'Use Somebody' I posted - it was the end of 2009, around Christmas. That was my first video.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I posted my first video, I remember it hit 700 views after a week, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing.' I was over the moon.
The whole point of me doing a Christmas record and what I centered it around was the song 'Christmas with You' from the point-of-view of the soldiers in Iraq.
When my YouTube videos started to get really big, I was like, 'Man, this is pretty sweet.' It started as my hobby, and then I started traveling and learning how to play different instruments, and then it just kind of became my life.
I thought, 'If I'm going to die, I'm going to videotape it.' So I got out my little video recorder and was taping goodbyes to my family.
When I started out the videos, I was dealing with depression, and I wanted to make inspiring videos for others, which would end up inspiring me in turn. I wanted to show the world that it was possible to make a positive switch in life and start over.
After a long day at work, I want someone to come home, turn on my video and think, 'Oh my God, how girls get ready? This is hilarious. I love this; I'm forgetting about all my problems.'
The best videos were the ones where I became friends with the artists first.
I just made my album. I did my best. And I uploaded the video just to 'YouTube.' That was all.
'Stimela' is the very first video I directed. I wanted it to be an emotional visual art piece, displaying humans as free, powerful animals. We are all running from something or searching for something; our instincts have been ignored.
The first videos I uploaded on my own personal channel were videos of dogs.