Media Exposed #15: Starkid = What happens when your YouTube popularity SKYROCKETS!!

The Starkid's Apocalyptour poster

Many of us use the website, YouTube, as a way to watch the latest music videos, get tutorials on certain things like how to do a hairstyle or the newest dance moves, view the same funny clips over and over, promote ourselves for our talents, or find the next big music star.  In the last few years, YouTube has been a great asset to help many reach their dreams in music, and many record labels now use the site as a major resource in find the "next big thing".  It's a major tool in gaining popularity for music artists or groups, or even musical production companies that put on plays that entrance people with songs, lyrics, laughs, and a whole lot of random.  This is where a certain group named Starkid comes along, steals the show, produces music from their own written/produced musicals, gains millions of fans, and gets their own tour of the U.S. this summer.  This is what happens when you get popular on YouTube.  This is what happens when you discover how media really can change your life.

The Starkids during their Apocalyptour, with the synopsis that they must change the fate
of the Mayan's prediction of the apocalypse and save the world, with music!

I went down to San Francisco about two weekends ago with my older sister and friend to catch Starkid's U.S. "Apolcalyptour", their first tour that hits both the east and finally the west coast!  We had seen almost all of the musicals they wrote and produced themselves--the characters, the story, the music, the lyrics, everything--which they posted on YouTube for their fans to see.  They started out as a group of college kids finding a way to complete their senior project at the University of Michigan, and created a musical theatre company known as Starkid.  They created their senior project known as "A Very Potter Musical", a musical based on the Harry Potter books & films that made fun of the stories but kept its major elements, making it more laughable and whole lot more musical!  The group posted it on YouTube, and from there the video went viral, much to Starkid's surprise!  Viewers discovered it and fell in love with the actors, the group, & their music, and soon Starkid began its giant fanbase that exists today!

Starkid's production of "A Very Potter Musical"

Starkid's popularity not only promoted their music, it promoted their actors and some of the props and things mentioned in their productions.The popularity of their shows made them create more for their fans, gaining more popularity, and helping some of the company's members move on to bigger productions!  The biggest example would be one of the co-founders being Darren Criss, who's now a famous actor who stars on FOX's hit series, "GLEE" and was on Broadway's "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"!!  The popularity from YouTube helped the Starkid company get noticed, helped some of the members gain jobs on television, Broadway, and more, and now gave them their own tour of the U.S.!  In addition, in their production of "A Very Potter Musical", the character of Ron is in love with the candy RedVines, and is always talking about how great they are and using them as a major asset and part of Ron's character.  After viewers fell in love with the play, they began to love RedVines just as much!  RedVines were flying off the shelves and gaining a lot of popularity thanks to Starkid.  Plus, because the two plays about Harry Potter were based off the books and films, it helped keep and gain loyal fans of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter phenomena!  All of this shows how Starkid's popularity in the media brought popularity to not only the cast members but to the subjects in their plays!

My main point is that Starkid is an example of how the popularity that's gained in the media really effects a person's life.  For Starkid, it gave them their own tour and helped part of their cast land major roles onscreen.  For others, it helped them gain recording contracts and be part of major record labels, big examples being the one and only Justin Bieber, and others like Christina Grimmie, Sam Tsui, and many more.  Because they posted videos of themselves singing and performing their talents, people saw their talent and became devoted fans and followers that helped them rise to the top.  They all show how much media can be a vital tool in making your dreams come true, and how popularity gained from the media can help you get recognized for your talents.