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I'm YouTube's biggest hit
By Alexa Baracaia, Evening Standard 30.01.07
Fairytale or fix? Mia Rose, whose YouTube page attracted three million viewers in a month
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A London teenager is laying claim to becoming YouTube's first global pop star after her homemade music videos made her the most-viewed person on the website.
Wimbledon-based student Mia Rose's folk songs attracted three million viewers in less than a month.
Now the 18-year-old is said to have flown to New York for talks with Atlantic Records.
But her success has prompted claims from some YouTube users that she is the latest protégé of a PR team working to make her appear an internet sensation.
They say she is the new Sandi Thom, whose apparently self-made webcasts from the basement of her Tooting flat sparked chart success but who was later accused of being marketed by a publicity firm.
Norah Jones lookalike Mia Rose - who has Portuguese parents and whose real name is Maria Antonia Rosa - posted a series of videos of herself singing and playing the guitar, apparently from her own bedroom, before Christmas. Within less than a month three million people had viewed the footage.
This is said to have sparked a worldwide scramble to sign her to a record label, with her claiming to be in talks with Atlantic Records which represents Paolo Nutini, James Blunt and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
She said: "I can't believe everything has happened so quickly. I was six when I started singing and I haven't stopped since.
"My passion has always been singing and a couple of my friends told me about YouTube. They said the YouTube community was fantastic and uploading videos would be a great way to promote my music.
"Within a matter of weeks I became the most viewed person ever on the site. Next thing I had record companies offering me contracts.
"It's such a fairytale, to think just a month or so ago I was singing on YouTube and now I could be joining artists such as James Blunt and Craig David at one of the biggest record companies in the world.
"I can't wait to introduce the world to my music and I'm itching to get into the studio to start recording."
However, a spokeswoman for Atlantic Records in London said she was unaware of any deal but added: "It could be something that's being dealt with by the States."
Video-sharing website YouTube has been deluged by claims of a "fix".
The correspondents point out that Mia Rose is represented by Australian "media manager" Damien Estreich, who runs YouTube news channel, YourTubeNews.
They suggest Mia Rose's video blog has become artificially inflated with allegedly fake comments being repeatedly posted to make it appear viewed on the site the most.
But the teenager has dismissed the claims, insisting in a YouTube message: "I've never had any involvement in cheating, neither has anyone who helps me." Mr Estreich was unavailable for comment.
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Reader views (3)
very good
- Hamza, malappuram india
What planet is Stan from Chicago from? I'm a lifelong Nat King Cole fan. I stumbled on Ysabellabrave when searching YouTube for Nat, as she also sang "Frim Fram Sauce" a Cole number. I nearly didn't click on her but did and was instantly hooked. She can sing, she's sassy, and has definitely got "IT". She also understands perfectly the songs she sings, and is "mood perfect". A few weeks later I happened to stumble across Mia Rose. I subscribed to her to see what she did. I unsubscribed a few days later because I found her dreary, talentless and flat with no sense of rhythm.
Ysabella currently has 30,229 subscribers to date after 20 months, a quite believable figure based on a genuine fan base.
Mia Rose on the other hand currently has 7,849,881 subscribers after only 11 months. That kind of figure would only be believable if Elvis suddenly turned up safe and sound! Either there are 7,849,881 gullible tasteless people out there, or something else is going on! She certainly hasn't got that on talent. I would place her well down the field in the average local karaoke competition.
Stan, you need a reality check guy!
- Bruce, London, UK
Whether or not the fix is in, Mia Rose sings beautifully enough, given the decidedly low-tech audio capture of her voice on YouTube. I'd imagine a properly souped-up studio could make her sound brilliant. But more importantly, she gives great face and would have a natural career before the cameras on looks alone.
Another YouTube singing sensation, ysabellabrave, though more modestly talented, is also drawing a big crowd with her prolific retro-songbook offerings. The trouble with her is that she can't handle criticism and bans people who dare to leave less-than-flattering comments on her videos. Poor girl. If she makes it big she'll need a well-paid manager to keep her stable.
- Stan, Chicago, USA
