Catch A Ride On YouTube’s New Wave
Meet Your New Favorite YouTubers
Believe it or not, YouTube has been around since 2005 and a lot has changed since the platform’s first boom of content. The viral videos of yesteryear have aged some due to the ever-evolving humor of young people on the internet. Channels and content creators themselves are now more emphasized than one-off hits. Today’s audiences demand well-produced, frequently-posted entertainment.
Because of the aforementioned new standard, it can be argued that the most exciting and creative entertainment being put out today can be found on YouTube. The following channels are run by people who are genuinely talented and truly care about what they’re posting for their audiences to watch. These innovative young creators produce refreshing, modern work that engages their viewers. Perhaps mainstream media hasn’t acknowledged them just yet, but these creators have the potential to be industry players who shape what we enjoy and expect from our entertainment.
Keep reading to meet your new favorite YouTubers.
Josh Ovalle
His channel: Josh Ovalle
There’s much more to Josh Ovalle than just his Vine legacy. The two short films on the director/ YouTuber’s channel, Minimum Max and Two and a Quarter, received acclaim at various festivals, most notably the 2014 All-American High School Film Festival and the 2015 San Diego Latino Film Festival.
Since then, he’s continued to prove himself a talented videographer. He’s directed two music videos for the Orange County-based band Spendtime Palace — for songs “Blackout Control” and “Sonora”. A proponent of great music, he also posted an “introducing” video for the new band Greer (which his brother, Lucas Ovalle is a member of).
Many of the videos on Josh’s channel are lovingly filmed compilations of his friends messing around. Lucas Ovalle described Josh’s videos as “little pockets in time.” His videos feel like what hanging out with your friends feels like — having fun, making dumb jokes, and appreciating the moments you get to spend together. His videos balance sweet moments with absurd bits, making his work as sentimental as it is funny.
On his channel, you might see some familiar faces, such as Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, actress Iris Apatow, and Casey Frey (former Viner and now Twitter sensation who people either find hilarious or repulsing).
To hear Ovalle talk about being kicked out of high school, starting orchestrated beefs with various people on the internet, and pestering David Dobrik, check out his appearances on fellow YouTuber Cody Ko’s Insanely Chill podcast here and here.
Enjajaja
Her channel: Enjajaja
Enya Umanzor is a twenty-year-old creator who posts mainly vlogs and makeup tutorials, with some casual chatty videos thrown in the mix. She’s naturally hilarious, and I would watch literally anything she puts out (including ordering a glue stick on Postmates to glue her eyebrows down with).
As well as posting on YouTube, Enya wrote and created a mini-magazine called Chapters Magazine. The magazine is now sold out, but I’m hoping we’ll see more of her creative work (literary or otherwise) soon.
Some of my favorite videos of hers are those in which she and her best friend Drew Phillips link up. They’re hysterical together, and they have that kind of magical best-friend chemistry that you get only when hanging out with a person with whom you truly click.
Cody Ko & Noel Miller
Their channels: Cody Ko, Noel Miller
Cody Ko (left) and Noel Miller (right) wear many hats. They’re comedians, YouTubers, podcasters, and musicians. Each has his own separate YouTube channel (they make comedy and commentary videos), but together they form podcast/ rap duo Tiny Meat Gang. Their podcast is so popular that they completely sold out all the original dates of their U.S. comedy tour.
Ko and Miller are hilarious when they’re together, but their individual channels are also treasure troves of entertainment. Ko tackles topics such as bad Instagram comedy, the terrible platform that is TikTok, and influencers on social media who are “always in Greece” and posting pictures of “blue-ass water.” Miller’s channel has vlogs, sketches, and videos of him and Cody playing the video game version of popular U.K. reality show Love Island (episode 1 here).
Gus Johnson
His channel: Gus Johnson
Gus Johnson is a creator who often posts short skits and observational comedy. When creating video skits or “relatable” comedy, one could easily slip into the lazy, unfunny, weird writing style of “Instagram comedy.” Johnson is the antithesis of bad internet comedy. His videos are original, punchy, and witty, and they don’t leave the viewer feeling like they’ve lost brain cells after watching. His lighthearted comedy is a welcome relief from the heavily sarcastic, pessimistic humor that almost everyone (including me) is guilty of overusing these days.
Johnson hails from a small town in Wisconsin with a population of around 1,000 people — but he’s now based in LA. Quite a few of his videos poke fun at his native Midwest, such as the hilarious “how Midwesterners call their dogs.” Perhaps some of Gus’s funniest videos are those in which he reads enraged Yelp reviews of small-town businesses.
If you like Johnson’s videos, you should check out the fast-growing podcast that he cohosts with fellow YouTuber Eddy Burback, Gus and Eddy.
INTERNET GIRL
Her channel: INTERNET GIRL
Bella McFadden, a.k.a. iGirl/ Internet Girl, is the reigning queen of Depop. Stylist and entrepreneur iGirl is known for her ‘90s/early 2000s taste with a twist. She translates her obsessions for the retro into her own wardrobe, her designs, and the personally styled outfits that she sells on the internet. Bella posts videos that take her audience thrift shopping and through the styling process for her famous Depop “bundles.” Watching her pull together outfits is mesmerizing — she puts a lot of thought and care into creating special looks for her customers, often giving away her own clothes!
Jackie Aina
Her channel: Jackie Aina
Jackie Aina is a makeup artist and YouTuber with heaps of talent and charisma. She posts makeup tutorials, product reviews, “Is … worth it?” videos, “Trends We’re Ditching” videos, and more.
Aina’s website states that she “started her YouTube channel in 2009 due to the lack of women of color in the beauty industry.” She often speaks about issues that affect women of color (both inside and outside of the realm of beauty), such as colorism, skin bleaching, and brands that lack an acceptable range of concealer and/or foundation shades. She even has a playlist of looks in honor of Black History Month.
Jackie is uplifting and entertaining; her beauty videos unique, informative, and full of integrity and authenticity. She knows everything there is to know about makeup, and I always trust her to give straight and honest opinions about products.
Jackie Wyers
Her channel: Jackie Wyers
Jackie Wyers, Canadian master of makeup, is another of my favorite beauty YouTubers. She transforms herself into movie and TV characters and various celebrities. From time to time, she also makes themed fashion videos, such as this To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before–inspired lookbook. Her transformations hit the perfect spot in-between her own look and whomever she is channeling. The final product of her transformations never looks jarring or cartoonish. Jackie is open about her bisexuality, a part of her life that she shared with her audience in her Toni Topaz hair tutorials video.
TheReportOfTheWeek
His channel: TheReportOfTheWeek
TheReportOfTheWeek is a channel run by a semi-anonymous YouTuber who is lovingly referred to as “ReviewBrah” by his fans. The cult-like following and popularity of ReviewBrah’s channel is based on his fast-food reviews. From time to time, he doles out some words of wisdom and makes reaction videos.
You might be asking yourself, why is this guy so popular? All he does is eat fast-food on camera, right? Wrong. ReviewBrah has that certain je ne sais quoi that keeps you watching. His comprehensive food reviews, anachronistic style of dress, and calm demeanor get you hooked on his videos. I find his videos have a rather soothing effect.
ReviewBrah finally received the mainstream recognition he deserves when he was featured on CNN Business’s YouTube channel. In this video, he addressed why he reviews only fast food: “Is every average American going to be eating a steak dinner every night? No. Fast food, though? … I thought to myself, I want to be applicable to the largest number of people, I’m going to review large fast food chains.” He is truly a man of the people.
As well as reviewing fast food and wearing old-timey suits, he has a passion for shortwave radio. He has his own radio show, VORW (Voice of ReportoftheWeek), which you can easily listen to on SoundCloud.
Paley Matters is a publication of The Paley Center for Media.
Bernadette Smith is a curatorial intern at The Paley Center for Media this spring. Bernadette is a sophomore at St. John’s University, majoring in television and film production and minoring in French. Her strengths include: can survive NYC despite growing up in rural Virginia, has good eyebrows. Her weaknesses: spends way too much time on Twitter, is bad at writing autobiographical blurbs.
