When three former PayPal employees created video sharing website YouTube in 2005, nobody could predict the immense popularity it would soon enjoy. YouTube was originally intended for people to share videos of themselves, and this led to the birth of hundreds of viral videos and memes (such as Dramatic Chipmunk, Chocolate Rain, and Leave Britney Alone).

YouTube stars often appear in media other than the internet; most notably in the music video for Weezer’s Pork and Beans and in the Canada on Strike episode of South Park. The South Park episode pointed out that despite the videos receiving millions of hits the stars were receiving no money. Although this may be true for some of the YouTube stars, the following made their name online but are now making their fortune elsewhere in the entertainment industry.

Justin Bieber

The most popular YouTube success story, teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has been splitting opinions down the middle since his YouTube videos were discovered by music producer Scooter Braun in 2008, when he was just 14. His fans, mostly teenage girls, are noted for being extremely loyal. Some of the biggest names in the hip-hop industry have been lining up to work with him; he counts Ludacris and Usher amongst his collaborators. Love him or hate him, he is claimed to be more influential within social networking sites than Barack Obama. Big feat for a teenage boy who some claim looks a bit like a lesbian.

Fred

Fred Figglehorn (aka Lucas Cruikshank) owned the first YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers. Fred is a character created by Cruikshank, and is styled as “a hyperactive six year old with anger management issues”. Nickelodeon seized on the popularity of the character, with Cruikshank appearing as Fred in a variety of TV shows such as iCarly and Hannah Montana. Conversely, Tim Robbins has cameo’d in Fred’s show to promote sci fi film City of Ember. Cruikshank recently starred in “Fred: The Movie” which can be found with the new DVD releases in your local shop.

Darren Criss

As part of his college theatre group Team StarKid, Criss starred as Harry Potter in a series of YouTube videos based on the JK Rowling Novels; “A Very Potter Musical” and “A Very Potter Sequel”. The musical comedies were a huge hit within the Harry Potter fan community, went viral, and ultimately led to Criss landing a major role in the second season of popular TV show Glee.   

Rebecca Black

Like many teenage girls, Rebecca Black aspired to be a singer. Unlike most teenage girls, her mother paid a music studio to write a song and record a professional video. The result was ‘Friday’ which her parents put on YouTube and almost instantly it became a viral hit with critics panning it as the “worst song ever” (who can blame them with lyrics such as “today is Friday, tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards”?) Although the video is quite annoying, the number of death threats and negative comments directed at her caused a positive backlash with ‘Friday’ appearing in the UK singles chart at number 61 and record labels apparently contacting Black for a follow up single.