Bart Baker

Bart Baker
Bart Baker at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards
Personal information
Born (1986-05-05) May 5, 1986
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality American
Residence California, U.S.
Website itsbartbaker.com (unregistered)
YouTube information
Also known as Master of Parodies, King of Music Video Parodies[1][2][3]
Channel
Years active 2006–present
Genre Music videos, parody, comedy
Subscribers 10+ million
Total views 3+ billion
Network Music Choice, Maker Studios
100,000 subscribers 2011
1,000,000 subscribers 2013
10,000,000 subscribers 2018

Bart Baker (born May 5, 1986) is an American entertainer, web-based comedian, video producer, singer and parody artist.[4][5][6][7] He is best known for making parody videos of notable songs, which he posts on his YouTube channel.[8][9][10][11][12] He was described as one of the most prolific makers of music parodies by Billboard.[13][14] Besides being active on YouTube, where he has more than 10 million subscribers,[15] Baker is known for his short videos on Vine and also Live.ly, where he is top-earning broadcaster.[16] His videos are described as 'high-quality parodies that keep to the originals very well'. In 2018 Bart Baker was signed to World Star Hip Hop and released a song called "Popper" under the stage name of Lil Kloroxxx and has started a life as a rapper.[17]

Early life

Born in Chicago, Illinois on May 5, 1986, Baker went to film school at University of Miami. After realizing the potential of YouTube, he started filming music videos for children in his backyard on a green screen. Lonely Island was described as a 'big inspiration' to Baker when he first started.[18]

YouTube career

Baker was encouraged by his first video, "Look into My Eyes While I Masturbate", which was about men masturbating in a future world where robots have replaced all women on Earth. The video quickly received about 100,000 views, which prompted Baker to decide on making more videos.[18] His second video was a parody. He has said, "I figured if I could do it right, my videos could do amazingly well... people want to subscribe to a channel they know has a certain programming structure. Mine is parody videos, and people love that".[18][19][20] Baker worked with his friend Austin Smith from the channel's launch until early 2011, when the duo mutually decided to part ways. During his time with Smith, they were signed by RKShorts.com, who acted as their sponsor. While with RKShorts, Baker gained popularity from YouTube when he began using old men in his videos. Parodies of "Baby" & "Love the Way You Lie" were released during that year's summer and were major hits for his channel, especially for an adolescent audience. When Baker left RKShorts in 2011, he stopped using these old men. Not long after leaving RKShorts, Baker signed on with Maker Studios in Los Angeles and began recording with them.

It was reported on 26 November 2014 that Baker had reached one billion views in total on YouTube.[21]

As of 12 March 2018, Baker has over 10 million subscribers and 3 billion lifetime views on his YouTube channel.[15][22] Since starting the channel in 2009, he has created over 100 parody videos that have featured guest stars like Joan Rivers and Pitbull.[23] Speaking about YouTube, he said, "YouTube is honestly one of the only platforms that has proven it's not going anywhere".[24] On 23 September 2016, it was announced that Baker would feature in a film titled "FML" starring fellow internet personalities Jason Nash and Brandon Calvillo.[25][26]

In 2015, Baker signed with Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency.[27] It was the second time in four months Baker had signed with a major Hollywood talent agency, the first being WME, when he was one of seven people who signed deals at about the same time.[27][28]

In 2017 Baker partnered with California native con-artist Jason Neubauer on The Santa Claus Affect. It is by far the lowest point of Baker’s career.

Musical career

In November 2016, Baker released his first non-parody single, titled "Drake".[23] It is also the debut single from his first album, titled "Celebritease". He partnered with Music Choice, a multi-platform video and music network, to serve as the exclusive TV distribution partner for his single.[23] The next month, "Kimye", was released as a single from "Celebritease".[29] The album was subsequently released through his own record label alongside indie label 26 Music, a division of 26 Entertainment.[23] The songs featured on the album are all named after celebrities except the final track, "#DWBD (Don't Worry Bout Dat)". On March 18, 2017, the album peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Comedy Albums chart.[30]

In summer of 2018, Baker created an official rap persona known as Lil Kloroxxx. The video for his song "Popper" was released on the WorldStarHipHop YouTube channel on July 21. He then went on to release two more songs nearly a month later, "4 Xanny" and "Prom Queen". Online sources have said that Lil Kloroxxx is fake and heavily spoofs off of SoundCloud rappers such as 6ix9ine and Lil Pump, but Baker himself has confirmed that this persona is real.

Controversy

In 2011, Baker produced a parody of "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars titled "The Jerk Off Song". YouTube found the content offensive so Baker was forced to censor and delete most of the vulgar parts.

In 2013, Baker's parody of "Royals" by Lorde was taken down by Matt Pincus, CEO of Songs Music Publishing, for alleged copyright infringement.[31]

In 2014, Caitlin Dewey of The Washington Post described Baker's parody of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda as sexist. She said "It's essentially just a string of misogynistic, slut-shaming insults, wearing the guise of a well-produced joke".[32]

In 2016, Baker announced he was running for President of the United States by setting up a large billboard in Times Square, dressed in American-flag boxer-shorts.[33] He believed that his presidential candidacy would shed light on the nature of celebrity and how it has influenced the election cycle.[33][34]

Philanthropy

In a 2015 livestream podcast, Baker discussed his involvement with "Fuck Cancer", a nonprofit charity that is dedicated to early detection, prevention, and providing support to those affected by cancer, and an online fundraiser where fans could participate to win an appearance in one of his videos while donating money to the cause. The disease has impacted people in his own life including his mother who survived breast cancer when he was a child.[35]

Music videos

Title Artist Year Role
Fireball ft. John Ryan[29] Pitbull 2014 Guest appearance
Friends with Benefits KSI 2016 Guest appearance

Filmography

[36]

Movies

Title Year Role
Laid in America 2016 Blindr Spokesperson
FML Swagg

Television

Title Year Role
Remix the Movies 2013 Agent
YouTubers React 2014 Himself
In Bed with Joan
TakePart Live
CrashPad[37][38]
Ear Biscuits 2015
Teens Wanna Know

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details
Celebritease[39]

Singles

Title Year Album
"Drake"[22] 2016 Celebritease
"Kimye"[29] 2017

References

  1. ↑ Miller, Leanne (2015-03-12). "How this YouTube Star makes money". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Will (2015-10-30). "Bart Baker teases his 'Hotline Bling' parody video". EW.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  3. ↑ Sabrina, Danielle (2016-06-30). "From Parodies to Politics: Forbes Announces Second Round Of Speakers For Under 30 Summit". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  4. ↑ Newlands, Murray. "Bart Baker, YouTube Star And Entrepreneur, Galvanizes Fans To Engage In Voting". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  5. ↑ Lazar, Shira (2015-05-04). "YouTube Parody Star Bart Baker on Offending Celebrities". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  6. ↑ News, Blasting. "The three times that Bart Baker parodies came true in real life". Blasting News. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  7. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (2016-11-01). "Top Stars On Musical.ly's Live Streaming App Live.ly Reportedy Making $23,000 Per Week - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  8. ↑ Sputnik. "Hello, It's the Grammys: Ten Parodies and Covers on Adele's Award-Winning Song". sputniknews.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  9. ↑ Hogan, Kate (2015-10-31). "Bart Baker Hotline Bling, Bart Baker Stream Con". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  10. ↑ DeSimone, Evan (2015-08-13). "Interview — Bart Baker On Original Music, a Movie Project and the YouTube Grind". VideoInk. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  11. ↑ "Bart Baker's Fans Say Taylor Swift Lifted From Him - New Media Rockstars". New Media Rockstars. 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  12. ↑ Chesler, Josh (2016-08-02). "Weird Al Versus YouTube: Who Does Better Song Parodies?". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  13. ↑ Smirke, Richard (September 30, 2014). "U.K. Parody Laws Set to Come Into Effect". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  14. ↑ Winkie, Luke (2016-05-23). "The 7 most unnecessary parody songs on the Internet". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  15. 1 2 "bartbakerofficial YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics - Socialblade.com". socialblade.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  16. ↑ Robinson, Melia (2016-12-02). "Move over, Vine — people are raking in thousands of dollars a week on a new video app - Business Insider". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  17. ↑ Fears, Niki (4 January 2015). "'All About That Bass' Parody Calls Out Meghan Trainor". The Inquisitr News. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  18. 1 2 3 Varrati, Michael (2013-10-21). "YouTube's Parody King: An Interview With Bart Baker". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  19. ↑ Lazar, Shira (2013-07-16). "1 Million Sub Star: YouTuber Bart Baker On Creating Successful Music Parodies (WATCH)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  20. ↑ Chew, Cohan (21 December 2015). "Adele's 'Hello' Like You've Never Heard It Before". gigwise.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  21. ↑ Longfellow, Richard T. (2014-11-26). "Bart Baker Reaches 1 Billion Views on YouTube - CraveOnline". CraveOnline. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  22. 1 2 Weiss, Geoff (2017-02-24). "Parody Master Bart Baker To Embark On First-Ever Live Tour With Mills Entertainment - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Weiss, Geoff (2016-11-11). "YouTube Star Bart Baker Teams With Music Choice To Release First Non-Parody Single, 'Drake' - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  24. ↑ Inverso, Emily. "21st Century Funny: How Bart Baker, John Shahidi And The Fine Brothers Make It Big". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  25. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (2016-09-23). "YouTube Star Bart Baker Introduces New Trailer For Feature Film 'FML,' Due Out October 7th - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  26. ↑ Hamedy, Saba. "Watch Vine star Jason Nash, YouTube star Bart Baker in new 'FML the Movie' trailer". Mashable. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  27. 1 2 Gutelle, Sam (2015-06-30). "YouTube Star Bart Baker Signs With Talent Agency CAA". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  28. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (17 February 2015). "WME Signs Slew of YouTube Stars, Including Lohanthony, Bart Baker (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  29. 1 2 3 Paganuzzi, Josefa (9 December 2016). "Renowned Parody and Digital Artist Bart Baker Releases New Song KIMYE From His Upcoming Album Due Out Early 2017". PRWeb. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  30. ↑ "Bart Baker Chart History". Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  31. ↑ Van, Alan (2013-12-07). "Songs Music CEO Comments on Bart Baker/Lorde Controversy in Heated Twitter Exchange With Fullscreen CEO - New Media Rockstars". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  32. ↑ Dewey, Caitlin (2014-09-17). "There is nothing funny or smart about that viral Nicki Minaj 'parody' video". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  33. 1 2 Newlands, Murray. "Bart Baker, YouTube Star And Entrepreneur, Galvanizes Fans To Engage In Voting". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  34. ↑ Papadatos, Markos (2016-02-19). "YouTube superstar Bart Baker announces presidential campaign". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  35. ↑ Lazar, Shira (2015-08-17). "The Secret to Ridiculous Humor With YouTube Parody Star Bart Baker". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  36. ↑ "Bart Baker". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  37. ↑ Brouwer, Bree (2014-12-04). "Maker Studios' 'CrashPad' Starring Bart Baker To Launch On December 5". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  38. ↑ Patel, Sahil (2014-12-04). "Maker Studios to Debut Bart Baker-Hosted Clips Show Across Screens". VideoInk. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  39. ↑ LaCroix, Emy (2017-03-01). "Bart Baker's 'Celebritease': How He's Going From YouTube Parodies To Pop Stardom". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
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