Iqra Aziz
Why wait for opportunities when you can create them, all on your own? Opportunity, after all, can be a fickle creature, so easily swayed by partisanship, political and social factors or even mere mood swings. And in the world of show business, stalwarts will tell you that there are times when opportunity just doesn’t come your way.
Luckily, stars now have YouTube: an all-pervasive, all accessible, free platform where the truly inventive can create content and float it out to the world. It is a platform that has created stars of its very own: ‘vloggers’ who have now become millionaires with their thriving YouTube channels with scores of followers worldwide.
It has also become a launch-pad for stars who proceeded to build their careers after their initial whiffs of success on the internet. Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes, for example, jump-started their careers via YouTube and, on home ground, a 16-year-old Asim Azhar began by floating out his music on the web portal, building a fan following until, one fine day, an offer from Coke Studio came his way.
There is, however, another genre of YouTubers that is prevalent in cyberspace: big name stars that have launched YouTube channels of their own. It isn’t quite enough that they are scoring mega-movie contracts and attending the most glamorous parties and awards ceremonies — they have decided to cash in on their popularity and their high-flying lifestyle by opening up parts of their lives to audiences on YouTube.
For Pakistani celebrities hoping to fight off stereotypes or waiting for that one role that will finally prove their mettle, the wait seems to be over. They’ve found YouTube. It helps that it can also be quite lucrative
Zac Efron makes short videos of his travels while Will Smith just posts glimpses of his gloriously glitzy life and his picture-perfect family. The Rock likes to show behind-the-scenes snippets from the projects that he’s involved in while also shooting plenty of workout videos because, well, he likes to work out! There are plenty more celebrity YouTube channels, offering fans insights into the lives and personalities of their favourite stars.