‘Accidental influencer’ Bridey Drake wins 2024 TikTok Creator of the Year award

A young Aussie who won millions of followers with her relatable approach to life has just won a huge award at a star-studded Sydney event.

A young Aussie who became an “accidental influencer” after she began documenting the challenges of adulthood has been crowned Australia’s most loved content creator.

Bridey Drake, 23, has earned more than three million followers detailing the highs and lows of her pyjama brand, Night Sweet Thing, as well as taking fans inside her touching relationship with her best friend Jiny Maeng and her move to the Outback.

Now her relatable escapades have earned her the title of the TikTok Creator of the Year at the 2024 Awards after Drake was voted as Australia’s favourite influencer.

‘Accidental influencer’ Bridey Drake has been crowned the 2024 TikTok Creator of the Year. Picture: Instagram/BrideyDrake

She has amassed 3 million followers documenting her life running a new business as well as moving to the Outback. Picture: Instagram/BrideyDrake

“This is such a huge honour, winning this award means so much, as TikTok has played a huge role in where I am today. Everything I have achieved as a creator and a business owner has been made possible thanks to this incredible platform,” Drake said.

“I’m also so grateful to my amazing TikTok community who have been by my side since this journey began.

“I can’t wait to keep creating, connecting, and sharing. Thank you to everyone who voted for me.”

Drake is the fourth Aussie to have earned the gong since the prestigious awards first began in 2021, following in the footsteps of Mille Ford, Kat Clark and most recently, “chaotic” mum-of-three Indy Clinton.

The creator, who moves between outback New South Wales and the Central Coast, first gained momentum on the popular social media app during the pandemic when sales of her popular pyjamas halted due to restrictions.

But after sharing her plight on the platform, Night Sweet Thing’s stock “sold out within five days”, and Drake soon became a regular face on many Australian’s FYP.

Fans are particularly fond of her friendship with her bestie Jiny Maeng. Picture: Instagram/BrideyDrake

Since then, she’s carved out several “niches” on TikTok, including sharing her friendship with her Korean best friend who she met in primary school.

Videos of the pair show them getting into “petty arguments” at dinner, and regularly getting on each other’s nerves, giving a relatable insight into how friendships mirror that of other relationships in our lives such as siblings and partners.

“My first TikTok about Jiny was a bit of a fib,” she told ABC previously.

“I posted that my best friend lived on the other side of the world, in Korea, when she actually just lived an hour away. And it went viral.”

Drake continued posting content with her bestie, and eventually Maeng launched her own TikTok account “and that took off too”.

“If we didn’t meet, I think our lives would be so different. Jiny’s helped me with my life in so many ways,” Drake said.

“She’s really taught me how to stand up for myself more, and be more confident in who I am.

“We’ve got such a sisterly bond, and we both only have brothers, so we need that in each other.”

Michael Finch won 'Food Creator of the Year'. Picture: TikTok/MichaelFinch

Kat Clark and her daughters, who own the skincare brand Kalade, won 'Business of the Year'. Picture: TikTok/Kalade

Other winners from the 2024 TikTok Creator of the Year Awards include viral sensation Leah Halton, who took home “Video of the Year” after she shared a clip that became the “most watched of all time”.

The video, which shows Halton lip-syncing along to Praise Jah In The Moonlight by YG Marley, currently sits at a staggering 939 million views.

Elsewhere skincare brand Kalade, owned by popular TikTok creator Kat Clarke and her family, won “Business of the Year”.

While popular influencer Michael Finch took home “Food Creator of the Year”.