie Howard—and the many breakdowns she had throughout season two.
From there, Mikael made a name for himself as the playful Cassie impersonator.
@mikaelarellano ♬ I AM CRAZIER - Shows
Although some TikTok creators would see the potential of the audio and would capitalize on it from the get-go, Mikael simply had more fun with his bigger fanbase.
After the Cassie hype died down, he continued to make random and spontaneous videos and POVs from the comfort of his room and bathroom.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Arellano himself still can't believe his luck, but his mission to give smiles, slay, and shimmer remains the same.
"When the ‘Bejeweled’ dance began to take off I was like ‘Oh my God!’ It felt like a dream when people started to do my dance," he shared.
"I’m not really after the popularity... All I want to do is use my social media popularity to spread positivity."
PhilSTAR L!fe has reached out to Mikael for further comment.