Devin Halbal / Kudasai Queen

Overview

Devin Halbal or HalBaddie is a TikTok travel and fashion influencer known for her inspirational videos, travel vlogs and motivational quotes like “doll check-in” as a proud calling card to her fellow trans girls. The creator was nicknamed Kudasai Queen in early 2024 after she repeated the word "Kudasai" in several videos while posting about her trip to Japan, which translates to “may I please have.” In July 2024, Devin's Asia Tour became the subject of memes and jokes as her fans stormed malls and other places where the creator was visiting.

Online History

Devin Halbal (@hal.baddie)^[1] started posting inspirational videos and travel vlog content around mid-2021, with one of the earliest videos being posted^[2] on July 18th, 2021, in which she interacts with an Italian man (seen below, left), amassing roughly 1,000 likes in three years.

Halbal's online presence grew in December 2021 after she started posting videos with a selfie stick while sharing mantras, and travel tips. For example, on December 26th, 2021, she posted a video^[3] (seen below, right) about her 2022 projections, saying the mantra "elevate, activate, appreciate,” which amassed over 318,000 likes and 14,000 shares in three years.

Kudasai Queen Nickname

On January 27th, 2024, @hal.baddie^[5] posted a video (seen below) captioned, "The only words I know in Japanese," in which she repeats "Kudasai," which translates as “may I please have.” The post amassed over 14 million plays and 890,000 likes in seven months.

According to a New York Times^[4] interview with Devin Halbal from May 15th, 2024, the "Kudasai Queen" nickname was coined after she was experimenting with different types of travel videos during her trip to Japan in January of that year. At the same time, she was learning Japanese, and there was one word she kept hearing everywhere: kudasai.

Kudasai Queen Asia Tour

Devin Halbal continued her travel across Asian countries in early 2024 and was swarmed by fans in April while visiting South Korea, which sparked memes and fan edits on TikTok. For example, on April 6th, 2024, TikTok^[6] user @cybernickiminaj posted a fan edit showing the moment Kudasai Queen met her fans (seen below, left), amassing over 6 million plays and 838,000 likes in four months.

On July 14th, 2024, @hal.baddie^[7] uploaded a video of her fan interaction while she was in a mall in the Philippines (seen below, right), which amassed more than 2.9 million plays and 388,000 likes in three days.

Online Presence

Devin Halbal's fanbase often edits videos and quotes of her turning them into memetic content, especially on TikTok. For instance, on April 5th, 2024, TikTok^[8] user @jimfishyy posted a video about the creator's virality (seen below, left), amassing roughly 1 million plays and 107,000 likes in four months.

On April 25th, TikToker^[9] @tamaradai posted a video dubbing the "Sushi Kudasai" viral audio from Halbal (seen below, right), which received over 450,000 plays and 14,000 likes in four months.

Search Interest

External References