My Favorite Things of 2014 – Youtube

With Youtube becoming so popular in today’s media and being a Youtuber myself, I had to have a list showcasing the best of Youtube for 2014. From huge productions companies to a person sitting in front a computer weekly, it’s hard to narrow down a list of my favorite Youtube channels with so many out there. Every channel is so vastly different, it’s impossible to rate one higher than the other. I made my decision on the entertainment value of their videos, which channels I frequently visited throughout the year, and the dedication of the personality to make their channel go above and beyond the standards on Youtube. These solo, duo/collaboration, and vlogging channels not only produce creative content, but stand out as innovators to go where no other channel has gone before.

Best Solo Channel

1. Lilly Singh (Superwoman)
2. Mamrie Hart (YDAD & Mametown)
3. Hannah Hart (Harto & My Drunk Kitchen)
4. Grace Helbig (it’s Grace)
5. Jenna Mourey (Jenna Marbles)
6. Chris Thompson (SupDaily06)
7. Tre Melvin (ThisIsACommentary)
8. Courtney Act (Courtney Act Chronicles)
9. Todrick Hall
10. Cameron Elder (TheCamCamera)
11. Joe Sugg (ThatcherJoe)
12. Tyler Oakley

Best Duo/Collab Channel

1. Prank vs Prank
2. O2L
3. Lucas & Jenny
4. Shep689
5. Smosh Games
6. Buzzfeed Video
7. Wow Presents
8. Fine Bros.
9. Superfruit
10. LushLaws

Best Vlogging Channel

1. Grace Helbig
2. Louis Cole (Fun For Louis)
3. Pointless Blog
4. JoshuaDTV
5. Rachel Ballinger
6. Neil McNeil
7. Shep689
8. BF vs GF
9. Lushlaws
10. Courtney Act

Best Series 

1. Auguest – Tyler Oakley
2. #HeyUSA – Astronuats Wanted, Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart
3. Not Too Deep w/ Grace Helbig – Grace Helbig
4. You Deserve a Drink – Mamrie Hart
5. My Drunk Kitchen – Hannah Hart
6. Pop Star High – Todrick Hall
7. The Try Guys – Buzzfeed Video
8. Creepy Guy – Buzzfeed Video
9. Courtney Chronicles – Courtney Act
10. Bad Gays Club – Shep689, TheNotAdam, RyannMinajj, Kingsley, MilesJaiProductions, GayGod, Nickalaws, wickydkewl

With the millions of videos on Youtube every year, even daily, it was hard to narrow down my list. I’m sure there are many great videos this year that I have missed. I tried to collect a playlist of videos that reflected the best of my favorite Youtube personalities from the past year in solo videos, collaborations, and music videos. I looked for videos that were unique, creative, and either entertained or told a story with a strong message. These videos set out to change the minds and views of the public or to make you laugh and smile. This year, Youtubers tackled issues including sexual harassment, rape, gay marriage, LGBT issues, race, and gender issues. They also collaborated to create incredible music videos and hilarious skits that rivaled the entertainment shown on other media. These are, in my opinion, my favorite videos of 2014.

Best Solo Video

1. Is being GAY a CHOICE? – SupDaily06
2. No more silence…- SupDaily06
3. Dear Youtube Creators – SupDaily06
4. Coming Out – Connor Franta
5. Life Doesn’t Wait – Connor Franta
6. My 200^th Video- Jenna Marbles
7. Surprising a Gay Texas Mormon! – wickydkewl
8. Kermit Goes to Therapy – This Is a Commentary 
9. How to Cope With A Broken Heart – This Is a Commentary 
10. The Family Reunion – This Is a Commentary 
11. The Job Interview – This Is a Commentary 
12. Christmas Dinner at Grandma Brown’s – This Is a Commentary 
13. #BlackLivesMatter – This Is a Commentary 
14. Ultimate Roommate Revenge Pranks – ThatcherJoe
15. The New Me – Marcus Butler
16. FAN FICTION – Superfruit
17. If Straight People had to Come Out – Buzzfeed Video
18. If Men Were Women On Halloween – Buzzfeed Video
19. The Try Guys Try Drag For the First Time – Buzzfeed Video

Best Collaboration

1. If My Brain Were a Person – Superwoman feat. Connor Franta
2. The Girl Code – Superwoman feat. Grace Helbig, Harto, Jenna Marbles, Mamrie Hart, and Miranda Sings
3. Youtube vs Vine – Superwoman feat. King Bach, DeStorm, Logan Paul, Timothy DeLaGhetto, and D-Trix
4. 7 Second Challenge with Marcus Butler – Troye Sivan feat. Marcus Butler
5. Tyler Oakley Interviews Michelle Obama – Tyler Oakley
6. Getting Intimate with Darren Criss – Tyler Oakley
7. Muscle Milk Challenge – Mamrie Hart feat. Miranda Sings and Flula
8. Best Fwen Day – Mamrie Hart feat. Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart
9. My Drunk Pumpkin 2014 – Hannah Hart feat. Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart
10. My Drunk Kitchen Sea Bass – Hannah Hart 
11. #Tunesday – Hannah Hart feat. Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart
12. Youtube Whispers 3 – ThatcherJoe feat. Tyler Oakley, Troye Sivan, Connor Franta, and SprinkleofGlitter
13. Stories of Consent – Dealing with Sexual Abuse – Neil McNeil feat. ArielleIsHamming, SupDaily06, and PatDoesIt
14. Seven Second Challenge- Rachel Ballinger feat. PyschoSoprano and  JoshuaDTV
15. Gay Couples React to Anti-Gay Marriage Ads – Michael Rizzi feat. Shep689, TheNotAdam, VaillancourtSquared, and SoundlyAwake
16. LGBT Youtubers React “How not to react when your child tells you he’s gay video” TrentAndLuke feat. TheDiaryofJake, Ashley Mardell, ArielleIsHamming, Jelly and Day, and Jakes Sake
17. Youtubers React to Youtube Comments System– Fine Bros.
18. Youtubers React to Babymetal – Fine Bros.
19. Dating a Vlogger?! (Last Moments of Relationships #13) – Fine Bros. feat. Grace Helbig and Shane Dawson 
20. Jinkx, Alaska, and Jackie Beat – Courtney Talks – Courtney Act

Best Music Videos 

1. aca-DISNEY – Voice Play and Disney on Broadway
2. #LEH – Superwoman and Humble the Poet
3. If Youtube Were Bollywood – Superwoman feat. Various Youtubers
4. Happy Little Pill – Troye Sivan
5. Runnin – JoshuaDTV and Gabrielle Taryn
6. American Apparel Ad Girls – Alaska 5000, Courtney Act, Willam
7. Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man – Alaska 5000, Courtney Act, Willam
8. To Russia With Love – Courtney Act
9. If Things Were Opposite – theDOMINICshow
10. Quest Crew Presents The Hospital – theDOMINICshow
11. Bitch Perfect –Todrick Hall
12. Freak Like Me – Todrick Hall
13. 7/11 – Superfruit
14. Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Superfruit
15. BEYONCE – Superfruit
16. After Ever After – Paint
17. Boy Band Parody – Peter Hollens feat. Paint
18. Wicked Medley – Peter Hollens feat. Nick Pitera
19. Whistle While I Work It – Chester See feat. Toby Turner and Wayne Brady
20. Frozen A Musical feat. Disney Princesses – AVbyte
21. One Republic – Counting Stars feat. Disney Villains – Oh My Disney
22. Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy – Pentatonix feat. Tori Kelly
23. Papaoutai – Pentatonix ft. Lindsey Stirling
24. Love Again – Pentatonix

Why Youtube?

I’ve had many people (and by many, I mean everyone) ask me  why I’m so obsessed with Youtube.

Well friends,  you are about to get the explanation you are looking for:

I started out like anyone else: watching music videos on Vevo. Around middle school, I found a little channel called Fred. I started watching these short videos about a fictional child with ADHD and his crazy adventures. I didn’t know what a “Youtuber” was or that this was a “webseries”, I just enjoyed watching this guy named Lucas make these hilarious videos every week.

While watching Fred, I scrolled through the “Suggestions” on the right side of the video and saw this guy named Joey Graceffa. Joey daily vlogged, meaning he recorded his life every single day. I thought, who watches this? Then I saw he had millions of views. It was amazing to think of millions of people tuned in everyday to watch someone drive to Starbucks and the gym. But it was more than that. Joey would give advice to his viewers. Many people connected with the same issues he was going through, whether it be anxiety or family issues. Joey Graceffa became the first Youtuber I consistently watched, and slowly I found more people like him through his channel. I thought to myself, this is great but I could never do this. Who would want to watch me on their computer screen every week? So I continued, as a viewer.

Fred aka Lucas Cruikshank

Last year, I saw the that music video for Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop was up on Youtube. After seeing various reaction videos to it, I decided I would record my reaction to the video on my phone. Thought the quality was the equivalent to filming through a potato, I uploaded my very first video on Youtube and set up a channel. I woke up the next morning with comments and over a 100 views. Now, that is NOTHING compared to other channels, but still, people were watching. So I decided to continue making video off and on throughout the next school year. Recently this summer, I had an internship in Connecticut. While it’s a beautiful place, there isn’t much to do out in the country. I decided to make videos twice a week, from music videos to responses to current events. Now my channel has never “blown up”, I don’t make any money (65 cents so far), but it gave me something to do over the summer. When you live out in the country for two months, that’s all you can ask for.

Joey Graceffa

Now to the question, why is the world obsessed with this site? We live in a age where the internet is taking over the media. More teens are getting their news on Twitter than from cable television. Variety even did an article recently over “Youtube celebrities” showing that teen’s favorite stars are coming from Youtube and Vine than music and film. The Teen Choice Awards just had an entire category devoted to Youtube this year, and for the first time included an Internet based award on its broadcast. I went to Digifest this year in New York City, (a tour set up across the country for internet stars, think of Lollapolloza for the internet) and was amazed at the masses of people there. Companies like Hulu and Amazon are paying Youtubers to advertise their brands and products in their videos because it reaches young audiences, a coveted market for future customers.

Grace Helbig (itsgrace)

Many may criticize the millennial generation of tweeters and vloggers. Our generation is not becoming out of sync with the world, we are just accessing information in a different way. Youtubers don’t just throw out corporate sponsored videos every week to suck money out of their fellow youth. They are aspiring actors, comedians, and writers, using Youtube to express their creativity and make a name for themselves. They are being hired as tv hosts, red carpet interviewers, actors, and making book deals. Justine Ezarik (iJustine) has been on E! News several times as an anchor and now Grace Helbig (itsgrace) is shooting her own talk show to possibly replace comedian Chelsea Handler’s late night slot. Like it or not, Youtubers are here to stay.

iJustine

Teens and young adults are connecting to Youtubers because they are real people. Though we only see five to ten minutes of their lives every week, they talk about real problems going on in their lives and ours. They discuss race, religion, LGBT issues, anxiety, and depression. Someone has to talk about these issues, and why not people our own age relating their own experiences? No matter how many subscribers, they are just young adults with a camera and computer creating fun and thought invoking content. Youtube and social media are defining a generation, where entertainment is just a click away.