+the scene
Going Viral: How the Internet Has Become the New Starmaker
Written by Audrey Cook. Published: March 07 2012
For all of you
aspiring singers, forget hiring an agent to represent you. These
days, all you need is access to the Internet and you can be on your
way to fame. Here are a slew of musicians whose musical talents
were first discovered online.
Before Justin Bieber was a worldwide pop star, he began
his career by publishing homemade videos of his musical talent to
YouTube. "It had a hundred views, then a thousand views, then ten
thousand views, so I just kept posting more videos and more
videos,” he told ABC News. Bieber’s current manager, Scooter Braun, initially reached out to the
YouTube sensation in 2007 and flew the Biebs to Atlanta to meet with Usher. The teen singer signed on with Island Def Jam
Recordings with Usher serving as his mentor. The teen heartthrob
released his debut album, My World, in 2009, which
launched at No. 6 on the Billboard charts, catapulting him into the
spotlight at the tender age of 15.
Ellen
DeGeneres is notorious for showing her audiences YouTube
videos she finds entertaining, which is how Greyson Chance and duo Sophia Grace and
Rosie were all discovered. Greyson Chance first hit the scene when he
performed a rendition of Lady Gaga’s
“Paparazzi” for his 6th grade talent assembly in 2010. The performance was
posted on YouTube, and more than 38 million people watched the
one-of-a-kind performance, including Lady Gaga herself. At just 12
years old, Chance was invited to perform on “The Ellen DeGeneres
Show” and was signed to Ellen’s record label, eleveneleven. Since hitting the scene, Chance released
his debut album, Hold on ‘Til the Night, and went on tour in
Southeast Asia to promote it. (He's also visited the Young
Hollywood Studio twice! Check out those videos here and here.)
Ellen wasn’t
quite done working her magic. Cousins Sophia Grace Brownlee, 8, and
5-year-old Rosie McClelland became overnight sensations after a YouTube
video of the girls singing NickiMinaj’s anthem “Super Bass” in tutus
and tiaras went viral. Nearly 11 million people viewed the duet,
earning them a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” where the girls
met and performed with their idol Nicki Minaj. Since then, the pair from
Essex, England, has served as DeGeneres’s red carpet
correspondents, interviewing stars at the Grammys and American Music
Awards. Will Ellen also sign them to her record label? Only time
will tell.
Back in 2005, ColbieCaillat created a MySpace page and was urged
by one of her friends to put her music up on it. "I was being lazy,
so he went on there and uploaded my songs and showed me how to use
it," she told USA Today. After she uploaded her hit song,
“Bubbly”, Caillat found herself surrounded by thousands of MySpace
friends, leading to Universal Republic Records signing her in 2007.
“I never knew I could get a career out of this,” she told OK! magazine. “MySpace is what started it all.” (Hear more
about Colbie's online origins in this exclusive interview at the Young Hollywood
Studio!)
The next time
you think you have the next big hit, try posting in on YouTube; you
never know what will happen!
(Photo via
WENN)
- Audrey
Cook, YH Staff