YouTube Creates It’s Own Celebrities

BY STACEY PASTERNAK

What’s the first thing you do when you log onto your computer? Check Facebook? Twitter? Watch YouTube videos? YouTube has quickly become one of the most visited sites on the Internet, and not long after that did it take people to figure out the inner workings of YouTube fame. Not the fame of viral videos like “Numa Numa,” however, the regular, somewhat normal people who film their opinions on a camera, upload that footage to their YouTube channels, and get upwards of five million subscribers. While anyone can upload some YouTube videos hoping to get views, you have to have a certain something to be adored by the video-watching public. The people I’m about to introduce definitely have the “Internet x-factor” of sorts.

Coming in at over 5,000,000 subscribers and over 1,300,000,000 video views is the YouTube channel “nigahiga.” Starting in 2007, while still in high school, Hawaiian native of Japanese descent Ryan Higa began making YouTube videos on this channel regularly with his friend Sean Fujiyoshi. He started off by shooting homemade videos filled with running gags and hilarious one-liners, such as “How to Be Ninja” and “How to Be Gangster”. Since then, he’s been shooting solo and collaborative videos, all of which showcase the sense of humor that makes him one of the most subscribed YouTubers on the web. One of his best series is “Dear Ryan,” in which he uses questions addressed to himself as challenges, from imitating an episode of Epic Meal Time to becoming a makeup guru. He also posts hilarious parodies advertising ridiculous items like the ShamWow.  The remaining constant in all of his videos, however random, is their cleverness. Ryan’s comedic puns and quick jokes have helped in turning him into the likable YouTube tycoon he is today.

Known mostly by her alias, Jenna Marbles, Jenna Mourey is a viral video personality living in Boston. She gained mass popularity for her first few videos uploaded in 2010 and 2011 called “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking” and “How To Avoid Talking To People You Don’t Want To Talk To.” Since then, she’s gained over 4,000,000 subscribers and almost 800,000,000 video views. What makes Jenna’s videos so desirable to teens is her raunchy sense of humor and how relatable she is. For example, her funny self-help videos such as “Things Girls Don’t Understand” and “Things Boys Don’t Understand” tend to make teenage girls and guys both laugh and realize why the opposite sex is so confusing. That, in essence, is the magic of Jenna Marbles.

With a slightly less impressive (but still impressive,) 500,000 subscribers and over 96,000,000 video views is the YouTube channel “nerimon”. British YouTuber Alex Day has been making videos under this username since around 5 years ago. His most well received videos are his YouTube series’ in which he utilizes his cynical personality to review the mainstream. “Alex Reads Twilight” and “Lyrics DISSECTED” are two examples.  Alex is no doubt an intelligent man, which is demonstrated in his series “Alex Reads Twilight.” These videos feature a chapter-by-chapter reading and analysis of the book we all love to hate; Twilight. His cynical opinions of Stephenie Meyer’s words are some of the funniest and most quotable on Youtube. So quotable, in fact, that simply going on Tumblr and searching “Alex Reads Twilight” will open a plethora of pictures with quotes from all the videos he has made on the subject. His equally quotable series, “Lyrics DISSECTED”, features Day mocking stupid song lyrics by everyone from Nicki Minaj to the British rapper Plan B.

The hilarity of these three YouTubers and many others is unmatched by most.  There’s just something about watching YouTube videos that turns around even the dullest of days. Here’s to hoping these YouTube comedians keep making people’s days a little brighter for years to come.