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| Credit: http://thenewsoftoday.com/ |
I will admit, I saw Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in IMAX 3D last weekend after being pressured by one of my friends. I surprised myself because I really enjoyed it! I shouldn’t have been that shocked though, considering it topped the box office with an estimated grossing of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105 theaters! I do listen to Justin’s music, such as “Baby” when it comes on the radio, but I never thought I would pay to see a movie about him. In a nutshell, the movie is a 3D part-biopic, part-concert film and gives viewers an inside look at the rise of Justin’s rapid transformation from a street performer in his small hometown of Stratford, Ontario to an internet phenomenon, and finally, to a global superstar. Did I mention that he is only 16 years old? That is what makes his story so inspiring.
I did not know Justin’s life story and that he got noticed utilizing social media, more specifically, through the user-generated content site YouTube and microblog (Twitter). His current manager, Scooter Braun, discovered videos of Justin on YouTube by accident. YouTube is a way to self-promote an artist to attract producers and record labels. Scooter was so impressed after watching Justin’s videos that he tracked down Justin’s mother (Pattie) who eventually gave in to allow her son to fly out to Atlanta, Georgia to meet Scooter and record demo tapes. He ultimately met R&B singer/songwriter Usher there, which started his path to fame.
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| Credit: http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia |
It is fascinating to see how YouTube has helped launched the careers of many young singers these days, but most noticeably, Justin’s launch into the competitive music industry. Essentially, YouTube is a video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos. Countless people utilize this website because unregistered users can simply watch videos without signing up for anything, while registered users have the ability to upload an unlimited number of videos. “A YouTube video is really about letting go of control and trusting that your creativity will engage the groundswell” (Groundswell, 198). It is interesting to see how other celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, achieved fame and success without the use of YouTube, by going through the grueling process of performing gigs in small clubs for a number of years until she was finally recognized and signed to Island Def Jam Records. On the other hand, Justin was signed to a major record label simply because his video on YouTube went viral.
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| Credit: http://thenextweb.com/socialmedi |
In addition to how Justin promoted himself on YouTube, it is equally important to discuss how he effectively utilizes Twitter. Twitter is a free, microblogging service in which users send and receive messages (or tweets) that can be no longer than 140 characters. Twitter is a brilliant way for artists to build and maintain relationships with their fans. Moreover, it allows celebrities to promote their latest work to give fans a peek into their everyday lives. On Perez Hilton’s website, Justin has consistently been in the top 140 most popular Twitter users and he averages 11,000 new followers daily.
Clearly, many celebrities like Justin have done an exceptional job using popular methods of social media, such as YouTube and Twitter, to keep their fans in the loop of their latest singles, appearances, etc. If you think you have a great voice, it doesn’t hurt to make an account on YouTube and upload a video of yourself singing. Who knows? Maybe a producer will stumble across your video and you could become famous!
I love the story of Justin Bieber's stardom. I think it's really touching, and I love that the name of his movie is "Never Say Never" - because his story shows its true. Like you said, it's interesting to see how some stars have to work for years while Justin was discovered via YouTube. It really shows the power of social media!
ReplyDeleteIt's true, the amount of people who have become famous through youtube is actually incredible! At the same time, I think the easy accessibility and limited attention span of our generation also ensures that even if you get famous via youtube, you still need to work hard to stay famous! Many people have had there flash in the pan and then been forgotten as their is so much content continually uploaded. So in a sense, while it may be easier to INITIALLY become famous with some skill and clever marketing on youtube, those whose notoriety has endured (such as Bieber) prove their talent all the same.
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