Thursday 29 October 2009

The Great Debate: Ben Kelly tells us what's good, what's bad and who's an idiot

Here at Vicarious we've got some serious pop culture issues so we got our e-hero, Youtube superstar Ben Kelly, to settle them for us. Tell us what you'd choose and why by clicking COMMENTS below!


1.Gaga or Britney? Gaga all the way - she has more talent in her disco stick than Britney has in her whole body.

2. Paris or Perez Hilton? Perez Hilton - he's the lesser of two evils.

3. iPhone or Blackberry?
iPhone - I don't own either, but since I love iPods...

4. London or New York? New York - because if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. Apparently

5. IKEA or Habitat? Habitat - Ikea is mental these days - like the TK Maxx of home furnishings.

6. Girls or boys? Boys.what can I say...I'm biased.

7. Boris or Ken? Boris - because he's a bit of an idiot, but an unashamed one.

8. Staying in or going out? Going out - no one sees you when you're at home.

9. Skinny or baggy? Skinny all the way - I could never be anything else!

10. Girls Aloud or The Saturdays? Girls Aloud - since the Spice Girls weren't an option...

Monday 26 October 2009

TEN STEPS TO YOUTUBE STARDOM

Ben Kelly is an UCL English student from Northern Ireland, who's Youtube renditions of popular music have secured a viewership of over 200,000. In our continued quest to become somebody, we decided to chat to him about how to obtain Youtube stardom and deal with the consequences. It is tough up there after all, just look up SuBo. Actually don’t, she just can’t cope with all the hits.



1. PISS OFF YOUR FAMILY: I've been singing and performing my whole life, much to the annoyance of my family, but I didn't start playing piano until I was 10, which is a bit late compared to all the whizz kids I went to school with. Then I started writing songs when I was 14, and I've just been putting it all together ever since.
2. ...LISTEN TO YOUR LITTLE SISTER: It was my little sister's idea to start the YouTube thing - it was basically just to share with everyone else the kind of stuff I do in my free time at home, and also to gauge a sense of whether people would like my style or not.
3. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE 'POP FACTOR': My musical influences come from all over the place, in almost every genre, but the biggest ones are Michael Jackson and Madonna for the pop factor, Stevie Wonder and Prince for the r'n'b/soul/funk sound, and for their excellent piano playing. I also love David Bowie for his eclectic style/the whole Ziggy Stardust thing.
4. DABBLE IN EVERYTHING. What!? No, put down the drugs and just listen: The music I write, which I hope to get recording and put out there very soon, is very much a fusion of all my influences - essentially it's piano-based pop, but it dabbles in dance music, jazz, soul, all sorts really.
5. BRAIN WAS TALKING SENSE WHEN HE TOLD PINKY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD: The response on YouTube has been phenomenal - I couldn't have wished for better. In 6 months I've had nearly 200,000 views, and especially over the summer that started rocketing up. People's comments have been fantastic, I have a lot of support all over the world now, which really helps for trying to get myself launched out there. The dream is to write, record and perform all over the world, entertaining as many people as I can - that's not too ambitious now is it?
6. DO A DEAR, A FEMALE DEAR, RAAAAAAAAAY A DROP OF GOLDEN SUUUN: I think I'm more influenced by contemporary music, but musicals are a major influence on me - I've been watching and starring in them my whole life - I'm even doing Into The Woods at the Bloomsbury this December. That has been really key to my style, not just from a theatrical perspective, but throughout history some of the greatest music from various eras have been represented through musicals, from music hall to cabaret, rock and roll to disco - they're bursting with imagination, and everyone loves them.
7. HAVE SOME BALLS: I've been on the stage my whole life - although at the beginning, I was terrified of audiences, and there were a few incidents of little Ben fluffing it in competitions or crying at drama class, but when I got to secondary school I did big parts in shows like Singin' in the Rain and Oklahoma and that worked wonders for my confidence. They can't get me off the stage now. That's where I am right now...
8. …ON THE SECOND DATE: I'm quite confident, but I don't think I'd be ballsy enough to serenade on a first date...maybe on a second!
9. GO FORTH AND CONVERT: My friends are late converts to the Ben Kelly fanbase - they didn't take me seriously for quite some time, but I think they're coming round to the idea now that they see other people actually enjoy listening to me.
10. A DIVA IS A FEMALE VERSION OF A HUSTLER, A DIVO IS A MALE VERSION OF DIVA...ERR, THAT MAKES SENSE RIGHT?: I have never been called a Divo backstage - only at home with my family.

And on that note, we’ve come back full circle to Ben pissing off the folks. Now you too can become a YouTube star…or you could just see Ben instead because he’s probably a better singer than you and we always recommend living vicariously.

EXTRA FACTOR: Become a true Ben Kelly fan by watching him perform on stage. He’ll be playing some Monday nights at the ISHbar on Great Portland Street so drop by. And once you’ve been converted you can follow him to Ireland where he will be supporting folk singer Mickey Coleman. For more details join the 'Ben Kelly Fans' group on Facebook.

MK,BK & CF