HAMPTON, Va. (HUNS) – “Raw TV,” a student-affiliated organization and talk show, is bringing the viral “Pop the Balloon” internet phenomenon to the Hampton University campus.
The “Raw in Love: Pop the Balloon” will be in the Scripps Auditorium at 7 p.m., the day before Valentine’s Day, bringing love and joy to fellow Pirates.
The event will mirror the original “Pop the Balloon or Find Love” series, which debuted on YouTube in December 2023, but with a Pirate twist. “Raw TV” sourced the show’s contestants from all over Hampton’s campus, including the bachelor and bachelorettes.
The series, originally created by Arlette Amuli and her husband, Bolia Matundu, features a bachelor and a bachelorette who go down a line, getting to know each contestant through personal questions. The bachelor pops balloons based on their lack of romantic interest and participants’ answers, hoping to leave with a lover.
At Hampton, the application included questions about participants’ dream dates, hobbies and what they look for in a partner. The organization asked each participant to upload a photo. The executive producers combed through each response, choosing the participants with the strongest applications.
The “Raw in Love” special will feature students Lauryn Sanders, Timothy Lee and “Raw TV” member Amiyah Osborne as the bachelor and bachelorettes.
Each bachelor and bachelorette will have five potential lovers. They will get to know and question each contestant, and the last one standing with a balloon will be their match.
“I’m looking forward to putting myself out there as I’m usually to myself a lot of the time,” said Sanders, a freshman psychology major from Gainesville, Virginia. “I hope to make new friends and possibly find my HBCU love story.”
The original show grew in popularity in 2024 due to the bachelors’ and contestants’ controversial views, standards and interactions. The reality game show gained millions of views each post, eventually inspiring a live adaptation on Netflix last April. Howard University has also hosted its versio of the series.
“Raw TV” members and deans in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications are not the only ones anticipating the excitement. Students have been talking about the upcoming Valentine’s Day special around campus.
“These events are important to campus culture, because it brings a sense of unity and familiarity when you see people you know participating,” Akilah Lewis, a junior journalism major from Atlanta, said. “It’s a breath of fresh air from all the things we do as college students.”
Nylah McCullers is a student in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University.
