YouTube is everything. We all love YouTube. It brings us closer to our favourite stars, documents their beautiful journeys and gives them a platform to share their stories.
Our babies.
We know a bunch of you are aspiring YouTubers and we love that. So we decided to enlist the help of one of our fave success stories, YouTuber turned professional singer, Madilyn Bailey, to give us some advice on how you can take your YouTube channel to the next level.
Madilyn went from singing in her bedroom to having viral moments with her covers of âTitaniumâ, âRadioactiveâ and âChandelierâ which collectively have received over 100 MILLION views on YouTube. She even released her own EP of original music last year âWiserâ. SEE! DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.
We discussed being wise with âWiserâ singer Madilyn Bailey and turns out sheâs full of wisdom
Hi Madilyn! Wonât you share your wisdom, oh wise one? What is your best piece of advice for someone finding their voice on YouTube for the first time?Â
Watch and listen to lots of artists who inspire you because there are little things you can learn from each of them. We are all a collage of the influences we surround ourselves with. And also figure the things about you that make you unique and focus your energy on really honing in on those skills.
How much of YouTubersâ success do you think is up to the algorithm?
Iâm sure that the algorithm has a small part to do with the viral nature of a video, but I think the biggest piece to the success equation is giving people something thatâs so crazy or special or moving that they have no choice but to share it with their friends and families. And that all comes back to figuring out what make you stand out and capitalizing on that.
Rank in order of importance â lighting, props, costumes, location?
1. Lighting is EVERYTHING.
2. Location can provide some cool vibes like with my cover of âCheap Thrillsâ which we shot in the Maldives or my cover of âMillion Reasonsâ which we filmed by Canyon Lake in Arizona.
3. Costume or wardrobe is important for branding yourself and achieving a specific feel.
4. Props would be the last thing but they can def spice of a video if you have great lighting, location and wardrobe like my cover of âNoâ which we used a bathtub for.
What is the best time to post on YouTube?
This tends to be specific to each channel and what their demographics are. I definitely recommend doing to deeper analytical dive into your channel to figure out what are your most popular countries and what age range you are trying to target. For example, I try to post in the early AM to catch my European audience after work and school and to catch my US audience before work and school.
Of the YouTube covers you have done, which are your favourites and why?
I always have a blast doing patty cake with Kurt. We did a version of it to âSend My Love (To Your New Lover)â by Adele. I also really love putting my spin on some crazy R&B songs like âCanât Hold Usâ. But my all time favourite still has to be my piano ballad version of âTitaniumâ because it has completely changed my life.
Who are your three favourite YouTubers and why?
- Kurt Hugo Schneider always has something creative, challenging and fun up his sleeve.
- Rebecca Zamolo is one of the hardest working people I know and thatâs really inspiring to me
- H3H3 because we all need a little comedic break while some how still keeping it real.
How important was it to you to write your own original material and what does your song âWiserâ mean to you?
I have been writing music since I was 7 but even before that I was always a very animated story teller. My brain thinks in lyrics and melody. There literally isnât a day that I donât spend crafting the perfect melody or working out a killer line. Believe it or not but I have been through a lot of crazy things in the past 8 years of starting my music career on YouTube and I have learned a lot of lessons have made me a stronger, wiser, more capable person. Iâm proud of my mistake because they made who am today.
Thanking you Madilyn!
Are you feeling wiser yet? If not, you should probably run on down and grab yourself a copy of Madilynâs EP âWiserâ If youâve found any of Madilynâs tips useful or have any to share then get on those comments.Â