Ray William Johnson
Encyclopedia
Ray William Johnson is an American
comedian best known for his YouTube
series Equals Three, in which he provides commentary on viral videos. Many of the videos featured on Equals Three are noted to have received an additional boost of popularity. As of November 2011, the RayWilliamJohnson channel is the most subscribed channel on YouTube
, with over 4.9 million subscribers, and over 1.4 billion video views. In February 2011, one industry publication noted that Johnson currently had six of the top twenty most watched videos of the month.
to pursue a career in law, he became interested in watching YouTube videos, and eventually, making videos himself. He took notice of the fact that people visit YouTube either to watch viral videos or their favorite video bloggers, and subsequently started his first formatted show, Equals Three, as a way to combine the two popular video styles.
s. Equals Three episodes are usually uploaded to his channel every Tuesday and Friday. In these episodes, Johnson interacts with his audience by posting a viewer-submitted "comment question of the day", then features five of his favorite comments in the preceding episode. Equals Three is the most subscribed channel on YouTube to date, having 5 million subscribers, and has been recognized by Guinness World Records
. Because of his popularity, every Equals Three episode can consistently obtain millions of views within a week, which are then consequently featured on the YouTube front page. Johnson has been able to leverage his popularity to secure several celebrity guests on Equals Three, including Robin Williams
, Gabriel Iglesias
, Kal Penn
, Margaret Cho
, John Cho
, etc.
videos. The songs are performed by a virtual band
(a title reference to They Might Be Giants
and Gorillaz
) of four fictional cartoon characters: PuffPuff Humbert (lead singer, voiced by Johnson), DeeJay (DJ), Axel Chains (drummer), and Benatar (guitar/keyboard). Johnson writes lyrics, raps, sings, composes beats, and sometimes collaborates with other musicians to produce the songs. The following is a list of music videos that have been released so far:
To date, Johnson has released 18 songs through the channel. As of November 2011, the channel has over 1.6 million subscribers, making it one of the most subscribed channels on YouTube, and over 250 million video views. Due to the rapid growth of popularity of the channel and the music videos getting more views than the Equals Three episodes, Johnson has commented in his Breaking Los Angeles video blog that he at some point hopes to have the music videos released weekly instead of bi-weekly.
, Hoodie Allen
and Dumbfoundead
, slam poet George Watsky
, comedian Gabriel Iglesias
, and actor/director Bobcat Goldthwait
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian best known for his YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
series Equals Three, in which he provides commentary on viral videos. Many of the videos featured on Equals Three are noted to have received an additional boost of popularity. As of November 2011, the RayWilliamJohnson channel is the most subscribed channel on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, with over 4.9 million subscribers, and over 1.4 billion video views. In February 2011, one industry publication noted that Johnson currently had six of the top twenty most watched videos of the month.
Background
While Johnson was studying at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
to pursue a career in law, he became interested in watching YouTube videos, and eventually, making videos himself. He took notice of the fact that people visit YouTube either to watch viral videos or their favorite video bloggers, and subsequently started his first formatted show, Equals Three, as a way to combine the two popular video styles.
Equals Three
In Equals Three (stylized as "=3"), Ray William Johnson reviews, criticizes, and adds commentary to some of the internet's latest viral videoViral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s. Equals Three episodes are usually uploaded to his channel every Tuesday and Friday. In these episodes, Johnson interacts with his audience by posting a viewer-submitted "comment question of the day", then features five of his favorite comments in the preceding episode. Equals Three is the most subscribed channel on YouTube to date, having 5 million subscribers, and has been recognized by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. Because of his popularity, every Equals Three episode can consistently obtain millions of views within a week, which are then consequently featured on the YouTube front page. Johnson has been able to leverage his popularity to secure several celebrity guests on Equals Three, including Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:...
, Kal Penn
Kal Penn
Kalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant....
, Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
, John Cho
John Cho
John Yohan Cho is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films and the Harold & Kumar films . He also starred in the critically acclaimed hit film Better Luck Tomorrow...
, etc.
Your Favorite Martian
In January 2011, Johnson launched a collaborative YouTube channel called "YourFavoriteMartian", which features animated comedy musicComedy music
Comedy music is music that is comedic or humorous in nature, encompassing a wide variety of music genres. Popular types of comedy music include parody music, novelty songs, comedy rock and comedy hip hop.- Notable comedy musicians :...
videos. The songs are performed by a virtual band
Virtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
(a title reference to They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
and Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
) of four fictional cartoon characters: PuffPuff Humbert (lead singer, voiced by Johnson), DeeJay (DJ), Axel Chains (drummer), and Benatar (guitar/keyboard). Johnson writes lyrics, raps, sings, composes beats, and sometimes collaborates with other musicians to produce the songs. The following is a list of music videos that have been released so far:
| Name | Featured Artist | Upload date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Balls | N / A | January 26, 2011 | 3:13 |
| Zombie Love Song | N / A | February 9, 2011 | 3:59 |
| Bottles of Beer | N / A | February 23, 2011 | 3:41 |
| Club Villain | N / A | March 9, 2011 | 4:12 |
| The Stereotypes Song | N / A | March 23, 2011 | 4:26 |
| The Unofficial Smithers Waylon Smithers Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open... Love Song |
N / A | April 6, 2011 | 3:55 |
| Orphan Tears | Wax Wax (rapper) Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He became a YouTube star after uploading several of videos of himself rapping and singing, and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 2011... |
April 20, 2011 | 3:36 |
| Mr. DoucheBag | N / A | May 4, 2011 | 3:55 |
| Transphobic Techno (Bitch Got a Penis) | N / A | May 18, 2011 | 3:25 |
| Grandma Got a Facebook Facebook Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as... |
N / A | June 1, 2011 | 3:33 |
| Tig Ol' Bitties | N / A | June 15, 2011 | 3:52 |
| Fight To Win | Destorm Destorm DeStorm Power is an American YouTube personality. He is the 44th most subscribed user as well as the 8th most subscribed musician on YouTube.- History :... |
June 29, 2011 | 3:51 |
| Stalkin' Your Mom | Wax Wax (rapper) Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He became a YouTube star after uploading several of videos of himself rapping and singing, and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 2011... |
July 13, 2011 | 3:13 |
| Robot Bar Fight | N / A | July 27, 2011 | 3:12 |
| 8-Bit World | Hoodie Allen | August 10, 2011 | 3:30 |
| Puppet Break-Up | N / A | September 14, 2011 | 3:23 |
| Whip Yo Kids | Nice Peter Nice Peter Nice Peter is a self described "Comic/Guitar Hero" best known for the musical comedy on his YouTube channel, . As of November 2011 he is the 39th most subscribed of all time and the 11th most subscribed musician with over 1 million subscribers... |
September 28, 2011 | 3:29 |
| Booty Store | N / A | October 12, 2011 | 4:23 |
| Nerd Rage!!! | N / A | October 26, 2011 | 4:00 |
| Epileptic Techno | N / A | November 9, 2011 | 3:38 |
| Dookie Fresh | N / A | November 23, 2011 | 4:08 |
To date, Johnson has released 18 songs through the channel. As of November 2011, the channel has over 1.6 million subscribers, making it one of the most subscribed channels on YouTube, and over 250 million video views. Due to the rapid growth of popularity of the channel and the music videos getting more views than the Equals Three episodes, Johnson has commented in his Breaking Los Angeles video blog that he at some point hopes to have the music videos released weekly instead of bi-weekly.
BreakingNYC and Breaking Los Angeles
BreakingNYC is a former daily video blog or vlog that Johnson started in December 2009 while living in New York City. He made the vlogs almost daily until June 2010. After nearly a year-long hiatus, Johnson resumed contributing to the video blog channel, creating a new higher quality series with a similar format. The new series titled, Breaking Los Angeles and the Adventures of Puff Puff, is released every Friday and is filmed in Los Angeles. Johnson often features notable guests in his new series, including rappers WaxWax (rapper)
Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He became a YouTube star after uploading several of videos of himself rapping and singing, and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 2011...
, Hoodie Allen
Hoodie Allen (musician)
Steven Markowitz , better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, is an unsigned American hip-hop artist and rapper.-Early life:...
and Dumbfoundead
Dumbfoundead
Jonathan Park , better known by his stage name Dumbfoundead, is a Korean American battle rapper originating from the Los Angeles Underground's Project Blowed...
, slam poet George Watsky
George Watsky
George Watsky is a poet and rapper from San Francisco, California. Watsky performs slam poetry, and was featured on Season 6 of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO...
, comedian Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:...
, and actor/director Bobcat Goldthwait
Bobcat Goldthwait
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film and television director. He is commonly known for his energetic, ravenous stage personality, his dark, acerbic black comedy, and his gruff but high-pitched voice.- Early life :Goldthwait was born in Syracuse,...
.