The 'Holy Spirit, Activate' TikTok Audio Explained

TikTok, an app which started out as Musical.ly, is one of many short form content apps available these days. In particular, TikTok has grown to become one of the most popular, according to Vox, with its reach spanning 1 billion active users per month (via Backlinko). The app has not just been the origin of popular memes, hit songs, and new artists, but it has also helped make some of the most popular social media influencers today — examples include Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae, per Billboard.

Tiktok trends have also been known to crossover to other social media platforms, further cementing its place as an app with enduring influence on culture. People who have gotten hit songs or launched successful music careers off their virality on TikTok include Lil Nas X and Loren Gray, per Gem Tracks. For relatively obscure or underground artists, all it takes for a hit is for a section of their song to gain traction on TikTok. An example of this is Nigerian singer Ckay's global smash hit "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)," per Bloomberg.

One thing TikTok allows users to do is reuse audio previously used by other users. This has resulted in the virality of many voice overs on the app. One of those soundbites includes the "Holy Spirit, Activate" clip that most people on TikTok would recognize by now, but what is it and where did it originate from?

A viral sound on TikTok can come from anywhere — a TV show, a movie, and even an original TikTok video. The "Holy Spirit, Activate" audio actually originated from an episode of the game show, "Celebrity Family Feud," which aired in September 2021. Chynna Phillips, a member of the band Wilson Phillips, made up that catchy little tune and danced to it right before she was about to answer the questions, per In The Know.

The song was just her way of asking the Holy Spirit to help her with answers, and it was an act that stunned everyone there, including host Steve Harvey. Harvey stated that in "11 years, this has never happened before" on the show, per Dexerto. Her group eventually won $25,000 for charity, so maybe the chant actually worked.

While that act was over in a moment, the chant would soon get a life of its own on TikTok as several users quickly hopped on the trend, using it in their videos for different scenarios including the ridiculous and the relatable. These scenarios ranged from a user's reaction to a friend ditching them to hang out with their boyfriend to another invoking the power of the Holy Spirit to help them go out and not see any unwanted faces, per YouTube.