- Older people at a community in Kentucky went viral for recreating Rihanna's Super Bowl performance.
- Since the TikTok was posted last month, the facility has gotten media attention and roses from Jay-Z.
Residents at Arcadia Senior Living in Bowling Green, Kentucky, went viral last month after recreating Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance on TikTok.
As of Sunday, the video posted on the facility's official account had over 3.5 million likes. It shows residents dancing to Rihanna's 2009 song "Rude Boy."
@arcadiasrlivingbg Our halftime show > Rihanna’s halftime show #seniorlivingcommunity #halftimeshow #SuperBowl #rihanna #fyp ♬ original sound - Brian Esperon
Residents and employees of the home are also enjoying the attention the video garnered.
"Jay-Z sent us 100 red roses," Paige Oakes, the facility's director of community relations, told Insider.
The long-stemmed flowers were delivered with a note from Jay-Z, Rihanna's record-label boss. According to photos shared on the home's Facebook page, the mogul and rapper's note says: "We Love The Tik Tok Here At Roc Nation!"
Oakes and Maitlin Nuckols, Arcadia's director of life engagement, told Insider they came up with the idea to make a TikTok account featuring the residents.
Residents didn't need much convincing when approached with the idea of making TikToks, but some did need to know what the app was first, according to Nuckols.
"Some of them knew what it was," Nuckols said. "Some of them, we had to kind of tell them what it was. But overall, it was a great response. They love to do anything fun and engaging."
Aside from keeping the residents engaged, the TikTok account has another upside.
"It's obviously great advertisement to see our residents truly living their best life," Oakes said.
Dora Martin, 87, who played Rihanna in the viral video, told Insider she watched the game and halftime show with her family.
"It makes you younger to know that you can keep up with them," Martin said of watching Rihanna's performance with her grandchildren.
"It keeps you young. I feel like I'm 16 years old," Martin added, excited by her newfound viral fame.
Nuckols told Insider that making the video didn't take much time or preparation, with Oakes adding that residents became invested in how well it was doing after it went viral.
"You would be surprised. It was actually our first take. And that is no joke," Nuckols said.
"Whenever it first started blowing up, they're like asking us every day, 'How many views do we have? How many views do we have?'" Oakes told Insider.
While the video has garnered international attention, it's the local fanfare that means the most.
"One guy posted: 'I'm gonna be so devastated if this is the last TikTok. Thank you for making Bowling Green so proud,'" Oakes said of a Facebook comment written on the facility's page.
As of Sunday, Arcadia's TikTok page had 107,000 followers, and employees and residents plan to continue capitalizing on their popularity.
"We have a special one coming up on March 9. It's National Barbie Day that day. So stay tuned," Nuckols said.