Ray William Johnson: Difference between revisions
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{{Redirect|Equals Three|the communications agency|Equals Three Communications, Inc.}} |
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{{Infobox person |
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| name = Ray William Johnson |
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| nationality = [[United States|American]] |
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| other_names = RWJ, Ray Johnson, RayWJ |
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| occupation = [[YouTube]] comedian |
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| years_active = 2007–present |
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| known_for = [[YouTube]] videos |
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| website = [http://www.raywj.com/ raywj.com] |
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'''Ray William Johnson''' is a comedian best known for his [[YouTube]] series ''Equals Three'', in which he provides commentary on [[viral videos]].<ref name="forbesinterview"/><ref name="boise1">Gasch, David (February 7, 2011). [http://arbiteronline.com/2011/02/07/popshots-equals-three-goes-viral/ Pop!shots: ‘Equals Three’ goes viral], ''[[Boise State University|Boise State]] Arbiter''</ref> Many of the videos featured on ''Equals Three'' are noted to have received an additional boost of popularity.<ref name="spanish1">(March 4, 2011). [http://www.canal-ar.com.ar/noticias/noticiamuestra.asp?Id=10386 Lo más visto del mes en YouTube Argentina], ''Canal-AR'' (in Spanish, Argentine technology publication)</ref><ref name="czech1">Vnouček, Petr (March 5, 2001).[http://www.tyden.cz/rubriky/media/internet/nejlepsi-videa-bowling-s-kockou-a-polsky-pat-a-mat_195501.html Nejlepší videa: Bowling s kočkou a polský Pat a Mat], ''[[Týden]]'' (in Czech)</ref><ref name="coza1">Hathaway, Jay (March 2, 2011). [http://www.urlesque.com/2011/03/02/co-za-asy-youtube-comment-meme/ Co Za Asy – What Is It, and Why Is Everyone Posting It in YouTube], ''[[Urlesque]]'' (AOL) ("Superstar YouTuber Ray William Johnson")</ref><ref name="norse1">(December 12, 2010). [http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/1.7241930 Reinangrep på NRK-reporter sees av millioner på YouTube-kanal], ''[[NRK]]'' (in Norwegian) (noting rise in popularity of video about a reindeer attack due to Johnson's coverage; notes that Johnson is one of YouTube's biggest celebrities, "en av YouTubes aller største kjendiser," with over two million subscribers, with the largest comedy channel on YouTube with over 373 million views)</ref><ref name="turkish1">(May 22, 2010). [http://www.beyazgazete.com/haber/2010/05/22/turkiye-den-youtube-tan-en-populer-kisi-kim.html Türkiye'den YouTube'tan en popüler kişi kim?], ''Beyaz Gazette'' (in Turkish)</ref> As of September 2011, the ''RayWilliamJohnson'' channel is the most subscribed channel on [[YouTube]],<ref name="2nd">(January 8, 2011). [http://news.tubefilter.tv/2011/01/08/secrets-of-youtube-superstars-ces-2011-session-recap/ Secrets of YouTube Superstars: CES 2011 Session Recap], ''[[Tubefilter]]''</ref><ref name="rising">(April 12, 2010). [http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/04/12/5-youtubers-on-their-way-up/ 5 YouTubers On Their Way Up], ''[[Tubefilter]]'' (noting that Johnson had exceeded [[Universal Music Group]] in subscribers)</ref> with over 4.5 million subscribers, and over 1.2 billion video views.<ref>{{cite web|title=RayWilliamJohnson's Channel|url=http://www.youtube.com/raywilliamjohnson|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=September 5, 2011}}</ref> In February 2011, one industry publication noted that Johnson currently had six of the top twenty most watched videos of the month.<ref name="top20">Balleck, Matt (February 14, 2011). [http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=144994 Three Ways Brands Can Act More Like Partners On YouTube], ''MediaPost Publications''</ref> |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Revision as of 02:40, 15 September 2011
Background
While Johnson was studying at Columbia University to pursue a career in law, he became interested in watching YouTube videos, and eventually, making videos himself. He took notice of the fact that people visit YouTube either to watch viral videos or their favorite video bloggers, and subsequently started his first formatted show, Equals Three, as a way to combine the two popular video styles.[1]
Current Projects
Equals Three
| Ray William Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Ray William Johnson |
| Written by | Phil Haney Steve Greene Marvin Silbermintz Erin Schmalfeld Ilana Cohn Ray William Johnson |
| Presented by | Ray William Johnson Guest presenters: KassemG (2 episodes) Meekakitty (2 episodes) Dan Brown (1 episode) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English Spanish (Igual a Tres) |
| No. of episodes | 224 (as of 14th of September 2011) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Ray William Johnson |
| Producer | Erin Schmalfeld |
| Editor | Brandon Perna |
| Original release | |
| Network | YouTube |
| Release | 2008 – present |
| Related | |
| BreakingNYC Your Favorite Martian Breaking Los Angeles Igual a Tres | |
In Equals Three (stylized as "=3"), Ray William Johnson reviews, criticizes, and adds commentary to some of the internet's latest viral videos.[2] Equals Three episodes are usually uploaded to his channel every Monday and Thursday. In these episodes, Johnson interacts with his audience by posting a viewer-submitted "comment question of the day", then features five of his favorite comments in the preceding episode. Equals Three is the most subscribed channel on YouTube to date, having over 4 million subscribers, and has been recognized by Guinness World Records.[3][1][4] Because of his popularity, every Equals Three episode can consistently obtain millions of views within a week, often featured on the YouTube front page. Johnson later co-produced the Spanish version of Equals Three, Igual a Tres, that is dedicated to his Spanish-speaking audiences who have been exceptionally supportive.[5] Igual a Tres adopts the same format and concept of reviewing viral videos and is hosted by PeeDeeFlo.
Your Favorite Martian
In January 2011, Johnson launched a collaborative YouTube channel called "YourFavoriteMartian", which features animated comedy music videos.[6][7] The songs are performed by a virtual band (a title reference to They Might Be Giants and Gorillaz) of four fictional cartoon characters: PuffPuff Humbert (lead singer, voiced by Johnson), DeeJay (DJ), Axel Chains (drummer), and Benatar (guitar/keyboard).[8] Ray writes lyrics, raps, sings, composes beats, and sometimes collaborates with other musicians to produce the songs.[9] The following is a list of music videos that have been released so far:
| Name | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "My Balls" | January 26, 2011 | 3:13 |
| "Zombie Love Song" | February 9, 2011 | 3:59 |
| "Bottles of Beer" | February 23, 2011 | 3:41 |
| "Club Villain" | March 9, 2011 | 4:12 |
| "The Stereotypes Song" | March 23, 2011 | 4:26 |
| "The Unofficial Smithers Love Song" | April 6, 2011 | 3:55 |
| "Orphan Tears" featuring Wax | April 20, 2011 | 3:36 |
| "Mr. DoucheBag" | May 4, 2011 | 3:55 |
| "Transphobic Techno (Bitch Got a Penis)" | May 18, 2011 | 3:25 |
| "Grandma Got a Facebook" | June 1, 2011 | 3:33 |
| "Tig Ol' Bitties" | June 15, 2011 | 3:52 |
| "Fight to Win" featuring DeStorm Power | June 29, 2011 | 3:51 |
| "Stalkin' Your Mom" featuring Wax | July 13, 2011 | 3:13 |
| "Robot Bar Fight" | July 27, 2011 | 3:12 |
| "8-Bit World" featuring Hoodie Allen | August 10, 2011 | 3:30 |
| "Puppet Break-Up" | September 14, 2011 | 3:23 |
To date, Johnson has released 16 songs through the channel. As of September 2011, the channel has over 1.4 million subscribers and over 190 million video views. [10] Due to the rapid growth of popularity of the channel and the music videos getting more views than the Equals Three episodes, Johnson has commented in his Breaking Los Angeles video blog that he at some point hopes to have the music videos released weekly instead of bi-weekly.[11]
BreakingNYC and Breaking Los Angeles
BreakingNYC is a former daily video blog or vlog that Johnson started in December 2009 while living in New York City. He made the vlogs almost daily until June 2010. After nearly a year-long hiatus, Johnson resumed contributing to the video blog channel, creating a new higher quality series with a similar format. The new series titled, Breaking Los Angeles and the Adventures of Puff Puff, is released every Friday and is filmed in Los Angeles. Ray often features notable guests in his new series, including rappers Wax, Hoodie Allen and Dumbfoundead, slam poet George Watsky, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and actor/director Bobcat Goldthwait.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b Humphrey, Michael (28 June 2011). Ray William Johnson: =3 Adds Up To Most-Subscribed On YouTube, Forbes
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
boise1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Comedian Ray William Johnson sets new record for YouTube subscribers, Guinness World Records
- ^ Hustvedt, Marc (28 June 2011). Ray William Johnson Now #1 Most Subscribed on YouTube, Tubefilter
- ^ "Ray William Johnson: Igual A Tres!". Raywj.com. May 7, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ Bradshaw (January 24, 2011). Ray William Johnson's New Project "Yourfavoritemartian" Finally Rolls Out January 26, 2011, www.zimbio.com
- ^ About YourFavoriteMartian. Yourfavoritemartian.com
- ^ http://twitter.com/#!/RayWJ/statuses/62415238233997312, Twitter, Retrieved June 22, 2011
- ^ e.g. Orphan Tears features Wax
- ^ YouTube spotlight: "The Stereotypes Song". The Independent. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/BreakingNYC#p/u/8/LUXPIiREOvQ, Breaking Los Angeles, Retrieved June 22, 2011
External links