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Toronto Hosts the 2015 YouTube FanFest!
For the first time ever, Toronto was the host of the 2015 YouTube FanFest and what an unforgettable show it was! The Yonge-Dundas Square welcomed some of the biggest Canadian and international YouTube superstars and brought them live on one stage. The free event allowed fans to see some of their favourite online creators all of which brought their own unique talent to the showcase. From comedy to music the online entertainers gave their fans an incredible event!
On The Scene Network (OTSN) was live at the 2015 YouTube FanFest and had a chance to chat with a few rising YouTubers. The online stars all seemed to have attributed one main underlying theme to their rising stardom – PASSION!
First up to chat with OTSN was Scarborough’s own, IISuperwomanII, aka, Lilly Singh or my personal favourite is aka, “Hi! My name is Lilly and I make funny videos every Monday and Thursday.”
Lilly Singh, began her career as a YouTuber in October of 2010 and has since gathered over 730 million views and her channel has over 5.96 million subscribers. According to Singh, the top three attributing factors to her rise in fame is first and foremost “positivity” in her material, “consistency” and finally “relate-ability”. Lilly’s advice to those that want to be a future YouTuber like herself is “Don’t try to go viral…it has to be a very genuine, passionate thing that you’re starting.”
Next up on our chat list was Brampton’s comedic big shot, Jasmeet Singh, best known as JusReign.
Jasmeet Singh began making videos and short sketches when he was in university because he needed a creative outlet. Singh decided to call his YouTube channel, JusReign and soon after his videos began to go viral, people referred to him by the name of the channel itself and since then he’s gathered over 560,000 subscribers. JusReign’s success on YouTube has definitely surprised the rising online creator but what I personally admire about his authenticity is that he simply had a goal in mind and acted on it. “I wanted to be the first brown guy on YouTube so I did that!” JusReign’s advice to those seeking to be YouTubers – “Don’t do it, be a doctor and make your parents happy…just kidding…you got to be wanting to do it!”
OTSN also caught up with Edmonton-born singer-songwriter Daniela Andrade at the YouTube FanFest whose YouTube videos have over 500,000 subscribers and has had over 50 million views.
The 22-year old YouTube sensation began her career at the age of 15 when she was in the middle of doing her homework and decided to record herself singing and posted it on YouTube. Much like other YouTubers, Andrade’s success comes as a complete surprise to her, “…with YouTube it’s kind of like a snowball effect…I had no idea it would turn into this!” For Andrade, being part of the 2015 YouTube FanFest and meeting her fans “…is the biggest thing I have ever done.” According to the young YouTuber, “Music was my passion very early on.” And so Andrade’s advice to those looking to create online content is, “If you have a passion for it, people will gravitate towards it…stay true to yourself…stay happy and passionate.”
The theme of passion and success continued on with OTSN’s interview of pop singer Macy Kate and composer/producer Kurt Hugo Schneider.
The 17 year old, Florida-born singer started distributing her music on YouTube a couple years ago and has always loved music since she was 5 years old. Kate’s YouTube audience grew even further when she collaborated with popular Internet personality Kurt Hugo Schneider. Kate currently has over 215,000 YouTube subscribers. After majoring in mathematics in college, Baltimore-born Schneider developed his own talent for music and technology by creating content for his own YouTube channel. Now with over 3 million YouTube subscribers, Kurt’s success still surprises him, “I didn’t know I could make a living doing YouTube online.” The ever-lasting advice for future YouTubers remains consistent with Kate advising fans to, “Never give up on your dreams. If you want to do something, do it.” Kurt put it best when he concurred with Macy and added that, “I think especially on YouTube, not to give up is so important… if you give up right away you don’t give yourself the chance to go anywhere.”
There you have it, the 2015 YouTube FanFest in Toronto brought together fans and YouTube celebrities from near and far. The star-studded YouTubers all gathered in one place, all showing love for their art and for one another. But one thing that really resonated most with me was one critical message that was unanimous amongst the YouTubers …Bring passion and go get it… the rest will come.
Author: Kiran Patel-Shah
@YouTubeFanFest @OTSNmedia[/span6][span2][/span2]