Technical virtuosity alone can launch a prepubescent child into lasting global online fame

Evidence

One example of internet celebrity as the celebration of exceptionalism is that of the 21-year-old South Korean musician Sungha Jung. He first became popular on YouTube at the young age of 10 as a guitar prodigy. With a guitar larger than his body and his tiny fingers stretching to reach across the fretboard, Jung’s fingerstyle acoustic guitar covers of popular songs requires proficient technical skills beyond that of mainstream guitar-playing techniques. Further, he arranges the covers himself by ear, and his videos have earned him 1.4 billion views and 4.8 million subscribers on YouTube. One of the spikes in his online fame is attributed to his cover of the theme from the movie Pirates of The Caribbean, which has accumulated over 56 million views at the time of writing. The video caught the attention of renowned guitarists Hata Shuji and Ulli Bögershausen who have offered to become his personal mentors. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 131

Categorization

• CANDY: The guitar-prodigy-turned-YouTube-star story of Sungha Jung is a fun, concrete illustrative fact.
• XREF: connects to: Mundane everyday skills can generate internet celebrity rivaling elite talents — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 134; Micro-celebrity status requires achievements, not just self-promotion — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 335

Broader Connections

• Mundane everyday skills can generate internet celebrity rivaling elite talents #expands (0.75) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 134
• Micro-celebrity status requires achievements, not just self-promotion #qualifies (0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 335