KevJumba
Template:Infobox Internet celebrity
Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990)[1] is an American-based comedian and YouTube celebrity who is best known by his YouTube username of KevJumba. He was YouTube's number one subscribed comedian and third most subscribed user overall on June 5, 2008. The San Francisco Chronicle's Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a conventional comedian but that by "just talking (he) is, well, pretty hilarious" due to his deadpan vocal delivery, animated facial expressions and tendency toward unexpected digressions.[2] Wu previously appeared on The CW Television Network's shortlived Online Nation and is currently co-starring with Jessica Lee Rose and Phil DeFranco in Hooking Up from HBOLabs (the online arm of HBO).[3]
YouTube videos
Kevin Wu was inspired to put comedy videos on YouTube by the stand-up performances of Dave Chapelle. He chose the YouTube username KevJumba because his friend used MattJumba as a screename, and he thought it was funny. Wu chose YouTube because of his lack of resources and an audience. When Wu's "I Have to Deal With Stereotypes" video was featured, his number of viewers began to increase.[4] In this video, Wu says that the three stereotypes he must deal with as an Asian are that he is "cheap", a "nerd", and has "no social life". He tries to prove that he is no cheap by stating that he recently bought a "brand new, top of the line, TI-84 calculator". He acknowledges that his might make him nerdy but dismisses this stereotype because he does not "make all A's...in school today (he) made a B+". He goes on to say he can prove he has a social life because his cell phone rings all the time. At this point, his phone rings, he answers it, and the voice on the other end says, "Hey, why did you tell me to call you?"[5]
Jeff Yang of the San Francisco Chronicle describes Wu as perhaps the most interesting elite YouTube personality, going from obscurity to YouTube's most subscribed comedian in a few months (when a user subscribes to another user's channel, YouTube puts the subscribees videos in the subscriber's subscription center and puts the subscribee's most recent video on the subscriber's homepage).[2][6] According to Yang, Wu's videos are not strictly comedy, consisting mostly of "stuff that Kevin finds interesting, weird or irritating." Yang describes Wu's videos as "mesmerizing", although he has difficulty pinpointing why. Yang ultimately feels it is due to Wu's self-confidence, singling out the video "I Need Help With the Females" and its self-deprecating humor and relaxed delivery.[2] In "I Need Help with the Females", Wu descbribes how males will sometimes ask him for dating advice, which he is unable to provide because females are like "another species" that he does not understand.[7]
As of November 1, 2008, Wu had more than 330,000 subscribers and more than 10,400,000 views of his channel.[8] On February 26, 2008 the Los Angeles Times compared the web series quarterlife's viewership to Wu's. At the time Wu was a "semi-well known YouTube blogger" and had received 450,000 views for a video describing how he broke his shin. quarterlife, which had been picked up by NBC, had received only 100,000 views on MySpace and 50,000 views on YouTube.[9]
By May 29, 2008, Wu had become one of three Asians under the age of 21 to be in the top five of YouTube's all-time most subscribed users with 187,000 subscribers and more than 5.9 million views.[10] By June 5, 2008 he had become the number one subscribed comedian on YouTube, and third most subscribed uploader overall.[2] Wu's videos have received replies from Jessica Alba and Baron Davis.[11] In 2008, Davis created a "longest stare" contest for ibeatyou.com, a site that he and Alba's husband Cash Warren co-founded. The contest began with Davis challenging Wu, who then challenged Alba.[12][13][14]
Other work
In 2007, Kevin Wu appeared on the The CW Television Network's shortlived Online Nation.[15] Online Nation compiled an hour of web clips, broadcast them in primetime, and lasted four episodes.[16] Wu, along with other popular YouTube personalities, is also paid to broadcast a streaming show on BlogTV.[17] He has been a member of BlogTV since March 29, 2008 and as of November 2, 2008 he had produced 70 live and 23 recorded shows, with over 300,000 viewers of the live show and 100,000 viewers of the recorded shows.[18]
As of October 2008, Kevin Wu is co-starring with Jessica Rose and Phil DeFranco in Hooking Up from HBOLabs (the online arm of HBO), a scripted 10-episode web-based series. Hooking Up is set at a fictional university where the students spend most of their time emailing and twittering, but still manage to miscommunicate.[3] It is his first work on a scripted production.[19] Guest appearances on Hooking Up will be made by Kevin Nalty, Michael Buckley. and other internet celebrities.[20] The entire cast of Hooking Up is composed of YouTube video bloggers in the hope of attracting a young, internet knowledgeable audience.[21] By the show's second day on YouTube, it had received more than 450,000 views. According to NewTeeVee.com, an evolving consensus is that for an online video to be a hit, somewhere between 100,000 and one million views are needed, giving Hooking Up a strong start.[22] Maria Russo of the Los Angeles Times felt that Wu is better looking than star DeFranco and wondered why Wu plays the "tired role of the Asian friend who helps the white guy get the chicks,"[22] while Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian said that many web surfers had "scoffed at what they see as a cynical attempt to cash in."[23]
References
- ^ Wu, Kevin. "It's a Celebration". KevJumba.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ a b c d Yang, Jeff (June 5, 2008). "On top of YouTube: Happy Slip, Choi, KevJumba". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Wallenstein, Andrew (Sep 8, 2008). "HBO offshoot launches Web video series". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ^ Wong, Nelson. "A-Profiler: Kevjumba". AArisings. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ^ Wu, Kevin (March 08, 2007). "I Have to Deal With Stereotypes". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Getting Started: YouTube Glossary". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ Wu, Kevin (May 29, 2007). "I Need Help With the Females". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ^ "kevjumba's channel". YouTube. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "'Quarterlife's' improbable third quarter". Los Angeles Times. Feb 26 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Yang, Jeff (May 29, 2008). "Asian heritage more popular with kids today". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Mallet, Jeremy (May 21, 2008). "Five-minute fame". The California Aggie. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Jessica Alba joins stare-off on video website". News Digital Media. May 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "Jessica Alba Responds to KevJumba's Challenge on MSNBC News". MSNBC.com. May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ "Jessica Alba Competes in Online Staring Contest". People.com. May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ Grossman, Ben (5/12/2008). "Daly, MRE Team Up on Really Big Internet Show". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ de Moraes, Lisa (October 20, 2007). "CW, Fox Do the Cancellation Dance". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Carlson, Nicholas (October 22, 2008). "BlogTV's YouTube Stars Making Real Money, Company Isn't". Silicon Alley Insider. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "KevJumba Live". BlogTV. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Sirois, George H. (9/11/2008). "The UBS Evening Movie News 09.11.08". 411Mania. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Grossman, Ben (September 8, 2008). "Looking For An Online Hit, HBO Tries A Bunch Of YouTube Cewebrities". Silicon Alley Insider. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Cheng, Jacqui (September 9, 2008). "HBO tries to turn web celebs into series stars on HBOlab". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ a b Russo, Maria (Oct 3 2008). "'Hooking Up': When YouTube stars get all cleaned up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Johnson, Bobbie (October 6, 2008). "The rise and rise of the YouTube generation, and how adults can help". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-10-08.