The Utube Blog

I’ve watched hundreds, if not thousands, of YouTube videos this year. Here are my selections for The Best YouTube Videos of 2007.

1. Best YouTube Video of the Year: Esmee

Esmee Denters is an 18-year-old Dutch girl who started singing on YouTube from her bedroom. Soon, she started drawing hundreds of thousands of views. Then, in the millions. Eventually, a guy named Justin Timberlake signed her to a record deal. This video was shot right before the announcement of the deal. It represents the best that “user-generated content” has to offer.  Wait for the video’s ending. Esmee’s first album will be released in 2008.

2. First Runner-Up: Miss South Carolina

It pains me to select a TV clip as the First Runner-Up, but this video of Miss South Carolina Lauren Caitlin Upton speaks for itself. She’s beautiful and should be a spokesperson for GPS.

3. Second Runner-Up: James Kotecki interviews Ron Paul from his dorm

From his dorm room, James Kotecki interviewed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. Kotecki also interviewed Mike Huckabee, Mike Gravel, John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich. The citizen-journalist might have more power today than ever before.

4. Third Runner-Up: Lazydork raps YouTube, so does Renetto

Irreverance is king on YouTube.

5. Fourth Runner-Up: Obama girl

Cleavage is queen on YouTube.

6. Fifth Runner-Up: Ron Paul

He’s the most watched candidate on YouTube. Still trying to figure out why.

7. Sixth Runner-Up: Hillary 1984

Why citizens will be a factor in the presidential election in 2008.

[I reserve 24 hours to revise my picks as I think of other videos I've watched. Drop me an email if you like to nominate another video. utubeblog [at] gmail [dot] com

Esmee Denters

Julia and James “Dirty Dancing” wedding dance

P Diddy

Juddson Laipply

Paul Potts

Tyson, the skateboarding dance

Video click here.  Esmee was very nervous, but there’s no doubt she will be a star.

(Sorry, Oprah’s disabled the embedding of videos, so you need to click the link above.)

News: Today is the day. Oprah officially becomes a YouTuber, hosting Steve Chen and Chad Hurley on her show, along with other YouTubers like Esmee Denters. YouTube will get the “Oprah treatment,” which is not bad for a company nearing 3 years old. If you’re free this afternoon, you can catch Oprah at 4 p.m. (at least in my area). I will blog much more about the show afterwards. Can’t wait.

For more, visit my last post.

News: One of my readers commented that I should have noted that Esmee Denters will be donating all of her royalties from sales of her new song, “Crazy Place” (featured on this video) to charity. The song will be available next week on her website, www.esmeeworld.com. Justin Timberlake and his label Tennman Records will match the amount with a donation of their own.

Analysis: It was almost a year ago when I first began writing about Esmee. Back then, she was an 18-year-old Dutch girl singing to her karaoke machine from her bedroom in her parents’ house. Now, a year later, she’s signed with Justin Timberlake’s new label and will be appearing on Oprah on Tuesday. Wow, now that’s incredible.

As I said when Esmee first announced getting signed to a music contract, I feel so happy for all the success Esmee is experiencing. It couldn’t have happened to a sweeter person. Although Esmee did once have a desire to become a social worker, my guess is that she will be able to achieve much more good through her music. What musician donates all her royalties for her first single to charity? Esmee is something special.

News: How do you know you’ve finally arrived? Oprah Winfrey invites you to be on her show. This Tuesday, Oprah is devoting an entire show to YouTube and its celebrities, including Dutch singing sensation Esmee Denters. Oprah will eventually interview co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen (although I’m not sure it’s on the Tuesday show or not). Hands down, this is the single biggest moment for YouTube as a cultural phenomenon. As I’ve often said to those who ask me about YouTube, YouTube is, without a doubt, the most important website to come along in the 21st century. It has transformed entertainment, music, politics, and the way in which we disseminate information. No wonder that Oprah Winfrey — a phenomenon herself and whose No.1 talk show is seen by 49 million viewers a week — is featuring an entire show on YouTube.

Here’s Esmee’s announcement about being on Oprah:

Analysis: Being on the Oprah show will give YouTube incredible exposure to millions of people, especially women, who probably know next to nothing about YouTube. I wonder how Oprah became interested in YouTube. I can’t wait to watch the show! I love Esmee, but my favorite probably will be Tyson, the skateboarding dog.

News: Esmee Denters is one of the biggest musical discoveries on YouTube. This spring, she signed with Justin Timberlake and got to perform with him in Europe. Here’s Episode 1 of her mini-documentary, “Around the World with Esmee.” For more posts on Esmee, visit here.

Analysis: The best part is the ending, where we get to know Esmee a little more.

News:  Esmee Denters is No.17 on Blender’s list of “Hot” 100 artists of 2007.  You have to go to the magazine because I can’t find the photo of Esmee online.

Analysis:   I’m a little surprised Esmee is ranked that high because she still is somewhat unknown in the U.S.  She beat out a lot of more well-known artists, so props to Esmee!

News:  Former Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein has selected Esmee Denters as one of her “alpha kitties,” which she describes as follows:

“What’s an Alpha Kitty, you ask? Someone who’s brave, creative, fierce, passionate and…well, yes, weird. Weird is the new normal, haven’t you heard? After all, who wants to be cookie-cutter, anyway? Ugh. B-O-R-I-N-G. “Le freak c’ést chic” is our motto in the world of Alpha Kitty. We’re a celebration of being different…of being individuals…of self expression.”  Other alpha kitties are here.

Esmee Denters returns back to how it all started, with a simple music video of her singing. I will soon be writing a post about YouTube’s Second Biggest Challenge: finding and keeping talent on its site.

News: YouTube sensation Esmee Denters announces a contest, shows a preview of behind-the-scenes video of her rise to stardom, and then performs an original song at the end. UPDATE: Esmee took down the original video with the new song and posted a different video without the new song, but with a souped up version of “Figure It Out.”

Analysis: Happy anniversary, Esmee! It’s been quite a year. Thanks for sharing it with the YouTube community. The best is yet to come.

News: It just happened a few minutes ago. Esmee Denters overtook Mia Rose for the No.1 Most Subscribed Musician on YouTube, 67,874 subscriptions versus 67,861. Esmee also is the No.1 Most Viewed female artist on YouTube (close to 41 million views) and 3rd Most Viewed overall musician — next to My Chemical Romance (over 65 million views) and the entire Warner Brothers Records label (over 48 million views).

News: Dutch singing sensation Esmee Denters appears poised to overtake Mia Rose as the No.1 Most Subscribed Musician on YouTube. Esmee’s at 67,824 subscribers, Mia Rose is at 67,870. That’s the closest it’s been (46). Esmee already is the No.1 most viewed female musician, so if she overtakes Mia, Esmee will further solidify her status.

News:  Esmee Denters and Mia Rose draw a lot of comparisons on YouTube, with their fans sometimes trying to prove who’s better.  Both have signed with labels after being discovered on YouTube.  I’ll let you judge for yourself.

Mia singing “Unwritten”

Esmee singing “Unwritten”

Both Esmee Denters and Natasha Bedingfield are on tour with Justin Timberlake.

She’s out on tour with Justin Timberlake.  Their video together just went over the 6 million mark (in about 38 days).

She’s on tour with Justin Timberlake. It’s funny at the end when she says the band “A-ha” (who sang “Take on Me” in the 80s) would be music her father listens to.

News:  Esmee Denters’ video with Justin Timberlake just went over the 5 million mark, in 21 days.  That’s just amazing.  I believe the most ever views for an amateur musician video on YouTube.

Entertainment Weekly interviewed Justin Timberlake about his new record label.  Full interview here.

How did you decide to sign 18-year-old Netherlands resident Esmée Denters as your first artist?
Being in the business for 10 years now, you look around and some people got it and some people don’t. I saw her on YouTube, got wind of what was happening — ”Hey, there’s this girl in Holland who’s got a phenomenal voice.” And the word ”phenomenal” in front of ”voice” doesn’t come often. Usually you hear, ”She’s pretty good, but there’s this great song,” which is usually a bunch of bulls—. And so I turned on YouTube and I was literally blown away — not only by her voice, but also her ear. I love the opportunity of discovering a talent that’s so raw. And now I can just kind of sit back and help her mold herself into a superstar.

News:  Justin Timberlake just bought a huge banner ad on YouTube for Esmee Denters.  I’ve never seen a YouTube celebrity get her own ad on YouTube, until now.

News: Esmee Denters just went from her bedroom, posting videos on YouTube, to performing as the opening act for Justin Timberlake. This past weekend, she had her first performance in the Amsterdam Arena. A review can be found here.

Photos can be found here, here, and here.

News:  Esmee Denters’ video with Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around,” just went over 4 million views in 14 days.  That’s a torrid pace.  That’s even 1 million more than Justin’s own video version with Scarlett Johansson.

News: Esmee Denters’ video with Justin Timberlake singing “What Goes Around” just went over the 3 million mark in 9 days. You can see the video here. I wonder how long it can continue to generate more viewers at this torrid pace. You probably would guess not too much longer.

Today, I have to confess I’m very happy, all because of this Esmee Denters record deal with Justin Timberlake.  Like so many others in the YouTube community, I’ve been watching this 18-year-old girl on YouTube blossom into a singer and future star, while waiting for the day when some major label would sign her to a recording contract.  The question back then was not if, but when.  The when is today.  

I first saw one of Esmee’s videos back in the fall of 2006.  She had enough talent in her karaoke videos that I started following her videos regularly on YouTube.  I still remember precisely the moment when I realized how good this young girl from the Netherlands really was.  It’s the day she posted her cover of Mary J Blige’s “No More Pain.”  I had seen the great Mary J in concert, so I didn’t think Esmee could handle this big vocal song.  Thirty seconds, though—that’s all it took for Esmee to prove me wrong.  I was blown away.  And that’s when I started writing about Esmee on this blog because, as I said back then, Esmee could be ”the most talented, undiscovered singer on YouTube.”

Well, now that she’s been discovered by the music industry and signed by Justin Timberlake, what are we to make of the Esmee Denters phenomenon? 

I don’t want to make more of the story than it deserves, but I do feel that what is transpiring with Esmee has some very important significance for YouTube.  Terra Naomi was the first to show that undiscovered musicians can be discovered through YouTube.  (Terra signed with Island Records and her first single “Say It’s Possible” comes out June 11!)  I think Esmee Denters proves that YouTube is no fluke (or one-artist wonder), and that YouTube is fast becoming a major force in the music industry.  Some critics might laugh at the idea.  But name one other platform that has the ability discover an 18-year-old girl in a small Dutch town, who’s never had singing lessons or any performances in her life, and make her the most sought after young singer in the music industry?

Congratulations, Esmee and YouTube!

News: Esmee Denters signed with Justin Timberlake’s new label, Tennman Records, and will perform as his opening act. So I predicted this last week, but it was pretty obvious from what happened. For more on Esmee, visit here. Below is the press release (I’m not sure why it goes out of the way to say it was “completely unpredicted news” because it really wasn’t—or am I just missing the irony, wink, wink):

Los Angeles, CA … Internet phenomenon and singer/songwriter Esmee Denters is the first signing to Tennman Records. “In completely unpredicted news to all YouTubers and bloggers, we are proud to announce Esmee Denters has signed to Tennman Records and she will be joining me on tour this summer. Esmee is the real deal and I cannot wait for the world to hear her, but all of her fans on YouTube should not worry…we will keep you in the loop every step of the way,” announced today by Justin Timberlake, Chairman/CEO of the label.

“Words can’t describe how amazing it is. I am so excited! It is something I have always dreamed of doing. I have to thank YouTube and its viewers for giving me the opportunity to show the world my voice. I also have to thank Justin, one of the biggest artists in the world, for believing in me and making my dreams come true,” says Esmee Denters.

Ken Komisar, President of Tennman Records, adds “Esmee is a remarkable talent with a story that anyone with a dream can relate to - it is no wonder she has such an enthusiastic following already. We will keep providing fans with a personal look into Esmee’s world throughout the entire creative process, as she continues to write songs for her debut album.”

Esmee Denters first began to gain awareness by posting cover performances of Beyonce, Alanis Morrisette and Alicia Keys on her YouTube page. 18 year-old Esmee Denters hails from Oosterbeek, Holland, where she has had 21 million views on her YouTube site since she posted her first performance less than 9 months ago. In addition, to being on tour (see tour dates below) this summer, she is currently writing/recording on her debut album which is slated for release later this year.

Esmee Denters Opening For Justin Timberlake – Tour Dates:

DATE / VENUE / CITY
June 16 / Arena / Amsterdam, Holland
June 19 / Gloave / Stockholm, Sweden
June 21 / Valhalle / Oslo, Norway
June 23 / Parken / Copenhagen, Denmark
June 25 / Scandanavian / Gothenberg, Sweden
June 27 / Sports Palais / Antwerp, Belgium
For the latest on Esmee Denters please visit www.esmeeworld.com or www.youtube.com/esmeedenters.

For more information on Tennman Records please visit www.tennmanrecords.com.

For further information on Esmee Denters please contact Hillary Siskind @ Hillary.Siskind@umusic.com and Neil Jacobson (International Press Only) Neil.Jacobson@umusic.com.

News: Esmee Denters’ video with Justin Timberlake just went well over 2 million views, amazingly in just 1 week. That’s pretty quick. For more about Esmee, visit here.

Esmee on YouTube

News: Four days. That’s all it took for Esmee Denters’ video with Justin Timberlake to go over 1 million views on YouTube. It got a big boost from being on the front page of YouTube, though. I would’ve liked to see how quick it would have made it on its own.