Why Jamich has over 80,000 YouTube followers

Jamvhille Sebastian and Michelle Liggayu—more popularly known as Jamich—have joined the ranks of YouTube sensations like Mikey Bustos, Petra Mahalimuyak, and Clara Chung as artists who have transcended the Internet medium to gain fame, or a semblance of it, in real life
 
The pair debuted on YouTube in June 2011 with their first video, “By Chance,” an autobiographical love story inspired by the video “Strangers Again” by fellow YouTube stars, Wongfu Productions.

 
The video is mawkish to say the least, complete with kilitian scenes and lines like “fine, lumabas ka na diyan sa pintuan, at hindi na rin kita pagbubuksan ng pintuan sa buhay ko” that are so cheesy they’re not even funny.
 
But as Jam says in the video, “wala kang pakialam kahit corny, pag in love ka, in love ka,” something that their over 80,000 followers have apparently taken to heart.
 
Case in point: On the first day of being uploaded, “By Chance” gained over 3,000 views.
 
Now it’s been a little over a year, and their shared star continues to rise: they’ve landed guest spots on national TV shows, became a Twitter trending topic, and even bagged endorsement deals.
 
Like most stars who found fame on the internet, Jamich wasn’t prepared for the kind of response they would receive.
 
“We didn't expect at all that we will capture the hearts of many through our videos,” Jamich told GMA News Online through email.
 
“We shot 'By Chance' last year. May 2011. We love the art of film making and since it's our anniversary, we made the short film as our anniversary gift to each other since we love to act together,” the couple shared.
 
In a matter of days, their little anniversary celebration went viral, leaving the couple bewildered, but ultimately, happy. “A wonderful surprise,” they called it.
 
Their critics are baffled as well—why, they ask, is this couple and their videos so incredibly popular when better love stories have been told, and in more inventive ways besides?
 
But that is perhaps where Jamich’s appeal lies—in the ordinariness of their relationship and the banal way it is shared. Jamich becomes relatable, but more importantly, accessible.
 
"They can relate to the same experiences we are going through. Be it our relationship with our family, our relationship as a couple, the journey that is life, in general," the pair said.
 
It’s like Marvin+Jolens, but one better, because Jam and Michelle tell their love stories in the same unabashedly mushy way, except that they aren’t famous movie stars. As far as their fans know, they’re just like everyone else on the internet—except that they have more followers and are now probably richer than the average netizen.
 
People like open doors and open books, and Jamich, as it happens, is both. With “By Chance,” they’ve willingly invited people into their relationship, and continue to do so even as they gain more leverage in the showbiz world.
 
They treat their fans like their barkada, responding faithfully on social media and even hosting real life “outings.” They regularly share what they do on dates (and it doesn’t hurt that they do incredibly normal things like eat street isaw).
 
At the 2012 Globe Tatt Awards, they took home a trophy, but shamelessly fancoupled over all the stars they saw.
 
Ultimately, it’s this effortlessly down-to-earth sensibility, this incredible care for their fanbase that keeps people glued to their YouTube channel.
 
According to the couple: “we're very blessed to have our loyal followers [and] viewers who love what we do.  And as long as they're there to watch our videos, we will continue to do them and promise to do better every time.” — KG/ELR, GMA News