Whatever Happened To The Kids YouTube Made Famous

Feelings Drama

Transcript

00:00The internet might be forever, but viral fame only lasts so long.

00:04For these youngsters, digital domination turned out to be fleeting.

00:08So what happened to those kids that got famous online?

00:10Here's a look at what some of those former web celebs are up to now.

00:14Leave Britney alone

00:16Britney Spears' comeback at the 2007 Video Music Awards went down in history for all

00:21the wrong reasons.

00:22Her seemingly lifeless, mimed performance was torn to shreds by both music journalists

00:26and industry moguls alike.

00:28Britney was reportedly disappointed and embarrassed by the show, but it didn't stop the haters

00:32from mocking her.

00:34This all became too much for vlogger and aspiring actor Chris Crocker, who posted a tearful video

00:39vehemently defending the pop icon.

00:41Leave her alone

00:44The video was viewed 43 million times before Crocker left YouTube and catapulted the 19-year-old

00:49to fame, leading to appearances on talk shows and music videos.

00:53All the while, he was himself ribbed for being gender-fluid, but Crocker capitalized on his

00:58infamy by trying to launch a career as an adult film actor, a move he came to regret as his

01:03Hollywood hopes evaporated.

01:05He later told Out Magazine,

01:07Career opportunities for me have been very slim to none.

01:10He still promotes music and merchandise through Instagram, and recently returned to public interest

01:14by revisiting the video on its 10th anniversary and revealing the harrowing story of why he

01:19was so impacted by the attacks on his idol.

01:22Chocolate Rain

01:24If streaming had been taken into account by the Recording Industry Association of America

01:28in 2007, like it is today, Tay Zonday would have gone multi-platinum with his annoyingly

01:33catchy original song, Chocolate Rain.

01:36Zonday's deep, rich voice and somewhat bizarre mannerisms made this video a hit on YouTube, though

01:41it actually took a little while for it to take off.

01:44As he later explained, it didn't instantly go viral.

01:47About three months after it was uploaded, someone posted it on the front page of Digg.com,

01:52which is kind of what Reddit was back then.

01:54And then someone saw it on Digg and posted it on 4chan.

01:57After that, it started to go viral and became a national news story.

02:00The video was everywhere for a while, and spawned some pretty hilarious parodies.

02:05Zonday went on to make numerous cameo appearances in film and TV, and also took part in a memorable

02:10commercial for Dr. Pepper, performing a new track named Cherry Chocolate Rain.

02:15While he later admitted that his business savvy wasn't as strong as it should have been at

02:18the time, his dulcet tones have allowed him to find work in other areas of entertainment,

02:22including a voice role in the animated miniseries Transformers Titans Return.

02:28Miss Teen South Carolina 2007

02:30In 2006, a girl named Caitlin Upton was crowned Miss Teen South Carolina.

02:35The following year, she appeared at the Miss Teen USA pageant, representing her state.

02:39With millions watching across the country, Upton was asked about why a fifth of Americans

02:43couldn't locate the United States on a world map.

02:46Her answer was…not great.

02:48And I believe that our education, like, such as in South Africa and the Iraq…

02:55Soon after, she had a chance to redeem herself on talk show appearances.

02:58I was overwhelmed, and I made a mistake.

03:01Everybody makes a mistake, I'm human.

03:03But her cringe-worthy stage flub didn't stop her from going on to do big things.

03:08Weeks after the pageant, Upton was signed by Donald Trump's agency on a $25,000 a day

03:13contract.

03:14Even so, no amount of money could erase the damage done by that YouTube video, and Upton

03:18admitted in 2015,

03:19"...I had some very dark moments where I thought about committing suicide."

03:23She now works in real estate in addition to the entertainment business, which means she

03:27probably knows a lot more about maps now.

03:31The new Canon Rock

03:33In 2006, 17-year-old Paris, France native Matt Rock blew YouTube away with a face-melting

03:38guitar cover of a well-known classical piece known as Pachelbel's Canon.

03:42The video became a sensation and spawned many imitators.

03:46He later told Slash Media,

03:47"...I took this piece that I did not particularly like, because the few subscribers I had at the

03:52time insisted that I do it.

03:54I posted a first version identical to the original, and it brought a wave of haters that thought

03:59I was pretending to play, so I made my own version.

04:02I did not expect that success."

04:04The talented Frenchman has continued to share music via his channel in the years since,

04:08and has released several cover albums.

04:10He revisited Canon for his 2016 album Classic, with a brand new take on it, and released another

04:16album in 2017.

04:17He does compose his own music, too, with a band called The Atmospheres.

04:21Zombie Kid Likes Turtles

04:24YouTube has always loved a good news report gone wrong, from the infamous falling grape

04:29lady to the guy who looked up and got a mouthful of bird poop, some of the biggest jokes in

04:33YouTube history have been at the expense of reporters.

04:36In 2007, this brief interview with Jonathan Ware from Portland, Oregon went viral after

04:40he answered a question about his zombie face paint with a blunt and hilariously bizarre statement.

04:46"...Jonathan just got an awesome face paint job, what do you think?"

04:49"...I like turtles!"

04:50"...Alright, you're a great zombie!"

04:53The video was watched over 50 million times, and made an overnight celeb of the unmasked youngster,

04:59who later admitted,

05:00"...I was nervous, and I didn't even know what to say."

05:04He's since enrolled in college.

05:05No word yet on whether he's studying marine biology.

05:16...

05:23Let's go together...

05:27...

05:35...

05:36On 11th July

05:39...

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