Dixie D’Amelio

Dixie D’Amelio does it all. Seriously. The 19-year-old is a multihyphenate to the extreme: TikToker, singer, YouTuber, podcaster, model, brand ambassador… I could keep going but you get it. The elder D’Amelio sister (whose younger sister is dancer and social media star Charli D’Amelio) burst onto the TikTok scene in 2019 after very reluctantly posting her first few videos. What happened next was a bit crazy — her followers shot into the millions, she signed a bunch of brand deals and projects and launched a music career. 

And yet, when I caught up with her over Zoom one October day, she looked fresh-faced, calm, and happy to be there. Whereas some people might buckle under the number of business ventures Dixie has going on, she’s handling it like a pro. Listening to her talk about everything she has going on made me tired, and I’m not even the one doing it all.

Dixie has spent the last year and some change largely being tied to Charli, their careers heavily intertwined, but she’s started moving into projects that are just for her, something she’s incredibly excited about — namely a music career. Her latest offering is a huge collaboration with British singer Liam Payne called “Naughty List,” just in time for the holidays. When we sat down together over Zoom, we chatted about everything from her podcast with Charli to what we can expect from the family’s upcoming reality TV show and everything she’s got going on with her music.

Where it all began for Dixie D’Amelio

Dixie’s been very open about not wanting to start a TikTok at first. “I was just embarrassed,” she said of the early days. “I’ve always loved watching YouTube videos and morning routine videos and all that and I wanted to do it so badly, but I was just so embarrassed.” She asked Charli, who had started posting dance videos, what she was even doing on this embarrassing app, “but she proved me wrong by becoming the most followed person on the app,” she said with a laugh. 

She eventually decided maybe TikTok wasn’t such a horrible place after all. Her early videos included a lot of Charli — which seemed like a smart way to ease herself in — as well as some dance trends. Her silly videos that never seem like she’s trying too hard have gotten perhaps a little more refined in the short amount of time she’s been on the app, but they still remain authentically Dixie. Her follower count has also skyrocketed to over 40 million, placing her in the TikTok elite. 

Dixie continues to accrue followers across all her socials, including her over 6 million subscribers on YouTube, where she posts consistently, albeit with little planning and scheduling. When it comes to her social media and videos, she’ll drop a video when an idea strikes or if she just feels like it, and when she’s not posting or working on one of her other projects, you can probably find her still scrolling through TikTok. “I mean, I fell asleep with my phone in my hand last night scrolling through TikToks,” she shared with a laugh.  

And unlike some social media personalities who only post comments here and there and interact with fans sporadically, Dixie said there’s one occasion when she’ll definitely reach out to someone: if she sees them going viral and struggling. “If I see someone who’s blowing up on TikTok and I see them not handling it well, I always reach out and just I’m like, ‘It gets better. It gets easier. Just please, trust me, I’m here if you need to talk about anything.’” As someone who has had help navigating her own burst of stardom in the internet world, she said she’s happy to turn around and offer help to others.

Her YouTube presence is just as inviting as TikTok, too, but YouTube gives her a little more room to do longer videos and includes more ideas, like her very own talk show where she brings in her friends to ask “the uncomfortable” questions and have fun. YouTube is also the home to her budding music career, boasting millions upon millions of views on her music — and that number is only going to increase as she releases more songs.

A Day in Dixie’s life

If you’re a fan of Dixie’s, you already know that all her content and videos are pretty chill. In fact, she’s basically built her brand on her chill vibe and laidback attitude, which her fans deeply connect with. It’s a departure from her sister Charli’s vibe, which is a little more spirited, but together is where the magic happens. The two sisters together balance each other out quite perfectly — and as with most siblings, there’s some bickering, some picking, and a lot of familiarity. 

The two recently launched a podcast called Charli and Dixie: 2 Chix — which hit the top three trending podcasts on Apple the week it launched — where they’re mostly riffing with very little planning, similarly to their online presence. “We don’t have a specific topic like most podcasts do. We just wanted a space where we can have our opinions and talk about things we want to talk to because we don’t really do that anywhere else,” Dixie shared of their off-the-cuff style. “It’s up in the air. We come up with usually three things we might want to talk about and then just go from there for the rest of the recording.”

While promoting the podcast before it even launched in October, Dixie jokingly — or maybe not jokingly — said they’d be having some of their friends on the show but also people they don’t like. I asked her to clarify if that was true and that they would genuinely invite in people they don’t actually like and whether or not they’d know that. “Maybe it’s someone who we used to have beef with in the past or whatever so we can just talk about it because the internet just makes their own story for everything. It’s so much easier to control the story and tell the truth firsthand.” 

The two powerhouses are also in the process of launching a reality show with the whole family, including parents Heidi and Marc D’Amelio. Dixie revealed over the summer that the reality show was coming, but we didn’t get many details on it. Now, though, we know the show is largely going to focus on the day-to-day lives of the D’Amelio family. “I think it’s going to be more like, ‘This is our lives and what we do,’ because people don’t get to see that. They just think we make TikToks and sit around all day. It’ll be showing our daily lives, how busy we actually are, what we’re doing,” she said of the upcoming show, which doesn’t yet have a premiere date.

If you’re thinking to yourself that this sounds a little bit like the Kardashian/Jenners, who famously lived their lives on TV for many years on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and grew their empire into the massive franchise we know today, you’re not too far off track. The D’Amelios have already been compared to the Kardashians frequently, but Dixie’s not really down with it. “It’s just, like, that’s a lot of pressure because the Kardashians are just so iconic in a lot of ways,” she said. She added that she and her family are flattered by the comparison, calling it “very nice” for people to do that, but she doesn’t envision their show being anything like KUWTK.  

“Now that we’re doing the reality show, people are like, ‘Oh, is it going to be like the Kardashians? Are you guys going to be fighting and all this?’ I’m like, ‘Probably not.’ We just want to show our lives.”

And if TikTok, YouTube, a podcast, and a reality show weren’t enough, not to mention Dixie’s budding music career, she and Charli are also working closely with Morphe on their makeup line, as well as with Hollister Co. The sisters designed a bare-faced makeup collection for Morphe that’s in line with their go-to makeup picks (“clear skin and natural skin”) and have loved working with that team. Dixie shared that she picked up some great makeup tips from working with them, though her day-to-day look is just curling her eyelashes, filling in her brows, and swiping on a touch of foundation. As for their work with Hollister Co., they’ve curated a denim collection with the store and even designed a sweatshirt. 

For the record, if you want to do denim like Dixie, go for the boyfriend fit. She’s tired of skinny jeans and instead reaches for the looser fit now. “Now I’m just obsessed because it’s basically like wearing sweatpants because they’re not tight and you can sit down and still be comfortable,” she said. 

Dixie’s even dipping her toes into high fashion as well, including virtually attending Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2021 show as a guest of the fashion house — and documenting it all on her YouTube so her followers could also feel like they were a part of the event. It’s yet another way Dixie brings her life to her content to share with everyone watching and making them feel included every step of the way.

If looking at everything Dixie does in a day makes you tired, trust me when I say you’re not alone. It’s like she never stops, and through it all, she still maintains that chill vibe in everything she does. Her life is only going to get busier, though, because Dixie’s got music on her mind, and that’s where her future is headed. 

Dixie’s doing it her way

Despite how tied she’s been to her sister, Charli, for her rapidly growing content-creating career, Dixie is doing more and more of her own things — and on her terms. One of the biggest pieces of taking her own route has simply been moving out of her family home. The D’Amelio family recently all relocated to Los Angeles from Connecticut, but soon after the whole crew moved to California, Dixie snagged a place of her own, one of the few things this self-proclaimed money-saver actually dropped some money on. 

And having her own place — with her dog, Cali, of course — has been really, really good for this teen, both for her solo projects and to actually bring her closer to her family. “Charli and I work together very well, but it’s nice having our separate places now because we can be separate sometimes and have time apart,” she said of no longer living with her family. 

But perhaps the best part about getting her own apartment? The trips back to the D’Amelio household! “I get a lot of attention when I go back!” she said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Okay. I need to go now,’” she added with a laugh. Many who have moved away from home can relate to that feeling of appreciating your family and your home even more after you’ve left and enjoying your visits that much more — even when you’re not that far away! For Dixie, she’s never too far from her family, considering all her business ventures with Charli and the family’s upcoming TV show. She is, however, thoroughly enjoying that extra attention from her parents.

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Beyond getting her own place to set up her personal life, Dixie is also forging a path in the music industry that’s off to a booming start. Her first single, “Be Happy,” has already racked up more than 90 million views on its music video on YouTube since premiering on July 1. She initially shared an a cappella snippet on social media teasing the song’s release — and it naturally intrigued her fans and brought in millions of views and comments. Her fans not only connected with the lyrics and the message but were over the moon to hear Dixie singing and know that her aspirations of having a music career were finally here and happening.

Not only did the a cappella snippet and the original video get millions of views, but the “Be Happy” remix video, with blackbear and Lil Mosey, dropped on Sept. 20 and has another 20 million views on YouTube. Combined, the two official tracks have more than 200 million streams.

Working on the remix with two artists she enjoys and respects was a lot of fun for Dixie, especially because both of them have continued to show her support since the remix’s release. She shared that blackbear largely put together the remix, including subtle nods to both his music and Lil Mosey’s so it felt like a true collaboration among all the artists, something she was pleasantly surprised by and really excited about. For her first big foray into music, it’s been a killer start and a learning experience for Dixie — and something she’s eager to keep working on. 

The lyrics in “Be Happy” were inspired by the tough 2020 everyone has had in relation to COVID-19 and social distancing. The song takes a real and sometimes painful look at mental health struggles associated with this year and in general, something that so many deal with but can still be a bit of a taboo topic. The pop song has a surprisingly upbeat vibe for a heavy topic, bringing mental health into a place for people to openly discuss it.

And Dixie’s ready to talk about it, because she gets it.

As someone with an incredibly busy schedule constantly pulling her in a million different directions while also trying to just be a teenager, albeit one with millions of people watching her every move, things get heavy for Dixie sometimes. I ask if she ever gets to a point where all her work feels like too much and she quickly says yes. For Dixie, though, her work is incredibly important and she wants to give everyone she’s working with 100%, but that also means factoring in her own well-being and mental health. 

“I just try to find the positive side of things,” she said of how she handles the heaviness. “It’s okay to be sad and it’s okay to joke about things. Not everything needs to be so serious and scary, but also I think it’s important to take time for yourself, which a lot of people don’t do.” She said she tries to stay positive as much as she can, but she also lets herself feel that sadness when she needs to. But one of her biggest sources of positivity, especially on those tough days, is helping someone else. “If I know someone else is struggling, it helps me to help them, because I’ve taken care of myself for a long time so being able to help others feels really good.” She added that she was drawn to this song because she felt like she connected with the message and wants mental health to be a more talked-about topic in general and especially in music.

Dixie’s continuing to focus on her music, which she calls her main passion for her future. She admits she was scared to take that path initially but is incredibly happy she did. “The first video I posted on TikTok singing, I was very nervous!” she said. She’s grown, though, and taking the music industry in stride in just a few short months and can’t wait to keep releasing music and sharing it with the world. 

You’d almost want to wonder how she could top her debut single with something else, but then she went and teamed up with “Strip That Down” singer Liam Payne to release a single for Christmas called “Naughty List.” The two paired up for the festive track completely virtually from different parts of the globe — Dixie in LA and Liam at home in England. “I would have loved to have the chance to be in the studio together, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to meet in person in the future,” Dixie said of working with Liam. 

Dixie’s sultry vocals add a layer of fun, flirtiness to the track, and despite singing about being on *someone’s* naughty list, Dixie maintains that that is not where she’d find herself. “I’d like to think I’m always on the nice list!” she said. This talented singer also has more tricks up her sleeve when it comes to music, but she’s keeping all her secrets tightly locked away until the right time to reveal them all. What I do know, though, is that there’s new music coming this month, and we’ll all just have to wait to see what Dixie does next.  

Her music career is already thriving and I can only imagine what huge hits and collaborations are in the pipeline for this ambitious teen. She’s already got a handful of brand deals under her belt, numerous projects with Charli, millions of fans and followers awaiting her every move to show their support, a hilarious podcast, and the list just goes on and on. I jokingly asked Dixie if we’d missed discussing any of her projects while we were chatting, and she laughed and said we probably did, but there are so many, that she’s not even sure. She’s that busy and yet comes across as the ultimate cool girl at all times. Totally chill and just happy to be along for the ride during this crazy life of hers. Her 2020 has been incredible and I’m pretty sure her 2021 is going to be larger than life.