Best of Asian YouTubers 2014

By Chongchen Saelee

Greetings, my loyal followers! I thought I’d give an update of the best of Asian YouTubers. You can view the previous title holders here.

So, without further ado:

1. David So Comedy
www.youtube.com/davidsocomedy

Quite possibly the most consistent quality of content and humor. The two qualities go hand in hand. The video quality didn’t just up it’s game, but the humor stayed lame. The humor is still on top and the the technical quality is still sufficient. Recently, he’s been vlogging about losing weight. Honestly, though, I think it’s just another gimmicky stunt, but that’s how he milks his typecast. He doesn’t look like he’s lost any weight. But I’m sure he understands that if he does, he’ll lose his appeal.

2. Fung Bros.
www.youtube.com/fungbroscomedy

The Fung Bros. talent agent understood that there is appeal in the brother duo act. The Fung Bros. David and Andrew are still young and hip and appeal to a more hip audience. They could be a good gateway to bridge non-urban audiences to urban Asian culture. They rap, they vlog about Asian food, and also do some serious commentary on Asian American culture. And to prove they are moving up or are getting the attention they’ve earned, they were recently cast to appear on ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos in advent of ABC’s new TV lineup to introduce the Asian-family sitcom “Fresh Off The Boat”.

3. Timothy Delaghetto
www.youtube.com/timothydelaghetto2
www.youtube.com/theTimothyDelaghetto

Tim dropped a slot from #2 because his content doesn’t seem as fresh or new to me anymore. However, he still has a HUGE following compared to the new TOP 2. But it’s just my personal opinion. He’s made it big, in relativity to other Asian YouTubers, in that he got picked up by mega-kid-star Nick Cannon for “Wild ‘n Out” and a bunch of other endorsement deals. So he’s been busy flying all over the place and getting a real taste of what the high life will be like. As a result, his videos are lacking because he doesn’t have time to make them anymore. And I’m not one to judge Tim’s rapping skillz, he goes by the alias “Traphik”, but those particular videos I have no interest in. However, I think he still has good crossover appeal: the Asian Guy Who Thinks He’s Black, but not in an offensive way.

4. SerpentZA
www.youtube.com/serpentza

Oddly enough, here’s a guy that isn’t Asian, he’s white, but has quite a motivational and uplifting channel that I think it’s worth noting. SerpentZA is Winston Sterzel, a South African ex-patriate who is living in Shenzhen, China. Essentially, he’s a white Chinaman. His vlogs are very authentic, at least we non-Chinese citizens think so, and Winston proves to be more Asian than most Asian Americans at time as he shines a light on how Chinese and China really is being right in the middle of things. I think his videos are quite insightful. If you’re interested in China, they are fun videos. But if you’re interested in the undertones like I am, to watch human behavior or the social changes that happen because of it, then you can use SepentZA’s videos to contrast with how an American would vlog to get a bigger picture. It’s a jarring comparison.

For example, any poor Asian American will still think he’s baller in America, no matter how dirt poor or starving. But in China, Winston is still relatively poor, but he has a better and more positive outlook in China and he’s more realistic. It’s all a matter of perspective. Earn respect. Becoming a rapper, basketball player, comedian, or YouTube-famous doesn’t give you any respect. That’s the big picture.

5. Eliot Chang
www.youtube.com/EliotChangOfficial

Only because I wanted to round my list off at 5 this time, so I chose Eliot Chang’s channel. He doesn’t get as much views, but his posts are pretty consistent. Here’s an example of an Asian American comedian in his prime, yet he still hasn’t attained much of any attention. He’s not laugh out loud funny, but his charisma seems to keep him in the spotlight and garnering new fans. He’s also been dispensing a lot of life advice in his videos, which I think seems to have helped him keep his career flowing along. Who knows, maybe something will turn up and he might get a role on “Fresh Off The Boat”. We’ll see.

Well, I hope you agree with my list for 2014. If your favorite dropped off the list, keep an eye on my blog to see if they return. Or tell me what you think. I’m looking for game changers, those who might actually make a difference in the Asian American experience. Anyone who can make a fart joke or make their parents look ugly doesn’t get the real power of good humor or satire. At least, if that’s what your claim to fame is about, then you gotta prove it.

Until the next list!!!

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