The 'Tube Girl' TikTok Trend, Explained
They say to dance like no one's watching, and that's exactly what "Tube Girl" Sabrina Bahsoon did. The London-based TikToker created a social media buzz when she shared a TikTok video of herself dancing on the Tube (aka the London Underground) in August 2023. "Being the friend who lives on the other side of the city so you gotta hype yourself up during the commute," the text reads on the video, which has gone viral and amassed over 10 million views.
Since then, Bahsoon has filmed herself dancing in and around the London Underground, confidently mouthing the lyrics to various dance songs. Due to popular demand, Bahsoon even released a Spotify playlist with all the songs she jams out to on her commute. "If you heard my tunes you'd be acting up in the tube too," she wrote on another dancing video.
Bahsoon's videos have prompted other social media users to mimic her confidence. TikTok user @jiayuejenny shared a (mega-viral) video of herself standing awkwardly in the corner of a train while giving her head a little shake. "Day one of trying to build up the confidence to slay this song like the tube girl." she wrote. A professor posted a video of her dancing in front of a bunch of students and shared, "Tube Girl energy on the first day of lecture..." While Bahsoon obviously gets lots of looks and stares while dancing to her own beat in public, she revealed that the initial idea came from wanting to be left alone.
'Tube Girl' Sabrina Bahsoon's idea came from commuting late at night
It's not every day a commuter just leaps up and starts dancing, but Sabrina Bahsoon explained the origin of her TikTok videos. "I have to commute everywhere because I live quite far out from everyone," the TikToker told BBC. Bahsoon went on to say that she would put on her music and move her head to the beat, which would cause others to stay away from her.
"So I was feeling more safe and enjoying my journey a bit better," she added. Her idea to make a dance video came to her, and when a fellow commuter refused to film her, she decided to do it herself. "I love dancing, I love music. To be honest the Tube itself is not the most glamorous place to spend your time. And because I spend so much time on it, music is my outlet," Bahsoon stated.
While she exudes confidence in her videos, Bahsoon wasn't so sure she wanted to post the videos at first and asked her siblings if she should, per Vulture. After getting the green light from them, things started rolling. "It didn't blow up immediately. Then it started growing and growing and growing. And I just made more 'cause I'm on the tube every single day," she shared. The momentum picked up, and once her videos went viral, it was only a matter of time before others were hopping in on the trend. It wasn't long before Bahsoon landed a career of her dreams with a huge cosmetics company.
Sabrina Bahsoon's 'Tube Girl' videos landed her sweet modeling gigs and sponsorships
Sabrina Bahsoon is an internet sensation, and her "Tube Girl" videos have earned her some pretty sweet deals. She became a spokesperson for M.A.C Cosmetics. and even walked in a runway show during London Fashion Week, as reported by The Washington Post. The TikTok sensation has also modeled for designer Christian Cowan for his Paris fashion show. "I chose her to walk in my runway show because she doesn't just wear the clothes — she wears them with unwavering self-assuredness, and that's a statement we're proud to make," Cowan told ABC News.
Bahsoon has since collaborated with the clothing brand BOSS and Bentley Motors. As a former law student at Durham University, the 22-year-old seems to have found her calling. She has inspired even actor Shay Mitchell to create her own version of a "Tube Girl" TikTok video of herself dancing in a storage room with the caption, "Warehouse girl." So if you see people randomly filming themselves dancing in public, you know where the idea hatched from, and it's all thanks to Bahsoon, the original "Tube Girl."