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9 major stars who got their start on YouTube, Vine, and even MySpace
From open casting calls to reality television shows, there is certainly more than one way to get famous. For some stars, using social media proved to be the key to career success.
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Thanks to platforms like YouTube, Vine, Twitter, and even MySpace, it's easier than ever for people to share their work with a wide audience.
And it's not just fans who are watching — talent managers and agents are paying attention, too.
In this digital age, a single tweet can make or break a career.
Keep reading to find out more about 9 stars who got their start online.
In 2008, Justin Bieber was just another Canadian kid until a talent manager took notice of YouTube videos where he covered songs from artists like Ne-Yo and Chris Brown.
"He is that special superstar that you see once in a lifetime," Scooter Braun, the talent manager who first discovered Bieber on YouTube, told Forbes. "He plays four instruments, self-taught. He showed that in his YouTube channel."
From there, Bieber signed with Usher and The Island Def Jam Music Group, Billboard reports. Though not before turning down an offer from Justin Timberlake, Bieber said in a 2010 interview with Katie Couric.
Today, Bieber is known around the world for Billboard top hits like "Baby," "One Less Lonely Girl," and "Boyfriend." He's also made headlines for getting into trouble with the law, including an arrest in 2014.
Carly Rae Jepsen might never have been discovered if it wasn't for Twitter and a little help from a fellow Canadian, Justin Bieber.
"Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepson is possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard lol," Bieber tweeted in December 2011.
Jepsen had been recording and performing songs for years. She placed third on "Canadian Idol" in 2007, but it wasn't until Bieber's tweet that she became a viral sensation for her tune "Call Me Maybe."
From there, Jepsen became a pop star in her own right, scoring a record deal with Schoolboy Records, the New York Post reported. This spring, she released the music video for her track "I Really Like You," which featured actor Tom Hanks lip-syncing to her song.
Mendes credits his Vine cover of Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" as the moment his career began to take off.
"The clip had 10,000 likes when I woke up," Mendes told Teen Vogue about the cover. "It was a snowball effect from there."
Though he still uploads Vines for his 4.2 million followers, the 17-year-old's career has moved into the mainstream. In 2014, his first EP, "Life of the Party," claimed the number one spot on the iTunes chart just 37 minutes after the album was released, Mashable reported. This spring, music video for his song "Stitches" topped 17 million YouTube views.
In May, Mendes hit the road with Taylor Swift's "1989" world tour.
"It's completely surreal," Mendes told MTV. "The fact that I'm going on tour with Taylor Swift, like how crazy is that? It's crazy."
Though she was already working as a model at the time, several popular YouTube videos helped make Kate Upton the international name she is today.
A video of Upton dancing "the Dougie" in her seat at an L.A. Clippers basketball game went viral in 2011. In 2012, Upton also made headlines for a YouTube video of her wearing only a bikini and dancing to "Cat Daddy." YouTube initially took the video down because they thought Upton's video violated their content policies, but ultimately restored the video several days later, where it surged in popularity, Vanity Fair reported.
At first, Upton was upset with the photographer who shared the "Cat Daddy" footage, Vogue reported, but says that she's no longer angry about the clip, which "helped to secure Upton's global fame."
Today, Upton has been featured on the cover of major magazines like "Sports Illustrated" and "Vogue." She's also known for her ads for "World of Warcraft."
In 2009, Darren Criss sang his way to viral fame on YouTube as a student at "Pigfarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" in "A Very Potter Musical."
During his time as a student at the University of Michigan, Criss was a founding member of performing troupe Team StarKid. The online popularity of the troupe's Harry Potter spoofs — the videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube — helped Criss go mainstream, Billboard reported.
From there, Criss went on to star as Blaine Anderson on Fox's hit TV show "Glee." Criss is also an accomplished musician, his original song "This Time" was nominated for an Emmy in 2015. On Broadway, Criss replaced "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and recently starred in title role of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
In 2007, Callait's track "Bubbly" was among the top songs on the social-media platform MySpace.
"As word of mouth spread, her MySpace page began pulling in a few thousand hits a day; after she had accumulated 6,240 friends," explains Callait's Myspace bio. "For four months, Colbie Caillat was MySpace's number one unsigned artist, garnering over 14 million plays in the process."
What is surprising about Callait's success is how she used Myspace to reach her audience.
"MySpace stars are usually clamorous creatures better suited to the pages of Maxim magazine than Billboard. It's a wonder Callait broke through at all," the Washington Post noted in their review of Callait's first album, "Coco."
Today, Callait has produced five albums and even won a Grammy for her work on Taylor Swift's "Fearless" album. She's currently on the road with her "Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too" tour, which also features Christina Perri.
Filmed in his bedroom, Burnham's satirical YouTube music videos helped him become, "the youngest comic with a special on Comedy Central," according to the New York Times.
"Whats a pirate minus the ship? Just a creative homeless guy. And an anteater plus a large hungry mutant ant? An ironic way to die," Burnham sings in one of his early videos, "New Math."
Today, Burnham has produced several, feature-length comedy specials. His most recent special, "what." is available on YouTube, where it has racked up over 8 million views. Burnham will also be on the road with his "Make Happy" tour later this year.
In 2011, Abel Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd anonymously uploaded three tracks to YouTube under the username “xoxxxoooxo.” While nobody knew who the man behind the tracks was, Tesfaye's songs started gaining popularity.
"If you haven't heard much about The Weeknd, it's because there isn't much info out there on them," Pitchfork noted in a review of the then anonymous tracks.
Since then, Tesfaye has grown from his online roots. His song "Earned It" was featured in the 2015 film "Fifty Shades of Grey." The 25-year-old's 2015 album "Beauty Behind the Madness" has been met with critical acclaim and includes "Can't Feel My Face," which reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list this summer. In the fall, Tesfaye will be heading out on tour.
22-year-old Tori Kelly launched her musical career on YouTube in 2006, where her popular covers like Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" and Justin Timberlake's "Suit and Tie" have been viewed millions of times.
"I always wanted to make sure people knew me as an artist first. I remember consciously thinking, ‘Okay, I’m gonna post this cover right now, and then immediately after, I’m gonna give people this original that I just wrote,'" Kelly told Vibe of her YouTube origins. "I always wanted to keep that balance just to make sure that people knew that I was a songwriter too."
Her plan seems to be working. This year, Kelly released her album "Unbeakable Smile," which included hits like "Nobody Love." She was also nominated for the "Best New Artist" Grammy award in 2015.
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