It used to be nearly impossible to break into the entertainment industry. An aspiring singer had to leave her former life behind, move to a brand new city and hound record company after record company to pursue her dream career. Even then, the chances of making it were slim. Now, with the increasing popularity of social media sites, there may just be a light at the end of the tunnel for all of you pop star hopefuls.
There’s no doubt that the majority of YouTube singers are more entertaining than gifted, but there is also no shortage of raw talent on the prominent video-sharing site. The good news is that this talent does not always go unnoticed. With a boom in views, anyone can get plucked out of obscurity and propelled to stardom in a mere instant. Justin Bieber’s Chrome commercial, anyone?
In a matter of three years, Bieber went from posting videos of his performances in a Canadian talent competition to getting signed by the proclaimed King of R&B, Usher. The teen phenom credits his current career achievements to his original YouTube supporters, but we wonder if any other artist discovered in the same manner is capable of having a long-lasting career. Do these “YouTube sensations” really have the dedication to become successes? We’ve put together a list of a few of our favorite rising Internet stars. Make sure to keep your eyes on them as they leave the online community and venture out into the real world.
Greyson Chance
After this sixth-grader from Oklahoma sang Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at a chorus concert, a fellow classmate uploaded the performance onto the Internet. The video got millions of hits and once again, the producers of “The Ellen Degeneres Show” caught on to his growing popularity. However, Chance performance on the show was not the last he saw of Degeneres. Wanting to take Chance’s career to the next level, Ellen launched a record label called eleveneleven, with Greyson as its first artist. Fully supported by the Mother Monster herself, Chance released his debut album, “Hold on ‘Til the Night” at the end of this past summer. His strong vocals and inspiring spirit are sure to gain him much more support in the future.
Karmin
Twenty-five year olds Nick Noonan and Amy Ellis have been covering songs for about two years, but their careers truly took off after their cover of “Look At Me Now” hit the Internet. Ellis’s sassy pin-up style, bright red lipstick, quirky hairstyles and insane rapping skills quickly won over the American public. These two don’t just have musical chemistry—they have been a couple for quite a while and are currently engaged! Even though their fan base grew out of their hip-hop inspired covers, they have begun to branch out with original songs, “Crash Your Party” coming very close to the top of the charts.
Sophia Grace Brownlee
It’s official. If you have not seen this 8-year-old firecracker perform, you are truly missing out. With an impressive collection of tutus and tiaras, as well as an adorably shy “hype girl” always in tow, Sophia Grace has succeeded in making the entire world fall in love with her incredible voice and shocking stage presence. After her mother posted a video of Sophia belting out Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass, Ellen Degeneres flew in the British sensation to perform on her daytime show. Little did she know that Minaj would join her on stage and boy, did she have a priceless reaction. Despite Sophia Grace’s indisputable talent, she seems to have lost some of her momentum, but we won’t be surprised if she turns back up in a few years. She is, after all, still in the single digits.
Timeflies
These recent Tufts University graduates have gained quite a following within just a year of forming their “electro-pop-hip-hop-rap” group. 23-year-old Cal is the vocalist while “Rez” makes the beats and plays the instruments. Almost everything on their recently released album, “The Scotch Tape,” was recorded in Rez’s bedroom, but that is not the most impressive accomplishment of these two musical geniuses. For Timeflies fans everywhere, Tuesday is the most highly anticipated day of the week, the day when the duo releases a spontaneous music video featuring impressive freestyles by Cal and catchy remixes by Rez. With a steadily increasing YouTube following of almost 30,000 and a constant stream of concerts all over the country, these two have no where to go but up.
Sources:
Ellen & Greyson (photo): The Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0515/Is-Greyson-Chance-s-serendipitous-Youtube-rise-a-ruse
Karmin (photo): Billboard.com, http://www.billboard.com/column/the-hook/karmin-s-style-council-1005722752.story#/column/the-hook/karmin-s-style-council-1005722752.story
Sophia Grace Brownlee (photo): The Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nicki-minaj-performs-super-bass-247451
Timeflies (photo): Fresh New Tracks,
http://freshnewtracks.com/2012/01/04/timeflies-tuesday-2012/
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/ontheverge/story/2011-08-28/On-the-Verge-Karmin/50148054/1
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/greyson-chance-youtube-sensation-hailed-justin-bieber/story?id=13097106#.TyIgn5hJA21
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/08/time-is-flying-for-timeflies