TikTok-Viral Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Wins Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album

The unofficial Bridgerton Musical took home the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album last night, the first Recording Academy win for a project that debuted on TikTok.

Emily Byers and Abigail Barlow created songs inspired by Netflix's hit series Bridgerton, which has garnered millions of views on TikTok since early 2021. Writing from the perspective of the show's characters, Bear and Barlow use TikTok to solicit suggestions, interact with them. Share the songwriting process with fans, and audiences. The duo released songs as they were completed and eventually recorded and released a 15-song album in September. Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"A year ago when I asked the Internet, 'What if Bridgerton were a musical?' I couldn't have imagined we'd be holding the Grammys in our hands," Barlow said in his acceptance speech. "We want to thank everyone on the Internet who has watched us from the beginning through this album. We share it with you."

Other nominees in the category were Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, Burt Bacharach and Steven Setter's Some Lovers, Broadway's Girl from the North Country, Les Miserables: The Staged Concert, and Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots.

Baer and Barlow's win is another example of how viral hits on TikTok can translate to more traditional off-platform success even for creators without an established mainstream presence. The company reported that 430 songs reached 1 billion views last year - more than triple that in 2020 - with 175 viral songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100.