Never underestimate the power of a teenage girl to make someone famous.
Or the power of 14.9 million teenage girls. That’s how many (mostly adolescent) subscribers tune in to see the YouTube videos of Jenna Marbles, a bonafide internet superstar and the first of a long string of such “creators” to take to the stage at Yonge-Dundas Square Saturday night for the first ever North American YouTube FanFest.
It was an event that made national news and packed the Toronto plaza to bursting, but if you’re over 30, it likely evoked more bewilderment than excitement. After all, what is YouTube fame? And who are YouTube fans?
The stars that were rounded up exhibited a range of talents, some bonafide, others negligible, all extremely popular on the world’s biggest video sharing site.
There were musicians, including David Choy, a 29-year-old Korean-American singer with 993,000 subscribers, Daniela Andrade a folky Edmonton 21-year-old who sings breathy covers and has almost half a million subscribers, and American indie singer-songwriter Kina Grannis, who clocks in with an even million subscribers.
There were what I’ll call the ranters/monologuers, a category owned by Jenna Marbles, who has made her fame by talking directly into her webcam to make observations about humanity (“How girls fall asleep” “How guys pack a suitcase”), do impressions (Justin Bieber, Hillary Clinton) or give tutorials (“How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking” “Drunk Make-up Tutorial”).
There were the beauty Vloggers, like 19-year-old Bethany Mota, who is famous for her haul videos, clips in which she tries on new outfits and applies recently purchased make-up on camera while chatting with her viewers about whether the outfit/product is hot (or not).
There was Lauren Riihimaki, better known as LaurDIY, whose videos demonstrate how to make your own clothes, home decor and healthy pre-work-out snacks (“I blog and make pretty things”).
There were the science guys, like Michael Stevens of Vsauce, whose 8.6 million subscribers tune in to hear him answer questions like “What is the resolution of the eye?” and “Would headlights work at light speed?”
And there were many, many more.
It was a real grab bag of talent, but all of these creators, as they’re dubbed by YouTube, share two essential traits: they are all self-made, and they are all more accustomed to performing for a webcam than for a plaza packed to bursting with screaming teenagers.
So how does a bunch of homemade video stars come alive onstage and in person?
For the musicians, the transition for screen to stage was logical, and rockers like Daniela Andrade looked comfortable crooning to the crowd — even though she admitted before the show, “This will be my biggest live performance ever!”
But for others, the transition was a tad less impressive. Jenna Marbles kicked off the festivities, running onstage in 10-inch black platform heels to the tearful cheers of her fans. Yet once she had finished gushing about her excitement to be in Toronto, Marbles ran out of things to say and floundered awkwardly, turning to the organizers in the wings to ask, “Guys, what am I supposed to be doing, seriously?” Co-host Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time fame came to the rescue, dashing onstage to ask Marbles questions like “If you could be any fruit, what would it be?” (Pineapple).
Perhaps you don’t care what type of fruit Marbles would be, but a whole lot of teenage girls do. They care because theirs is an existence meted out in clips from stand-in besties like Jenna Marbles, LaurDIY and Bethany Mota. To the wall-to-wall crowd at YouTube FanFest, these self-made celebrities are the pinnacle of famous.
Or as one excited Twitterer put it: “OMG OMG OMG OMFG BEST NIGHT EVRR!!!”
news@nowtoronto.com | @liagrainger
