Behind the rise of TikTok stars Angel Mamii and John Dees, who met through the app 8 months ago and have rewritten the rulebook for viral fame

• Angel Mamii and John Dees are rising stars of TikTok - since September, their surreal videos have racked up tens of millions of views.
• Their videos are best known for their absence of structure, usually lacking plot or punchlines, which the couple says is intentional.
• But they have achieved something made elusive by TikTok's opaque algorithm: lasting viral fame.
• The TikTok power couple opened up to Business Insider about meeting each other through the app, their creative process, and how they deal with their newfound fame.
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A TikTok video shows a mother and son walking the aisles of an outlet store looking for a phone charger. At first they can only find Android chargers, until the son points his mom in the direction of iPhone chargers. She grabs one off the shelf, asking, "You ready to check out?" The video ends.

That video has been viewed more than 4 million times.

Even if you've never heard of the TikTok account Angelmamii7, there's a good chance you've seen one of its videos reposted to Twitter or Instagram, where they rack up millions of views and are shared widely by users who are fascinated or baffled by their surreal lack of structure.

Most of the videos go something like this: Angel is at a public place with her kids or her husband, John Dees. They engage in some conversation, usually about buying something from the store in question. Then the video ends. The videos don't follow any obvious setup-punchline structure or meme template, and usually nothing of note happens.

Despite this structurelessness - or perhaps because of it - Angel and John have achieved lasting virality on TikTok, a rare achievement given the opaque algorithm that drives the platform's "For You" page. The married couple, who met via TikTok in March, have accumulated more than a million followers between their two accounts.

Now, the couple behind AngelMamii7 is trying to build a following on YouTube, where it's much more feasible to make money from a social media following. 

Angel and John spoke to Business Insider about their sudden rise to viral fame, the behind-the-scenes of their creative process, and dealing with the onslaught of hate that has come with their notoriety.