- 6/22/2024
Curious as to what these viral stars are up to? We've got you covered. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be checking in on the most memorable viral sensations of years past and looking at what they’ve been up to recently.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be checking in on the most memorable
00:10viral sensations of years past and looking at what they've been up to recently.
00:14Oh gosh, I was in a Super Bowl commercial opened by Beyonce,
00:17I've been on Jimmy Kimmel, America's Got Talent, Tosh.0
00:22Number 20. Silento
00:24I already know what it is!
00:26In 2015, this fresh-faced 17-year-old rapper burst onto the music scene
00:32with his viral debut single, Watch Me Whip Nay Nay. The catchy tune,
00:36accompanied by its own dance craze, sparked a huge online campaign,
00:40which helped propel it to the number three spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
00:45But just as quickly as he rose to fame,
00:47Silento disappeared from the public eye once the song's popularity waned.
00:52Unfortunately, the next time the rapper made headlines, it wasn't for a good reason.
00:57In 2021, Silento was arrested and charged with multiple criminal offenses,
01:02including felony murder, related to the death of his cousin.
01:06He has remained in jail ever since, awaiting trial.
01:09New tonight, an Atlanta rapper who rose to fame with a one-hit wonder
01:13is now charged with murdering his cousin.
01:15Number 19. Russell Horning, also known as Backpack Kid.
01:19What motivated you and your mom to sue Fortnite?
01:23It's pretty hard to upstage an artist during their own performance,
01:27but that's exactly what Russell Horning did. In May 2017,
01:31Horning joined Katy Perry on stage for her single Swish Swish on Saturday Night Live,
01:37and showcased his signature dance move, the floss.
01:40This clip shot him to internet fame practically overnight,
01:44and earned him the nickname Backpack Kid.
01:46Horning quickly gained a large following on social media
01:49and capitalized on his newfound fame to launch his music career.
01:53In 2018, his mother sued Epic Games on his behalf
01:57for featuring the floss in their video game Fortnite,
02:00though this lawsuit was later dismissed.
02:03Horning currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia,
02:05where he continues to create content for his YouTube channel.
02:08Number 18. Professor Robert Kelly and his family.
02:19So to mark this moment, guess what Professor Kelly did?
02:21He decided he was going to share some pictures of his beautiful family.
02:26As a parent, navigating the challenges of working from home with kids can be quite tricky.
02:31Even before the pandemic, Professor Robert Kelly,
02:34an American political analyst living in South Korea,
02:37found himself thrust into the spotlight due to this complex situation.
02:41In 2017, Kelly was being interviewed live on BBC News
02:46when his kids casually strolled into his home office,
02:49before being hilariously dragged out by his wife.
02:52The viral moment captured the hearts of many and drew millions of views online.
02:57By all indications, Kelly still lives and works in South Korea with his family,
03:02and has now fully embraced the BBC Dad moniker.
03:06He has also been kind enough to share yearly updates on his kids' appearances.
03:15Number 17. Michael Senatore.
03:18And this year there's one high school senior named Mike Senatore,
03:21whose talent show performance is currently owning the internet.
03:25Sometimes, it's the most random things that can completely turn your life around.
03:29For Michael Senatore, a student at Artie Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina,
03:34it was the simple act of flipping a water bottle.
03:37In 2016, Senatore performed this at his high school talent show
03:42to wild cheers from the audience, and the clip broke the internet.
03:46Soon, everyone was attempting the feat,
03:48including Stephen Colbert, who featured Senatore on his late night show.
03:52Since then, Senatore has given a TEDx talk and graduated from the University of South Carolina,
03:58reportedly with a business degree.
04:00It's unclear what exactly he's been up to,
04:03as he prefers to maintain a private presence on social media.
04:07All I did was toss a water bottle on the table.
04:09What's so special about that?
04:11Apparently a lot.
04:13Number 16. Danielle Bregoli, also known as Bad Baby.
04:20Catch me outside, how about that?
04:22Catch you outside? What does that mean?
04:25Ever wondered how far 15 minutes of fame can take you?
04:28Just ask Danielle Bregoli.
04:30Bregoli became an internet sensation in 2016 after appearing on Dr. Phil,
04:36where she famously coined her catchphrase.
04:38Leveraging on this, Bregoli adopted the stage name Bad Baby
04:42and released her debut single, These Hoes, in 2017.
04:46Surprisingly, it reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100,
04:50making her the youngest female rapper to debut on the chart.
04:54Her subsequent singles saw similar success,
04:56leading to a Billboard Music Award nomination
04:59alongside heavyweights like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B.
05:02Expanding her empire, Bregoli ventured into reality TV,
05:06started a lucrative OnlyFans account,
05:09and launched her own record label, Bad Music.
05:12Congratulations, a Billboard Music Award nominee.
05:15Thank you.
05:16How exciting is that?
05:17It's so exciting.
05:18Number 15. Alexei Vayner.
05:21To be successful, you must first know exactly what you want to achieve.
05:27Most of us send in job applications with a simple resume and cover letter.
05:31But Alexei Vayner was not like most of us.
05:33In 2006, while studying at Yale, Vayner applied for a summer job at a bank.
05:39Along with the necessary documents, he included one unusual addition — a seven-minute video.
05:44This video showed him offering advice on success,
05:47interspliced with footage of him lifting weights, skiing, playing tennis,
05:52dancing, and even karate chopping bricks.
05:54It was shared online and was widely ridiculed.
05:58Despite not landing the job he applied for,
06:00Vayner went on to graduate from college, get married, and start multiple businesses.
06:05Tragically, in January 2013,
06:08he passed away reportedly due to a heart attack caused by a drug overdose.
06:13Number 14. Judson Lightly.
06:16Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for our next keynote speaker, Mr. Judson Lightly.
06:19You might not recognize the name Judson Lightly,
06:22but you definitely recognize his sick moves.
06:25Dressed in a simple orange shirt and bootcut jeans,
06:28Lightly compressed an entire century's worth of dance moves into his six-minute
06:33Evolution of Dance video. It became an unexpected hit,
06:36and even once reigned as the most viewed video on YouTube.
06:40As a public speaker already, this sudden fame served as invaluable promotion for his business.
06:45Despite his newfound popularity, Lightly remained dedicated to his speaking engagements,
06:50occasionally releasing follow-ups to the original Evolution of Dance video.
06:54These days, he blends comedy with his speeches,
06:57always striving to both, quote, entertain and educate his audience.
07:01I was very fortunate. I got to go on some television shows, got to go on a few different
07:04shows, got to go on Ellen, Good Morning America, got to go on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
07:08Fantastic, amazing experience.
07:10Number 13. Tori Locklear.
07:13When our first guest posted a hair tutorial video on YouTube,
07:16it received more than 12 million views in just five days.
07:20It was a simple hair tutorial gone wrong that the internet just never got enough of.
07:24Back in 2013, 13-year-old Tori Locklear decided to give her YouTube audience some hairstyling tips.
07:30While using a hot curling iron, she accidentally burnt off a chunk of her hair.
07:35The reaction on her face was priceless.
07:37Locklear's video blew up, amassing millions of views in a short period,
07:42largely due to good old schadenfreude.
07:44She, however, made the most of it, appearing on Ellen and briefly collaborating with Pantene.
07:49Locklear has since taken her lingering stardom over to TikTok,
07:52where she still makes videos for her more than 200,000 followers.
07:56But it's safe to say her hair tutorial days are now behind her.
08:04Number 12. Mark Allen Hicks.
08:06The guy that did the backflip and knocked himself stupid with the hair.
08:12Stuntman Mark Allen Hicks experienced what many would consider a nightmare.
08:16The most embarrassing moment of his career went viral.
08:19It happened during a 2004 audition for a LeBron James Nike commercial.
08:24As Hicks attempted a backflip on camera, he fell flat on his face.
08:28He then tried to recover, but only intensified the embarrassment.
08:32The clip was posted online without Hicks' knowledge,
08:34earning him the nickname Afro Ninja.
08:37Although he actually landed the commercial role,
08:39Hicks was concerned about the video's impact on his career.
08:43Over time, he embraced it, even producing a feature-length movie titled Afro Ninja Destiny.
08:48Despite his initial misgivings, Hicks still thrives as a Hollywood stuntman,
08:53boasting credits in major films like Avengers Endgame, Watchmen, and The Suicide Squad.
08:59Is this thing a dog?
09:01A dog?
09:02Yes.
09:02What? What kind of dog do you think it is, mate?
09:05Number 11.
09:06Candice Payne, also known as Chewbacca Mask Lady.
09:09And so here's what I got. I'm gonna take it out of the box.
09:12And I can't wait to show you!
09:14If yearly awards were handed for people who won Facebook,
09:17the Chewbacca Mask Lady would have taken it in 2016.
09:2037-year-old Candice Payne filmed herself bursting into laughter in her car
09:25over the sound effects of the Chewbacca mask.
09:27What started as a random video to share with her Facebook friends
09:31became an instant sensation, accruing over 140 million views within days.
09:36This led to Payne making appearances on various talk shows,
09:39as well as receiving $400,000 in scholarships from a university in Florida.
09:44Payne went on to host a set of TLC web series and authored a book titled Laugh It Up in 2017.
09:50Today, she's a motivational speaker and podcast host who still makes videos in her car.
09:56What you say, friend? You gonna join me? We're gonna laugh it up together? I hope you will.
10:01Number 10. Mason Ramsey.
10:03Don't get me wrong, it's pretty cool to be on TV.
10:07Mason Ramsey exploded onto the music scene after he was filmed
10:10yodeling Hank Williams' lovesick blues at a Walmart in March 2018.
10:15Made in a small corner of Illinois, the video propelled Ramsey into the national spotlight.
10:20Within days, millions had watched the clip, reigniting interest in Williams' music
10:25and launching Ramsey's career.
10:27The following month, he was signed by Atlantic Records,
10:31under which he released his debut EP, Famous.
10:34In 2019, Ramsey released another EP, lent his voice to The Angry Birds Movie 2,
10:40and featured on one of the 653 remixes of Lil Nas X's Old Town Road.
10:45After taking a four-year hiatus, Ramsey returned with a third EP in 2023 titled
10:51Falls Into Place, which aptly summarizes his journey.
10:55You were never really mine.
10:59Number 9. Sweet Brown.
11:01Kimberly Wilkins, or Sweet Brown as she's more famously known,
11:04coined one of the most iconic catchphrases ever.
11:07And then the smoke got me, I got bronchitis. Ain't nobody got time for that.
11:13After her apartment complex caught fire in 2012,
11:16Brown was interviewed by Oklahoma's KFOR-TV,
11:19during which she vividly described the incident ending with the now famous line.
11:24This interview made Brown an overnight sensation.
11:27She appeared on The View, had a cameo in Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas,
11:31and starred in a few local commercials.
11:34But while her life changed drastically as a result,
11:37in a lot of ways it still remained the same.
11:39Brown seems to have retreated back to her regular life,
11:42and apparently still resides in the Oklahoma apartment complex
11:45that first brought her to the public eye.
11:48Then I ran out, I didn't grab no shoes or nothing, Jesus.
11:51Number 8. Harry and Charlie Davies' Car.
11:54Also known as Charlie Bit My Finger.
11:57Harry and Charlie are the stars of the viral phenomenon, Charlie Bit My Finger.
12:02Uploaded in May 2007, it quickly made the rounds,
12:05and was once the most viewed video on YouTube, though it has since been surpassed.
12:10The family reportedly made around £100,000 in advertisement revenue,
12:15and bought a new house with the money.
12:17But they have also kept their privacy.
12:19The boy's parents have declined talk show appearances on numerous occasions,
12:23and in a 2015 CBBC catch-up story,
12:27Charlie admitted that he found it a bit odd that the video became so popular.
12:31Can you recognize these two?
12:36Charlie bit me.
12:37In 2021, it was auctioned off as an NFT and sold for over $700,000.
12:44That sure must have made it a little less odd for Charlie.
12:47Tell us what the auction was like.
12:49Were you guys at home when this happened?
12:50Did you have to go to some sort of a house to do this?
12:52What was that process like?
12:53$760,000? Seriously?
12:55Number 7. Caitlin Upton.
12:58I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so,
13:03because some people out there in our nation don't have maps,
13:09and I believe that our education, such as in South Africa...
13:14Poor Caitlin Upton.
13:15Miss South Carolina took part in the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant in 2007,
13:20and like in most beauty pageants, she was asked a question by one of the judges.
13:25Her rambling, nonsensical answer quickly went viral
13:28and made Upton the laughingstock of the internet.
13:31But rather than retreat from the limelight, she soldiered on.
13:34After the debacle, Upton began modeling work in advertisements,
13:38and was signed to Donald Trump's modeling agency.
13:41She then placed third in The Amazing Race 16 with her former boyfriend, Brent Horn.
13:46Today, Upton works as a real estate agent based out of Brentwood, Los Angeles.
13:51She is currently married with two children.
13:55I love you!
13:56Number 6. Gary Brolsma.
14:05Gary Brolsma went viral before YouTube even existed.
14:09His claim to fame stemmed from a video he posted on the website Newgrounds in December 2004,
14:15showing him dancing energetically to Ozone's Dragosta Dente.
14:19By November 2006, the Numa Numa dance video had been viewed more than 700 million times.
14:24Like many others on this list, Brolsma made appearances on talk shows,
14:28but he struggled to navigate his newfound fame.
14:31He disappeared from the public eye for some time,
14:34only to re-emerge in 2014 for the Numa Numa 10-Year Reunion video.
14:39Today, Brolsma runs his own YouTube channel where he shares original music.
14:43In 2023, he delighted fans with a new version of the viral video.
14:55Number 5. Ghislaine Raza, also known as Star Wars Kid.
14:59Star Wars Kid is like the forerunner to all subsequent viral videos.
15:09In the video, dated from 2002, 15-year-old Ghislaine Raza
15:14wields a golf ball retriever like a lightsaber and completes some totally wicked moves.
15:19The video went viral and even made its way into pop culture,
15:23as spoofs appeared on Arrested Development and American Dad, among many other shows.
15:28Raza was viciously harassed both online and in person for the video,
15:32and he was forced to leave school as a result.
15:35However, Raza would later become a legal graduate from McGill University
15:39and president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivières Heritage Society.
15:43In 2022, he was the subject of a documentary,
15:46which saw him confront one of the first people who uploaded the video online.
15:51Number 4. Tay Zonday, also known as Chocolate Rain Guy.
15:59I move away from the mic to breathe in.
16:02When those nine words flashed across the screen,
16:04we all knew that we were watching a modern-day masterpiece of a viral video.
16:09In April of 2007, Tay Zonday, whose real name is Adam Nireri Bonner,
16:14released Chocolate Rain, a bizarre song about racism,
16:18a combination of Zonday's deep voice, the peculiar lyrics,
16:22and the unintentional hilarity of the video itself made it a sensation,
16:26and Zonday was suddenly making headlines in mainstream publications
16:30and touring the talk show circuit.
16:32How the hell you look the exact same?
16:36Zonday is currently running his YouTube channel, doing voiceover work,
16:39and appearing in various television shows and movies,
16:42including The Jack and Triumph Show.
16:46Oh yeah.
16:47Number 3. Antoine Dodson.
16:50He's climbing in your windows, he's snatching your people up,
16:53trying to rape them, so y'all need to hide your kids, hide your wife.
16:57Dodson became a viral sensation in July 2010,
17:00following an interview on a local news channel,
17:02after an intruder broke into his home and attempted to sexually assault his sister.
17:06Despite the serious subject matter, Dodson's flamboyant attitude,
17:10warnings to neighbors, and threats against the perpetrator
17:13were considered funny by a lot of people.
17:16Dodson made money through a remix of his interview called the Bed Intruder Song,
17:20and capitalized on merchandising.
17:28He has since gotten married and welcomed a son with his wife.
17:31In 2022, Dodson announced he was working on his own beer brand called Run and Tell That.
17:37Number 2. Rebecca Black.
17:39Does Rebecca Black even need an introduction?
17:41In case you were living under a rock in the 2010s,
17:44Rebecca Black was the famous artist responsible for the viral hit Friday.
17:56Friday was insanely popular, mostly due to its low quality,
18:00and Black quickly found herself ridiculed from all corners of the internet.
18:05Since that time, she has maintained a YouTube channel,
18:08which includes vlogs and covers of popular songs,
18:11and has consistently released new music.
18:14She released a sequel to Friday, appropriately titled Saturday,
18:23which charted on the Billboard Hot 100,
18:25and released her debut EP titled R.E.B.L. in September of 2017.
18:31Black seems to have redeemed herself, however,
18:33as her 2023 debut album Let Her Burn was released to generally positive reviews.
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18:59Number 1. Cara Cunningham.
19:01Cara Cunningham became a media sensation after posting the video Leave Britney Alone,
19:06in which she defends Britney Spears' performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
19:12Some people loved the passion, others thought it was melodramatic and selfish,
19:16as Cunningham seemed to be using Spears' personal troubles to get famous.
19:22Either way, she became an internet star overnight.
19:25Since that time, Cunningham made the news again in 2021 after the documentary Framing Britney
19:31Spears reignited discussions about the media's treatment of Spears. That same year,
19:36she came out as transgender, officially changing her first name to Cara.
19:40Have you ever gone viral? How would you handle your 15 minutes of fame? Let us know in the comments.
19:46"'Hung' went back, got his MBA in mathematics,
19:49and signed on as a crime analyst for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department."
19:53Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
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