Official Blog
Broadcast Yourself
'Rocket Man,' 'Bennie and the Jets' and 'Tiny Dancer' reimagined for YouTube, by … you!
Monday, May 22, 2017
A little while back,
we asked you
if you’d like to create the official music videos for three of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s biggest hits: “Rocket Man,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Tiny Dancer.” And, well, you answered. Entries flooded in from over 50 countries around the world and you reminded us what magic is made when technology and creativity collide.
These iconic hits - released in 1971, 1972 and 1973 - were made before the emergence of music videos, yielding an opportunity to breathe new creativity into some of the most loved music of all time. We’re so excited to share the results of
The Cut, Supported by YouTube
with you here, a project dreamed up and made possible by Elton John and Bernie Taupin on the 50th anniversary of their songwriting partnership and designed to support new talent, just like you. The concept was beautifully simple. And the results are amazing.
Video: “Rocket Man”
Visual Medium: Animation
Winner: Majid Adin
Majid Adin’s winning video for “Rocket Man” is a poignant animated work that draws on his personal experiences as an Iranian refugee making his way to England -- reimagining the song and giving a new perspective to the lyrics to tell a thought-provoking story of adventure, loneliness and hope. A fine art university graduate working in animation production, Adin travelled across Europe during the 2015 refugee crisis, spending time in the infamous Calais Jungle camp before being granted asylum in the U.K. and now rebuilding his life as an artist in Britain.
Video: “Bennie and the Jets”
Visual Medium: Choreography
Winner: Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill
The “Bennie and the Jets” video has been interpreted by director Jack Whiteley and choreographer/artistic director Laura Brownhill and tells the story of the formation of Bennie and her Jets. The set and central structure takes its inspiration from Fritz Lang’s 1927 science-fiction film, “Metropolis,” while the synchronized choreography is inspired by Busby Berkeley films, and the black-and-white aesthetic is a nod to the classic Hollywood era.
Video: “Tiny Dancer”
Visual Medium: Live action
Winner: Max Weiland
Max Weiland’s winning video for “Tiny Dancer” is a tribute to Los Angeles. The British director’s work shows people from all walks of life traveling around the city, all listening to the same song – “Tiny Dancer.” It’s inspired by Elton and Bernie's love of California, Max Weiland captures the free-spirited characters of L.A, in this sun-soaked homage to the Golden State.
Thank you for the music ... and the videos!
Maya Amoils, Product Marketing Manager, YouTube, recently watched “
Katy Perry Goes Undercover as an Art Exhibit at the Whitney Museum | Vanity Fair
.”
Honoring #AllTheMoms this Mother’s Day
Friday, May 12, 2017
As a mother myself, I’m amazed by all the different mamas that share their stories on YouTube. They help us understand how single moms, married moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, partner moms, #AllTheMoms live their lives. They show us what it means to be a parent today – the joys, the challenges, the moments that make you laugh, sometimes wince and sometimes cry (in the best sort of way).
There are entrepreneurs like Elle, Brooke and Meg of
WhatsUpMoms
, comedians like
Glozell
, beauty experts like
Louise Pentland
, and vloggers that live in every corner of the world. From
Nikki Perkins
in Australia to
Domo and Crissy
and
Flavia Calina
in Brazil, moms of all backgrounds use YouTube to share their reality in ways that are unique to them and the kids they’re raising.
I’m in awe of how this community of moms continues to grow and support one another. Between 2015 and 2016, views of mother-related content grew 81 percent. Most importantly, videos related to education and tips for moms grew a staggering 98 percent over this same amount of time. To help celebrate this community of motherhood, we want to send a Mother’s Day thank you to #AllTheMoms out there who create, watch, learn and use their voices to support mothers around the globe:
To all the moms who get real about
breastfeeding
, fostering
self-esteem
,
sending a child off to college
, feeling
glamorous
and
not-so-glamorous
, or just
getting groceries
: thank you for your honesty. Wherever you come from and whatever your story, we are so thankful you share it with us.
Danielle Tiedt, Chief Marketing Officer at YouTube recently watched
these inspiring moms on YouTube
.
From the Brandcast stage: New star-studded shows for audiences around the globe
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Kevin Hart. Rhett and Link. Ellen DeGeneres. Katy Perry. The Slow Mo Guys. Demi Lovato. Ludacris.
These amazing stars all have something in common: They're starring in new shows premiering exclusively on YouTube. And since these shows are ad-supported, you—and every single one of our billion-plus viewers—can watch for free.
Bringing even more can’t-miss content to audiences globally
For years, we’ve been proud to work with creators like
Casey Neistat
,
Jackie Aina
and countless others who have turned their channels into daily destinations. And with these channels packaged within Google Preferred—our offering that allows brands to advertise on some of the most-loved and most-watched content on YouTube—brands have been able to support the videos you love, so you can enjoy for free.
These channels continue to be hugely successful. That’s why, starting in 2016, we made the decision to take YouTube to the next level. We began making premium original content for our subscription service,
YouTube Red
, releasing 30 series and movies in just over a year. And we kept hearing from brands they wanted to be more involved in these premium series.
Launching new ad-supported shows, exclusively on YouTube
When excited fans, brands, and creators tell us something, we listen. We’re thrilled to announce that beginning later this year, some of the biggest YouTube creators and Hollywood names will be featured in seven new series on YouTube—bringing more can’t-get-enough-of and can’t-find-anywhere-else shows to everyone, everywhere. With these new shows, brands can be a part of content that’s generating buzz around the world.
Check out the must-see lineup:
Ellen’s Show Me More Show
:
Like nothing Ellen has done before,
Ellen’s Show Me More Show
is a twice-a-week series built just for YouTube, giving fans behind the scenes access to some of the biggest stars and her favorite moments.
Good Mythical Morning
:
Worldwide YouTube superstars—and hosts of YouTube’s most popular daily show—Rhett & Link will go to new heights in a long-form expansion of
Good Mythical Morning
, giving fans even more of what they crave: larger-than-life stunts, zanier challenges, and over-the-top laughs.
Kevin Hart: What the Fit?
:
Kevin will team up with celebrity friends and YouTube stars each week as they attempt to master a different trending, grueling and sometimes ridiculous workout routine.
I Am: Demi Lovato
:
Global music sensation and social advocate, Demi Lovato reveals a yearlong personal journey of music reinvention and deep discovery as she dives into the writing and recording of her new album in her new series,
I Am: Demi Lovato
.
Best.Cover.Ever.
:
From Ryan Seacrest Productions and Endemol Shine North America,
Best.Cover.Ever.
is a cutting-edge talent competition series hosted by Ludacris where emerging talent from across the globe submit covers to YouTube to vie for the ultimate prize: an opportunity to perform a duet with a superstar artist. Submit your cover now at
thebestcoverever.com
.
The Super Slow Show
:
YouTube stars The Slow Mo Guys will test the latest in technology to reinvent the way we look at celebrities, music, pranks, comedy sketches and more, giving a one-of-a-kind glimpse into what the world looks like in slow motion.
Katy Perry Live Special
:
It's real. It's raw. It's Katy Perry. Live on YouTube,
The Katy Perry Live Special
will take you inside of her world, revealing the experiences and emotions she poured into her all-new soul-baring music on the eve of her highly anticipated album launch. With unique access, global reach and surprise fun packed along the way, Katy will break it all down in this album listen-along, and if you stick around long enough, there might just be fireworks.
We’re excited to partner with top creators and world-class production companies to offer these new shows to audiences globally—on the platform where the world chooses to watch over a billion hours of video every day.
1
People turn to YouTube to express themselves, engage with creators, and connect with the thriving communities they’re proud to be a part of.
This vibrant fan and creator community is also why brands turn to YouTube. And we're excited that Johnson & Johnson Consumer Brands will be our first advertising partner of this new content. In addition to a major investment in our creators through Google Preferred, they’ve signed on as the exclusive sponsor of
Best.Cover.Ever.
, helping to make the talent competition accessible to YouTube viewers.
Check out
#Brandcast
to see highlights from the night and
look here
to see what new YouTube trends were announced.
Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer, YouTube, recently watched "
Justin Bieber - Despacito Ft. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee
."
1
Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2016
A sneak peek at YouTube’s new look and feel
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
YouTube is where you come to watch your favorite creators -- whether that means jamming with
Alex Aiono
, gaming with
Strawburry17
, or hanging out with
Logan Paul
. That’s why we’re working on a redesign of the desktop experience that highlights your favorite videos and creators while making YouTube easier and more fun to use.
Starting today, we’re opening up a preview of the new design to a small group of people from all around the world so we can get feedback. While we hope you'll love what we’ve been working on, we’re also really excited to involve the YouTube community so we can make the site even better before sharing it more broadly.
We’re applying
Material Design
to YouTube to deliver a beautiful, delightful and intuitive user experience. The key principles of this new design are:
Simplicity
: The only thing you should be concerned about is watching the content you love. The new design is clean and fresh, thanks to the removal of visuals that can distract from your browsing or watching experience. We're focused on making the content shine!
Consistency
: The new design is aligned across Google platforms, including the YouTube mobile app, while still providing the features you know and love.
Beauty
: We strive to combine beauty and purpose to create an effortless experience.
The site design is built on a new, faster framework named
Polymer
, which enables quicker feature development from here on out. And today, we are introducing one of the first new features developed on Polymer: Dark Theme. Developed to cut down on glare and let you take in the true colors of the videos you watch, Dark Theme turns your background dark throughout your entire YouTube experience. This is only the beginning -- you can look forward to more powerful new features coming soon!
If you want to try out YouTube’s latest look, you can opt-in to preview the new design at
youtube.com/new
. You can return to the current design by selecting “Restore classic YouTube” from the Account Menu. And don't forget to send us feedback from the Account Menu.
We're still working on the new site, so we hope you'll try it out now and let us know what you think!
Brian Marquardt, Product Manager, recently watched “
Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen/PIKO-TARO
.”
The YouTube Kids app is now available on even more screens!
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Love using the YouTube Kids app on your phone and tablet? Well, we’re excited to announce that now you can enjoy your favorite videos on select smart TVs too!
Since launching just over two years ago, the YouTube Kids app has become the go-to destination for families around the world with more than 30 billion views and over 8 million weekly active viewers. Starting today, the YouTube Kids app will be available on LG, Samsung, and Sony smart TVs in the 26 countries where the app is currently launched*.
We’ve heard from families that they love watching videos on all their devices so bringing the entertaining and enriching content of YouTube Kids to the biggest personal screen (your TV!) seemed like the perfect fit.
The
YouTube Kids app
is the first Google product built from the ground up with kids in mind. The app makes it easier for kids to find videos on topics they want to explore. Whether it’s searching for science experiments, watching a favorite cartoon, or simply watching your favorite creator’s new videos, there is something for everyone!
The YouTube Kids app will be available
on the following television sets
: all 2015 - 2017 LG webOS TVs via the LG content store, all 2013 - 2017 Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-Ray Players that have access to the Samsung App Store, and after a firmware update on 2016-2017 Sony TVs (with the exception of Android TV, which will be available soon). Happy viewing from our family to yours!
*Countries where the YouTube Kids App is available: United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Spain, Brazil, Russia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Singapore, and France. The availability of the YouTube Kids app in these countries is dependent on the individual television manufacturer
AJ Crane, Product Manager for YouTube Kids, recently watched “
Kings of Atlantis
” on YouTube Red
Introducing our first class of Creators for Change fellows
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Back in
September
, YouTube announced a new program called Creators for Change, putting forward creators with big ideas to help counter xenophobia, extremism and hate with stories promoting positive change. One of our first steps was teaming up with 11
program ambassadors
who are now hard at work developing unique social impact projects which range from a new web series on topics like race, religion, and sexual orientation, to a 10-city workshop series for high school and university students dedicated to creating positive content. Our local chapters in countries like
Indonesia
continue to promote the importance of inclusiveness among young people. And as part of this program, Google.org, our philanthropic arm, has awarded $2M in charitable funds to support nonprofits that promote inclusion and cross-cultural understanding to the:
Active Change Foundation
,
Habibie Center
,
Maslaha
,
Skateistan
,
Southern Poverty Law Center
, TAFNIT and
Witness
.
Mentorship and support for emerging voices is a key part of the Creators for Change program, and we’re now ready to take on our next phase. We’ve collaborated with our program ambassadors to identify new voices we’d like to support and today, we’re excited to introduce the 27 creators from around the world who will join us as the first-ever Creators for Change fellows:
Australia:
L-Fresh the Lion
France:
Swann Périssé
,
Arthur Pires
Germany:
Jette Lübbehüsen
,
Firas Alshater
India:
Nikharika Nm
,
Them Boxer Shorts
,
Sandeep Jha
Indonesia:
Raja Gopalz
,
Gita Devi
,
Jovi Hunter
Oman:
Ashwaq Al Maskery
Turkey:
Özgür Turhan and Deniz Bağdaş
,
İlker Gümüşoluk
United Arab Emirates:
Maha Abdelghaffar
United Kingdom:
Nadir Nahdi
,
Myles Dyer
,
Leena Normington
,
Taha Khan
,
Sam Saffold-Geri
,
Rosianna Rojas
United States:
Subhi Taha
,
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
,
Taylor Behnke
,
Tasneem Afridi
,
Evelyn Ngugi
Yemen:
Ezaldeen Aref
Together with our ambassadors, we’re eager to support these YouTube role models as they continue to create content that challenges tough topics like hate and extremism, and spread positive messages. For starters, these Creators for Change fellows will each receive equipment and production grants to help them develop new projects and take these productions to the next level.
We’ll also give the creators production support through our YouTube Spaces, and this summer our Spaces in London, New York and Mumbai will host new social impact camps designed exclusively for our program Fellows. These three-day-long camps will include workshops on best practices for producing social change videos, 1:1 channel support from YouTube experts, as well as plenty of time for the Fellows to connect with one another and some of the global program ambassadors.
Through these new resources and programs, we’re committed to helping our new Creators for Change fellows take on new projects that help raise and amplify the issues they care about. Stay tuned for more soon and, for now, you can read about their inspiring stories at the
Creators for Change site
.
Juniper Downs, Head of YouTube Public Policy, recently watched
this inspiring group of creators share their stories
.
The miracle of Live
Monday, April 17, 2017
On Saturday, the world's most famous giraffe,
April
, gave birth to a baby boy.
Since February 10, 2017,
Animal Adventure
, an educational animal park in New York, has been livestreaming April's pregnancy and creating a social media sensation with fans all over the world tuning in regularly to check on her progress. One industrious fan created an app to
crowdsource pregnancy updates
from tens of thousands of other fans following the livestream. A pregnant woman even
parodied April’s livestream
, becoming an internet sensation in her own right. Waiting for April to give birth became an experience shared around the world.
As the anticipation and audience grew leading up to the big moment, Animal Adventure Park became the
second most live-viewed channel
in the history of YouTube despite launching a mere 66 days ago. Here are the highlights of April and her baby bump:
Over 232 million live views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch-time total.
The livestreams became daily programming for millions, with an average time watched of more than
30 minutes
across an average of 3.5 million views per day.
Saturday, the day of the birth, was the channel’s biggest day, surging to over 14 million live views.
More than 1.2 million viewers were watching the livestream simultaneously at 6:55 a.m. PST on Saturday, a peak that ranked as one of the
top five
most-watched moments for a live event ever on YouTube.
Giraffes already hold the record for being the tallest land animals in the world, but here are some other records April set this weekend:
Animal Adventure Park became the fifth fastest channel to 200 million views, achieving the feat in only 54 days (behind notable celebrity non-giraffes
Lady Gaga
and
Zayn
).
It’s one of only seven channels to eclipse 100 million live views so far and the fastest to do so of any channel.
Fans have been connecting with Animal Adventure Park’s staff too through live chat. The channel received over 4,400
Super Chat
messages, making them now the second highest Super Chat earner by revenue.
But April wasn't just the star of a popular stream; she sparked a pop culture phenomenon, with YouTube creators and fans posting videos of their own that were watched over 48.7 million times, including
day-by-day analysis of pregnancy signs
,
baby showers
, and
anxious messages about the wait
.
We've seen some of the biggest events in
music
,
sports
,
politics
, and
gaming
play out on YouTube over the years. Thanks to one endearing mother giraffe, we'll have to add animal events to that list now too.
Posted by Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends, recently watched "
Tropical Reef Camera
."
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