Singer-songwriter Sophia James is responsible for one of the biggest internet moments of 2025: Group 7, social network experiment it became extremely viral.
Back in October, James posted seven videos on TikTok that sorted people into groups one through seven while her single “So Unfair” played in the background.
Thanks to the mysteriousness of the algorithm, one of the videos disappeared. “If you're watching this video, you're in Group 7,” James said in 7th videowhich collected 85.6 million views.
What followed was not just a viral moment, but a turning point in James' career, leading to a New York Times profile. Group 7 in-person event in Los Angeles.
What comes after group 7? “A lot,” James says.
Life before and after Group 7
Before she went viral, James describes her career as an independent artist as “pretty stagnant.”
She graduated from UCLA with a degree in jazz. “I just knew I wanted to play music my whole life,” she tells TODAY.com. “I decided that if I had a good understanding of the theory and practice of jazz, I could easily apply it to any genre I chose.”
After college, she worked throughout the music industry, from session pianist to backing vocalist to tour opener to keyboardist.
“I had about 10 different projects in my hands at the same time, intending to make a full-time career as a solo artist,” James says.
As an independent artist, social media was “the only tool in her arsenal” to get her own music out into the world, but she didn't expect her impulsive video series to explode. She says she was “just trying things out and feeling stupid,” so she was shocked when the seventh video started.
This journey and Band 7 changed not only her goals, but also the scale of her audience and the reach of her music. According to the data, James has gained over 100,000 followers on TikTok after going viral. New York Times.
The viral moment also helped James catch the attention of SiriusXM's Mikey Piff, who learned about her song “So Unfair” in a Band 7 video. James explains that Piff emailed her asking her to play it on the radio station.
“I thought it was crazy—I never, ever thought I would ever have a song on the radio,” James says. “I consider this the pinnacle of a music career.”
James says “So Unfair” was then moved to the Hits 1 station due to the positive response to the song.
“And it was really incredible and really big,” James says.
However, life after Band 7 can be challenging. James says she expected a repeat of the viral success, but she knows it was a “lightning in a bottle” moment.
“I will never lead a Group 7 video, at least not on social media,” she says. “This is my social media magnum opus.”
New year, new music
James says if people want more excitement, they should turn to her music. Instead of chasing the next viral hit, James is focused on building her future. She says her upcoming album, due out in 2026, represents a creative shift.
“It's definitely the most exploratory thing I've ever done musically,” she explains. “It’s very absurd and playful in a lot of ways, and it was really fun to explore that side of artistry.”
James says the previous songs were more “deeply existential and dark” and the new album is much more “explosive”. She feels all feelings, from anger to humor.
“You don’t have to be tortured to be an artist,” James says. “You can also be a trickster, you can be playful, excited and angry.”
These sentiments in her music are inspired by life experiences, relationships, and the music she listened to through different eras. In her opinion, these are songs that could have been heard and played on the radio 15 years ago or 15 years later.
Much of her forthcoming album was shaped by the two years she spent writing it, a period filled with “a lot of life.”
“I feel like I have the freedom to dream bigger than I’ve been allowed to dream for a long time,” James says.
Going forward, James hopes to spend as much time on the road as possible. “I want to tour forever,” she says. – So let's hang ourselves.
In other words, we are all in group 7 now.
