James Sims is the Senior Editor of BroadwayWorld.com. Sofa Snark is an ongoing critical blog focusing on all aspects of show business, from television entertainment to Broadway offerings and general pop culture. This column also appears on the Huffington Post and SofaSnark.com. Follow James on Twitter @simsjames for daily show business links, musings and a bit of snark.
Breaking into show business can be a monumental task for entertainers, but as sites like YouTube provide unknown creative types with an outlet, and millions of viewers, the road to stardom is quickly being repaved. Now, people like Justin Bieber can skyrocket to superstardom by creating a homemade video presence online, showcasing their musical talent. But, what if that talent was the ability to sing horribly off key?
Colleen Ballinger has stumbled across a unique path to fame, thanks to Miranda, a zany tone-deaf character the 23-year-old California native created three years ago. What began as a mockery of YouTube musicians has turned into a career opportunity with global appeal.
"I had begun by posting some videos of my own performances, and then I started seeing these links from girls who would sit in their bedroom and sing into the camera," Colleen recalled while sitting in a café on New York's Upper West Side. "I thought it was so stupid, because I didn't think anybody got famous off of YouTube."
Looking like a modern day Roseanne Roseannadanna, mixed with a little Tony Clifton for annoying measure, Miranda is a deluded character that takes to YouTube videos and sings horrendously, much like those rejects on "American Idol" audition episodes.
Miranda videos were meant to be an inside joke between Colleen's friends - the classically trained singer used to stay off pitch in college choir classes just to annoy her classmates - but a year and a half after she uploaded her first video, they went viral.
Her view count on YouTube shot up by nearly 70,000 in a matter of days, leading to some overwhelming attention. "I was terrified when it went viral, because I didn't know what to do with it," Colleen said. The Miranda videos now get anywhere from 30,000 to more than 1 million views.
Seeing as there is no manual for creating a career out of viral videos, Colleen opted to go it alone, acting as her own manager for the first 9 months. "I was trying to do contracts, and I was making mistakes and getting screwed over a lot," she said, before admitting that she now has a professional manager for Miranda.
Three years later, and Colleen has brought her Miranda character to the Broadway stage - she was invited by the cast of Mamma Mia! to perform alongside them at Broadway's Easter Bonnet competition - and around the world, as live Miranda shows have taken place in London, Australia and next month, Ireland.
"The fact that I went from making a minute-and-a-half video in my bedroom to doing an hour-and-a-half live show is just crazy," Colleen said. Her first live performance took place at Jim Caruso's Cast Party, a weekly show at New York's Birdland, popular amongst Broadway performers. "Jim reached out to me on email shortly after the Miranda videos went viral, and he's now one of my dearest friends."
