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Spend an afternoon at Astor Place and you might just be lucky enough to become a contestant on Track Star — the internet game show that’s so hot, everyone from Charli xcx to Oprah has asked to play.

“If you can name the artist, you win 5 bucks,” host Jack Coyne says to contestants, passersby who volunteer to play and slip on a pair of Beats headphones.

After participants share their preferred music genres, the New York native shuffles through his vast catalog, playing snippets of songs he thinks the stranger could guess — and enticing them to double their cash prize with every correct answer.


  Jack Coyne is the face of Track Star, the popular TikTok game show centered around music. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post Jack Coyne is the face of Track Star, the popular TikTok game show centered around music. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

“The idea of the show is like — it’s not a gotcha thing. We’re not trying to get people” to fail out, Coyne, 33, told The Post. “We’re trying to play music that people love and we’re trying to trigger a reaction in someone to tell a story about something in their life that the song sort of brings out.”

The über-popular music trivia series — which boasts more than 730,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram less than two years since its inception — has grown so successful that the biggest names in music have clamored to be guests, such as Ed Sheeran, Halsey, Camila Cabello, Sam Smith, Charli xcx and Paris Hilton.

“We don’t try to get anyone on the show,” said Coyne. “It’s all inbound. People ask.”

That includes the show’s first “superstar artist,” Olivia Rodrigo, who appeared as a guest just over a year ago. At the time, the show had only about 20,000 followers when her camp approached Coyne and the Track Star team.

“That was when it shifted and we realized that the show was kind of becoming a big deal in the music industry,” he recalled.


  Stars such as Camila Cabello have reached out to Coyne to be on the show.
 Stars such as Camila Cabello have reached out to Coyne to be on the show.

  Harris’ team reached out the night before the DNC to invite Coyne and his crew to meet with the Democratic presidential candidate.
 Harris’ team reached out the night before the DNC to invite Coyne and his crew to meet with the Democratic presidential candidate.

  But Track Star’s reach has expanded far beyond the music industry, landing him gigs to promote the Video Music Awards or, most recently, an interview with designer Tommy Hilfiger during New York Fashion Week.
 But Track Star’s reach has expanded far beyond the music industry, landing him gigs to promote the Video Music Awards or, most recently, an interview with designer Tommy Hilfiger during New York Fashion Week.

  According to Coyne, artists — like Maggie Rogers — reach out when they’re in town.
 According to Coyne, artists — like Maggie Rogers — reach out when they’re in town.

Track Star even caught the attention of Vice President Kamala Harris, whose team invited Coyne and his crew to the Democratic National Convention to interview the presidential candidate — and quiz her on her music taste.

In fact, Coyne, who called the experience “mind-blowing,” was the first “press” — though not an interview — Harris had done since earning the nomination.

“When we started getting famous people on the show, we recognized, like, sure, they’re famous, but they’re just regular people. They’re just like all of us too,” he said.

“The most famous celebrity in the world [will have] the same reaction as a random person they meet on the street” when they hear a song they love, he said.

Coyne, with his brother Kieran Coyne and pal Henry Kornaros, created Track Star in January 2023 after launching their media company Public Opinion, which operates a YouTube channel and TikTok page dedicated to NYC trivia and mini documentaries about the inner workings of the Big Apple.

“The reason that I started doing this is because I always had a lot of faith and optimism about the city and about the people who live here,” Coyne said, and he wants to “showcase the citizens of what I think is the greatest city in the world.”


  Liv Hamwee said she was confident she was going to score big, only to lose out after a few rounds. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post Liv Hamwee said she was confident she was going to score big, only to lose out after a few rounds. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

  That afternoon, not a single contestant walked away with the cash prize — not even NYU freshman Hudson Brown, 19. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post That afternoon, not a single contestant walked away with the cash prize — not even NYU freshman Hudson Brown, 19. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

  There’s an awkward silence for Coyne as the contestants don the headphones and listen closely to the track playing, but he’s more interested in people’s response to the music. “Instead of listening to music, I’m paying attention to them and their reactions,” he said. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post There’s an awkward silence for Coyne as the contestants don the headphones and listen closely to the track playing, but he’s more interested in people’s response to the music. “Instead of listening to music, I’m paying attention to them and their reactions,” he said. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

The trio, who also produce commercial work for major brands like Adobe, Gucci and Nike to fund their other creative endeavors, came up with the idea for music trivia to reach “a much broader spectrum of people” than their niche NYC-based content could.

In just an hour spent around Astor Place — as people hauled their Wegmans groceries home or hurried to class at NYU — Coyne successfully recruited multiple eager volunteers, all of whom recognized him as “that guy from TikTok.”

When Ben Bernstein, 24, saw Coyne on the corner, he said he “had to” stop and play, despite losing out on $320 with one wrong answer.


  “I think we try and approach the situation pretty respectfully,” Coyne said of his tactics to get volunteers on the show. “It’s passive: I stand there with the sign, as you saw, and people approach me. I’m not like running up to people and saying, ‘Hey, can you be on the show?'” Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post “I think we try and approach the situation pretty respectfully,” Coyne said of his tactics to get volunteers on the show. “It’s passive: I stand there with the sign, as you saw, and people approach me. I’m not like running up to people and saying, ‘Hey, can you be on the show?'” Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

While it may seem like a breeze to guess the artists of your favorite songs, Coyne said there’s usually a disproportionate number of losers to winners. Those who score big — like a local firefighter named Ray who won more than $5,000 and donated it to the charity Tunnel to Towers — clearly make it seem much easier than it is.

Once you step in front of the camera and slip on the Beats headphones, the nerves set in and your confidence dissipates.

“I thought I was gonna get $40 in a heartbeat,” contestant and Murray Hill resident Liv Hamwee, 23, told The Post after losing the game.


  Ben Bernstein told The Post he recognized Coyne from TikTok, and couldn’t help himself from doubling his cash prize each round until he eventually lost. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post Ben Bernstein told The Post he recognized Coyne from TikTok, and couldn’t help himself from doubling his cash prize each round until he eventually lost. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

  Coyne let this reporter take the headphones for a spin — my confidence quickly vanished after a few songs, and he eventually stumped me when I complained he was going “too easy.” Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post Coyne let this reporter take the headphones for a spin — my confidence quickly vanished after a few songs, and he eventually stumped me when I complained he was going “too easy.” Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

  Sophie Berger, 25, made it pretty far in the trivia game, but didn’t earn any winnings. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post Sophie Berger, 25, made it pretty far in the trivia game, but didn’t earn any winnings. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

“You definitely have a more positive mindset going into it, and then you’re in the moment and you’re like, ‘Wait, there’s millions of songs out there, and I don’t know them all,'” Hamwee said.

And, for that reason, Coyne didn’t repeat a song for the first year of hosting Track Star. While he wouldn’t consider himself a “music junkie,” operating the show has given him exposure to new artists and songs he might not have otherwise known.

“I was trying to understand what are the 500 most popular, famous artists of all time and how do I know those people?” he said. “And when you’re listening on the radio, what comes on most often, and can you make sure you’re able to identify those people, the songs that sort of define the culture?”


  “When I was in high school, one of my favorite bands is Kings of Leon, and when they said, ‘Can we get Kings of Leon on the show?’ I was like, that’s so crazy that this band I grew up loving so much wants to be on my show,” Coyne recalled. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post “When I was in high school, one of my favorite bands is Kings of Leon, and when they said, ‘Can we get Kings of Leon on the show?’ I was like, that’s so crazy that this band I grew up loving so much wants to be on my show,” Coyne recalled. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

Despite the booming success and plethora of high-profile people vying for a spot on the show, there’s still one person Coyne hopes will eventually be a guest: Bruce Springsteen.

“My whole life, my whole family listened to Bruce Springsteen. His music has always spoken to me,” said Coyne, who revealed he’s seen the New Jersey “legend” in concert seven times. “I just think it’d be a fun conversation to have, to meet someone who you’ve looked up to so much and have a conversation with them about music.”

While Coyne wouldn’t be opposed to contacting Springsteen’s team about a guest appearance on Track Star, he hasn’t reached out — at least, “not yet.”

“I guess this is an open invitation,” he said. “Bruce, if you’re reading this, you’re invited on the show.”

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