Pulse Records named photo carousels as one part of its “Million Dollar Baby” campaign. Fans and Tommy Richman also posted real Photo Mode examples under the song: one joke carousel reached about 20 million TikTok plays, and a sports meme reached about 9.4 million. Here is what those posts did creatively, how they performed, and what the wider campaign can tell us about the song’s streaming success.
The artist and the release
Tommy Richman is a Virginia-raised R&B / funk-leaning artist who became Pulse Records’ first signing (with Brent Faiyaz’s ISO Supremacy). He teased Million Dollar Baby on TikTok on 2024-04-13; the single landed 2024-04-26. Pulse’s May 29, 2024 write-up says the track reached #1 on the Billboard Global 200, and Wikipedia / Billboard chart tables put the Hot 100 peak at No. 2.
Pulse’s own campaign account is important for framing: after the organic spark, the label lists Meta and TikTok ads, a Spotify ad push, a TikTok influencer campaign to spread the sound, a dance trend, and a photo carousel trend as creatives under the sound—plus official visualizer / lyric video and a music video that was then forthcoming. Photo carousels are one format among several, not the whole story.
Who posted, and from which accounts
The named Photo Mode posts below come from two lanes:
- Artist-owned — artist account @tommyrichman posting a two-slide TV-appearance dump on the MDB (VHS) sound.
- Organic fans / meme accounts — small-to-mid creators who attached Million Dollar Baby (or the closely related Tommy original TikTok sound) under joke, sports, or lifestyle carousels. These are not agency fan pages and not “burners.”
Pulse named the carousel trend; it did not name individual posts. The close-reads below are AmpClip’s dated scrape of live posts that still resolve on the sound pages.
Post 1: Outdoor Boys punchline — three-slide meet-cute (@quaterinchpvcpipe)
Posted: 2024-05-04
URL: photo/7365170410024881439 (Apify also returns /video/ for the same ID)
Caption: He so short bro #outdoorboys
Sound line: MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman (music ID 7362317730454308880)
Who: organic fan account @quaterinchpvcpipe (~10.2K fans in the 2026-10-07 detail scrape)—not artist, not label.
Format: Photo Mode slideshow, 3 images (isSlideshow: true)
Slide-by-slide (from Apify-downloaded photomode stills, 2026-10-07):
- Hallway portrait — overlay: “I met Drake”
- Same subject adjusting a beanie — “I met Kendrick”
- Airport selfie with the Outdoor Boys creator (Luke Nichols)—no text; the caption’s “He so short bro” lands as the punchline
The first two slides promise a celebrity encounter; the third turns it into a joke about meeting an outdoors YouTuber. MDB (VHS) plays underneath without appearing in the slide copy. The post’s reach shows that viewers engaged with this joke format, though it does not measure how many followed the sound to the song.
Dated TikTok result
TikTok sound-page and post snapshots, 2026-10-07:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Plays | ~19,975,754 |
| Likes | ~3,155,421 |
| Saves | 194,426 |
| Shares | 96,400 |
| Comments | 9,556 |
| Format | Slideshow (3 images) |
Post 2: Later artist-owned Kimmel announce — two-slide dump (@tommyrichman)
Posted: 2024-08-18
URL: photo/7404602347684449566
Caption: See u tomorrow.
Sound line: MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman (same VHS music ID)
Who: artist account @tommyrichman
Format: Photo Mode slideshow, 2 images
- Black-and-white Westlake Recording Studios still — overlay: “Playing Jimmy Kimmel tomorrow.”
- Navy promo graphic — TOMMY RICHMAN + Jimmy Kimmel Live! logo + AUGUST 19 air times
Creative mechanism: slide 1 is a behind-the-scenes teaser; slide 2 is the TV asset. The hit single sits underneath a media-appearance announce rather than a “stream now” caption.
Dated TikTok result (same 2026-10-07 scrapes)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Plays | ~1,443,527 |
| Likes | ~26,670 |
| Saves | 7,861 |
| Shares | 3,271 |
| Comments | ~799–805 |
| Format | Slideshow (2 images) |
Post 3: Paige Bueckers graduation meme — two-slide swipe (@realestocean)
Posted: 2024-05-06
URL: photo/7365759396644752682
Caption: graduation / UConn / #slideshow hashtags (Paige Bueckers)
Sound line: MILLION DOLLAR BABY – Tommy Richman (music ID 7362317730454292496)
Who: organic sports-meme account @realestocean
Format: Photo Mode slideshow, 2 images
- Paige Bueckers on the graduation stage — overlay: “paige an academic weapon?? ——>”
- Screenshot of a Paige Twitter/X meme (absences / GPA punchline + ceremony photos)
Creative mechanism: arrow prompt on slide 1 earns the swipe; slide 2 is the meme payoff while the charting single plays underneath—soundtrack-agnostic sports content using a hit bed.
Dated TikTok result (2026-10-07)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Plays | ~9,438,899 |
| Likes | ~1,194,748 |
| Saves | ~46,502 |
| Shares | 22,000 |
| Comments | 2,222 |
| Format | Slideshow (2 images) |
Two more named examples (same scrape wave)
These confirm the carousel lane without needing a full second close-read:
| Handle | Posted | Slides | Sound | Plays* | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @angelynn_10 | 2024-05-29 | 3 | Million dollar baby original TikTok sound (7357455282735909675, musicOriginal) | ~19.99M | Organic yearbook meme pack; original Tommy TikTok sound, not commercial Official Sound IDs |
| @_charlies_mama | 2024-06-09 | 2 | MDB commercial (7362317730454292496) | ~3.91M | Lifestyle / mom-car wish Photo Mode |
TikTok plays captured 2026-10-07. All five posts were Photo Mode carousels.
Sample caveat: these five were the only image-array / slideshow hits inside a 150-post apidojo music sample across three MDB sound URLs. Keyword search for “slideshow / photo carousel” and hashtag #milliondollarbaby returned 0 slideshows in their top results on the same day. Treat the table as named examples that exist, not a census of every carousel under the song.
The wider campaign Pulse described
Pulse’s 2024-05-29 article described several efforts alongside the carousels:
- Artist spark video (2024-04-13) → Twitter combustion → rush release → VHS / distorted-bass latch
- Paid: Meta + TikTok ads, Spotify ads, TikTok influencer campaign
- Creatives under the sound: dance trend and photo carousel trend
- Official visualizer / lyric video; music video then teased
Pulse did not measure how much carousels contributed to the Global 200 #1. Neither do we.
What happened with the music
Pulse Records reported on 2025-02-27 that Million Dollar Baby had joined Spotify’s Billions Club and had been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. The song’s scale reflects a larger campaign that Pulse says included TikTok and Meta ads, Spotify ads, influencer activity, dance posts, video, and carousels. The dated TikTok results above show that the carousel format circulated widely; they do not isolate its contribution to streams.
What we can reasonably learn
- Pulse’s “photo carousel trend” is real enough to name live posts—artist-owned and organic fans both attached MDB / MDB (VHS) under Photo Mode with dated multi-million play counts in a 2026-10-07 scrape.
- Carousels were one lane, not the campaign. Dance, ads, influencer seeding, and the original VHS video sit beside them in Pulse’s own write-up.
- Organic meme / sports / lifestyle carousels can carry a hit sound without mentioning the song—Outdoor Boys joke, Paige graduation meme, mom-car wish. Don’t call those burners.
- Artist Photo Mode can be utility—Tommy’s Kimmel dump uses the hit as soundtrack for a TV announce, not a lyric pitch.
- Read the sound line. One high-view pack (
@angelynn_10) uses Tommy’s original TikTok sound ID, not the commercial Official Sound IDs. Same song family; different library object. - “Why it works” stops at the swipe: flex hook → punchline, arrow → meme payoff, BTS → TV graphic. Creative mechanism ≠ measured stream cause.
- Date every number and keep Pulse’s 1B plaque / Kworb RTD separate from any one carousel’s plays.
If you’re planning Photo Mode beds under a rising Official Sound, AmpClip can help you lay out slides and first-frame hooks before you post.
AmpClip prepares Photo Mode beds for review and handoff. It does not guarantee views, streams, chart positions, or sound usage. Always select the track inside TikTok when you post. Engagement and streaming figures here are dated snapshots from named sources, not performance guarantees. Organic fan posts are not burners.
Frequently asked questions
Did Photo Mode carousels cause Million Dollar Baby’s Global 200 #1 or billion Spotify streams?
No source in this piece measures stream conversion from those posts. Pulse named carousels as one creative under the sound alongside dance, ads, and influencer work. We report dated post engagement and separately sourced streaming / chart context.
Are the fan carousels “burners”?
No. The high-engagement examples close-read here are ordinary organic accounts (meme, sports, lifestyle) or Tommy’s own artist page. Pulse’s influencer campaign is listed separately from the audience carousel trend.
What is Photo Mode here?
TikTok’s swipeable still-image format (isSlideshow: true; prefer /photo/ URL), with a sound underneath—distinct from dance videos and video edits on the same sounds.
Sources
- Pulse Records — chart story (2024-05-29): https://www.pulserecordings.com/news/tommy-richmans-million-dollar-baby-tops-the-charts/
- Pulse Records — Billions Club (2025-02-27): https://www.pulserecordings.com/news/million-dollar-baby-joins-spotifys-billions-club/
@quaterinchpvcpipePhoto Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@quaterinchpvcpipe/photo/7365170410024881439@tommyrichmanPhoto Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@tommyrichman/photo/7404602347684449566@realestoceanPhoto Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestocean/photo/7365759396644752682@angelynn_10Photo Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@angelynn_10/photo/7374514095615380782@_charlies_mamaPhoto Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@_charlies_mama/photo/7378337258945957163- TikTok post and sound metrics captured by AmpClip on 2026-10-07 (ET).