What makes a video or trend go viral? A mixture of the right exposure, engaging or shocking content, and a strong personality are all important. These four YouTube sensations managed to find that perfect storm and capitalized on it, each in their own ways. You’ve probably seen their videos, now find out a little behind the scenes.

Lil Tay

Lil Tay has been the source of controversy lately. The nine-year-old rose to fame by “flexing,” flaunting money and talking trash about other social media stars. Many people spoke up in outrage at the very young girl and her vulgar videos and media posts. However, the controversy currently surrounding Lil Tay is focused on the fact that she is not who she claims to be. A video was leaked of her older brother teaching her what to say and how to act. All in all, she seems to be a normal nine-year-old who has been pushed to act out online by her family, who are assumedly the ones profiting off it. Tay’s real name has not been revealed, but her mother is known to be Angela Tian. Angela was recently fired from her job as a realtor because she let her children film Tay’s videos in unsold luxury homes. Tay’s persona has taken her so far as to get into a physical altercation with Bhad Bhabie at Coachella, hopefully, she’ll be able to go back to being a normal child eventually.

Danielle Bregoli

Known better by her stage name/persona, Bhad Bhabie, Danielle became extremely well known overnight. During a 2016 episode of Dr. Phil she called the audience “hoes” and then told them to “cash me outside, how ‘bout da?” The clip of this saying went viral. She used her fame to catapult herself to a rap career, becoming the youngest female rapper to ever appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. With her mother as acting manager, she signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and sued three companies for using her catchphrase without consent. She was also nominated for the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards Trending category, and the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Top Rap Female Artist.

Backpack Kid

On perhaps the other end of the “viral famous kids” spectrum to Tay and Danielle, Russell Horning has kept his life very lowkey. Known better by his nickname, Backpack Kid, Russell does his best to maintain the life of a normal 15-year-old. His dead face dancing blew up when Rihanna reposted one of his videos with credit. He was then featured alongside Katy Perry during her SNL performance of Swish Swish. Backpack Kid came into existence through his decision to wear a normal t-shirt and jeans on stage, paired with a backpack, as in most of his Instagram videos. When asked, he says he is loyal to the brand Sprayground Backpacks.

Yodel Kid

When he performed “Lovesick Blues” in an Illinois Walmart one evening, there was no way young Mason Ramsey could know a video of it would go viral. The video was attached to a tweet from a meme/humor account, and it got 55,000 retweets and over 180,000 likes. Only a few weeks after the video went viral he was brought on stage at Coachella by DJ Whethan. 11-year-old Mason captured the hearts and minds of thousands with his heartfelt performance. Even Justin Bieber asked him for a selfie. He also appeared on Ellen thanks to his quick rise to fame.

Who of them would you like to feature together? Can you think of other YouTube sensations? Submit your own idea for a YouTube collaboration on Vlogfund today.