When you hear this name PewDiePie, perhaps it rings a bell in your ear. Years ago, a young man started a channel on YouTube titled PewDie, then a fairly new online social platform. Over the years, he himself not only became a millionaire, he brought YouTube large amount of advertising revenue through his viral videos. His channel PewDiePie alone managed to support YouTube and fend off competition from Facebook and other video platforms. Let’s know more about one of the earliest digital stars in the virtual world.
Who is PewDiePie?
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, known as PewDiePie, was born in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 24, 1989. As one of the most popular YouTubers globally, PewDiePie has 111 million subscribers on his main channel. He had held the title of the most-subscribed creator on the platform for many years straight. He was a skilled video gamer and stared with a gameplay commentary channel first. Later, he switched to other genres. PewDiePie was the fastest growing content creator with highest number of subscribers at his time. He later was referred as the “King” of YouTube and gained international fame through collaborating with other content creators, companies for video making purposes.
How it All Started?
His initial YouTube account was created in 2006 with the name “PewDie,” a combination of “Pew” (imitating gunfire) and “Die” (to die in English). Afterwards, he opened a new channel and opened a new account. He added the “Pie” as a representation of his love for this particular dessert to the channel name. This new account has then evolved into the PewDiePie channel we know today. He uploaded his first video on YouTube in 2010.
He had an interest in video games and art since his childhood. His first video was about recording and commenting on video games in “Let’s Play” format. He then started to play through horror games i.e. Amnesia: The Dark Descent. His authentic reactions and commentaries slowly were getting him more followers from the gaming industry. Besides, he started a personal vlog, “Fridays with PewDiePei”. Both together helped him earned higher number of subscribers within shortest time in the YouTube history. By 2011, he had already sixty thousand subscribers.
Slowly, PewDiePie started introducing new styles, viral videos and videos with other content creators. He is considered the first content creator who made proper use of thumbnails, sound effects. However, his pioneering videos on meme reviews got him more subscribers than ever before. He even started the first trend of giving away money to the participants in his videos, a trend many You Tubers copy today.
Journey of PewDiePie to Fame and Fiasco
By November 2013, he was the most-subscribed YouTubers and had reached 15 million subscribers, earning a Guinness World Record. His content then expanded to include videos on current events, memes, and his personal life, all with his characteristic irony. His total view so far has been 29.38 billion. Some of his most watched videos posted online are:
- “Congratulations”
- “LEVEL-7 | I’M NOT-CRAZY (OUTLAST IRL GAMEPLAY)”
- “A Funny Montage”
- “THE RUBY PLAYBUTTON -YouTube 50 Mil Sub Reward Unbo x”
- “YouTube Rewind 2018-but it’s actually good”
- “FUNNY MONTAGE 2”
- “Jabba the Hutt (PewDiePie Song) by Schmoyoho”
By 2017, PewDiePie’s fame continued to travel the world. Around this time, he chose to feature more viral videos, reviews and critiques of many issues, including fellow YouTubers. His jittery habit of switching to different issues depicts that he was tense about losing subscribers. In fact, he expresses his frustration over YouTubers losing their subscribers. Later, PewDiePie announced that he will stop streaming new videos or else delete his channel upon receiving 50 million subscribers. Though he did not delete his main channel once he achieved this milestone, his posts got substantial attention from the media and his subscribers as well.
His concerns about his channel becoming stale returns in 2019 when T-Series, a Bollywood production company started getting millions of views on YouTube. He initially handled this new competitor by encouraging his followers to keep supporting his channels. Even his old competitor MrBeast also supported him wearing a costume with “Subscribe to PewDiePie” at Super Bowl. Despite all these efforts, PewDiePie lost his long standing position as Top YouTube Channel to T-Series in subscriber count by April, 2019.
Stepping Out Due to Stress
PewDiePie initially started his channel to explore the virtual world. He stated in one of his interview once that he never had an intention of being famous. He had managed to create videos, publish books and launched successful mobile games. However, with time, the constant attention and pressure of delivering unique content had become overwhelming for him. As a result, in 2019, he decided to step away temporarily from YouTube. He claimed that he had become unbearable with stress from nonstop content creation.
Following his move to Japan with his wife Marzia and the announcement of their first child, Björn, on July 11, 2023, PewDiePie’s recent YouTube and social media updates reveal that he is currently prioritizing his own peace and well-being.
Public Influence
From an unknown YouTubers to one of the most influential online personality. PewDiePie had seen it all during his prime. YouTube is particularly grateful to him for introducing this platform to his game loving followers. Besides games and personal blogs, he started using his fame to organize fundraising and charity events for various causes. One of his popular video was giving “Web Game King” prize to WWF.
He was cast by many media and cited by many publications as major influence for digital content. Particularly, he was considered as an icon for gaming YouTubers. Lev Grossman of Time wrote that Kjellberg dominated “an entire medium single-handed,” and pioneered “a new form of fame not controlled or manufactured by a studio or a network. However, in recent years, he has lost some of his loyal fan base due to his political stand and some of his comments at other platforms.
To conclude, PewDiePie is still remembered by his old fellows in YouTube world. Recently, MrBeast has shared a post “After 6 years we have finally avenged Pewdiepie” announcing MrBeast is the top YouTube channel currently. Nonetheless, he remains committed to engaging with his fans, known as the “Bro Army,” and continues to pursue what he loves.
