The forgotten celeb YouTube channels from before fame – from Zendaya’s teen vlogs to Lana Del Rey DIY music vid

BEFORE stadiums and red carpet events, many A-list celebrities were just teenagers sitting in front of webcams in their bedrooms. Although their followings may have been tiny compared to now, stars such as Dua Lipa and Tom Holland clearly had that star quality from an early age. Before turning heads on film premiere red carpets, Zendaya had a YouTube account Credit: Getty The aspiring actress ran her own early-2010s channel with tutorials Credit: Youtube Most of us mere mortals are lucky that no one is digging up our cringey Myspace postings or YouTube uploads to use against us. However, when you’re a celebrity, nothing stays buried, but thankfully these stars had slightly more talent than the average uploader. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! Megan Dooley, Head of Brand at TAL Agency told The Sun: “It’s no surprise that many of the biggest stars that grace our screens today found their feet on YouTube. “Before algorithms and management teams, it was one of the only – if not the only – platform where young talent could put themselves out there with just a camera and an internet connection. “Looking back at some of these early videos, what really stands out isn’t the production value, it’s the raw talent that oozes through the screen.” Here, we look at seven famous stars from their pre-fame days… 1. Zendaya Before becoming a household name in Euphoria and Spider-Man, Zendaya ran her own early-2010s channel under @heyitszendaya during her Disney era. On there, she uploaded unfiltered video storytimes, teen hair tutorials (like heatless waves and extensions), with fun reactions with her friends and family. Most read in Fabulous While she is now busy promoting blockbuster movies like The Odyssey, she proved that she was destined for fame from a young age, and now boasts 4.22million subscribers on her @zendaya channel. 2. Lana Del Rey Lana Del Rey self-recorded numerous songs before making it big Credit: YouTube Before crafting her cinematic music persona, Elizabeth Grant uploaded home-recorded acoustic tracks under names like May Jailer and Lizzy Grant to early handles like @MsSaintTropez and @DiamondsAreForever11. Her iconic 2011 breakthrough hit Video Games was actually a DIY video she personally edited on her computer, combining webcam footage of herself singing with nostalgic clips of vintage Hollywood. Times have changed for the singer since then, now boasting 18.9million followers on the video-sharing site. 3. Justin Bieber Justin Bieber was famously discovered thanks to his YouTube postings Credit: YouTube As one of YouTube’s original success stories, a 12-year-old Bieber was posted to the channel @kidrauhl by his mother so distant family could watch him perform R&B covers from local talent competitions. The unusual username came from his father Jeremy Bieber’s own online handle (LordRahl), and the singer has YouTube to thank for his colossal career, and his now estimated worth of £148 million. Talent manager Scooter Braun famously stumbled upon one of his cover videos in 2008 while searching for a completely different artist. After convincing Bieber’s mother, Pattie Malette, to let her son fly to Atlanta, Braun made Bieber record demo tapes to send to record labels and coincidentally met Usher at the studio during one of the recording sessions and signed him up in 2008. 4. Dua Lipa Dua Lipa would regularly record songs from her bedroom and send them to managers Credit: YouTube Long before headlining stadiums worldwide, 14-year-old budding singer Dua Lipa began uploading bedroom covers to YouTube. Using just a webcam, she posted renditions of tracks by artists like Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, and Joss Stone. She famously used the channel as an impromptu digital portfolio, sending the links directly to industry contacts and managers in the hopes of getting a record deal. Her strategy proved to be a success, with her self-made demos catching the attention of TAP Management (who also managed Lana Del Rey), and helped facilitate a deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2014. 5. Billie Eilish Billie Eilish went viral online thanks to her small YouTube channel Credit: YouTube Before becoming a global pop phenomenon, a young Billie Eilish operated a small channel under @BillieEilish. Like many youngsters worldwide, the videos showcased her doing dance routines with her friends, singing, and playing the ukulele. It wasn’t until she was 13 years old in 2015 that her big break came and it unexpectedly went viral overnight drawing attention from major record labels. Originally written by Finneas for his own band, they had put Billie’s vocals on the track so her dance teacher could choreograph a routine for her. 6. Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes also managed to find fame thanks to his pop covers Credit: YouTube While Shawn Mendes blew up on Vine in 2013, his music journey actually started on YouTube. Self-taught on the guitar via online tutorials, a 13-year-old Shawn began posting full-length acoustic covers of Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran songs to his channel. It was this that helped showcase his talent and helped him land a major record deal by the age of 15. 7. Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran hustled hard on his social media channel before signing a record dealCredit: Refer to Source Before filling massive arenas with just a loop pedal and a guitar, a young Ed Sheeran was relentlessly hustling on early YouTube under his channel @EdSheeran. Starting around 2006, the ginger teenager uploaded videos of himself busking on the street, performing living room gigs, and playing tiny pub open-mics across the UK. Those raw uploads helped build him an early fanbase that eventually caught the attention of SB.TV and major record labels. He signed with Asylum/Atlantic Records in early 2011 with his official debut single, The A Team, being released in June 2011. 8. Tom Holland A young Tom Holland performed flips on his YouTube channel Credit: YouTube/@tomholland2013 Before swinging into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Spider-Man, a young Tom Holland was a musical theatre kid starring in London’s West End production of Billy Elliot. During this time, he ran a small YouTube channel under @TomHolland1996 where he posted home-recorded videos practicing hip-hop dances, backflips, and gymnastics in his family’s garden. He’s certainly not lost his athletic flair, with him landing the role of the Marvel action hero in 2015. Comment now