Ghost’s Tobias Forge Didn’t Understand TikTok Until a Month Ago

A plethora of artists have had songs go viral this year on TikTok due to a variety of reasons, including Ghost. Funny enough, though, frontman Tobias Forge admitted that he didn’t even understand how the video platform worked until about a month ago.

Many of the songs that experienced a surge in popularity on TikTok over the last few months were featured in the Netflix series Stranger Things, including Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets.” Though it wasn’t part of the show’s soundtrack, Ghost’s own “Mary on a Cross” went viral in August thanks to being featured in a Stranger Things TikTok video. As a result, it cracked the Top 10 of Spotify’s Viral 50 Global chart.

Forge has always been quite a mysterious individual as it is, and during a new interview with Detroit’s WRIF station, he elaborated on his decision to avoid social media.

“I already felt in 2008, when all that stuff sort of appeared, that that was not for me. So I just live a lifestyle that is a little bit more old school, if you will,” the vocalist explained. “But I also understand the meaning and the mechanisms that drive people to use that and why it’s important and all that, and why it’s important for us. So I do not criticize it from that standpoint.”

The singer added that streaming services, such as Spotify, helped pull the music business “out of the dark ages” by providing labels a reason to spend money again and put their faith in artists.

“So I’m really happy about that, and I am happy about TikTok even though TikTok was something… I mean, I do have kids and I know that TikTok existed, but TikTok is something that I learned in the last month what it was,” he reveals. “Basically. I quickly had to sort of like, ‘Just tell me what the fuck is going on. I don’t get it. Okay. Okay. Cool.'”

Listen to the discussion below.

Ghost are currently out on the road with Mastodon and Spiritbox, with the next performance scheduled for tonight (Sept. 15) in Quebec City. See the rest of the dates and purchase tickets through this link.