Luck, laughs, and lip-sync: The road to Internet superstardom

Gone are the days when celebrities were just products of television or the movies. In recent years, the Internet has paved the way for some of today's most popular personalities. Probably the most popular example of an Internet-born star is pop artist Justin Bieber, who was discovered by a talent manager through his YouTube videos in 2008. Four years later, “The Biebs” has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and has received numerous awards for his songs and music videos. The Philippines has its own version of Internet royalties. GMA program “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” featured the online dance boyband Chicser, a group of six young boys who have teens fawning over their good looks. The group Chicser, however, didn't reach superstardom status just because of their looks. According to the boys, their fanbase started to grow after they uploaded a video of them dancing to “Teach me how to Dougie” during the song’s heyday. For Chicser, their rise to Internet stardom was a mix of the right song at the right time. But how does one become a YouTube hit? Here are some tips from other Pinoy Internet superstars. 1. Mikey Bustos - Tell the truth but be funny The Fil-Canadian first stepped into the limelight when he bagged seventh place in the first season of Canadian Idol. But Mikey became an Internet sensation after he uploaded his “Filipino Accent Tutorial” on YouTube. In it, he teaches his viewers how to pronounce words the Filipino way — that is no f, v, and th sound. He also used a funny mix of Ybanag and American accent in the video, one that had most people laughing out loud. While some thought Bustos' video was hilarious, some did not appreciate the way he generalized Filipinos and mocked the way Pinoys speak. A number of commenters called him racist, while some thought he was just plain rude. Bustos explained in an interview, however, that he was just channeling the Pinoy in him. He added that he used to speak that way, and that he had to learn how to speak with the Toronto accent so his classmates in Canada won’t make fun of him. Clearly, the haters didn’t get to Bustos. He is now a brand endorser and a mainstay of the hit gag show “Bubble Gang.” In an interview with GMA news anchor Howie Severino, Mikey had this to say to Internet star wannabes: “Just upload your stuff on YouTube, get seen, do your thing. Eventually, people will discover you. You just have to be patient.” 2. Zendee - Get by with a little help from your friends (or strangers!) Zendee had no idea her life was going to change after YouTube user Yuan Juan uploaded a video of her singing in a mall. The video went viral, and soon after, people wanted to know who the “random girl” in the video was. Zendee calls herself an amateurista because in the past, she has joined several amateur singing contests in her hometown. She also once joined a nationwide singing contest in Manila, but she unfortunately got booted out after the second round of audition. When her story was featured in the GMA program “Magpakailanman,” she said that the success she now enjoys is partly because of Yuan. “Malaki po talaga ‘yung utang na loob ko sa kanya kasi kung hindi naman po sa kanya, wala po ako dito ngayon,” she said. Zendee is now set to release her debut album. She also has a regular stint in the Sunday variety show “Party Pilipinas.” But her biggest achievement to date is being featured in the US TV show “Ellen.” The YouTube star has only one thing to say about reaching your dreams: “Basta po magsumikap lang, wala naman pong imposible.” 3. Moymoy Palaboy - Work in pairs James and Rodfil Obeso, more popularly known as the comic duo Moymoy Palaboy, started out their careers separately. Rodfil used to work in a telecom company as a sales representative, while James tried his luck by joining a nationwide singing competition, which he failed to qualify for. In 2007, they worked together and started their YouTube channel moymoypalaboy. Although they can both sing, they preferred to upload videos of themselves lip synching to popular songs. They did this because they thought it was more unique and would get them more subscribers — and they were right! In 2008, their videos garnered over five million views and their YouTube channel has over 130,000 subscribers. The two have since become “Bubble Gang” mainstays and contract artists of GMA Artist Center. They also commercially released their first song “Kapit,” the official soundtrack of the animated motion picture “Dayo.” — Mia Enriquez, CM/GMA News