Jump to content

BryanStars

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BryanStars
Odell in 2015
Born
Bryan Odell

(1990-05-22) May 22, 1990 (age 34)
Sendai, Japan
Occupation(s)Music interviewer, YouTuber, musician
Years active2008–2017
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

Bryan Odell (born May 22, 1990), better known by his online alias BryanStars, is an American former music interviewer, YouTube personality, musician, and artist manager. He is best known for his BryanStars Interviews series, where would conduct interviews with scene bands, such Black Veil Brides, Asking Alexandria, and Falling in Reverse.

Early life

[edit]

Odell was born on May 22, 1990, in Japan, where he resided until he was eight years old. His family later relocated to Dallas, Texas, and then again to Nebraska when he was a teenager.[citation needed] He attended Lincoln East High School, where he graduated in 2008.[1] In his senior year, his short film Energy Crisis in America, highlighting rising gas prices, won third place in the high school section of the StudentCam competition, hosted by C-SPAN.[2]

He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for two years, majoring in Broadcast Journalism.[3] While in university, he did an internship where he would interview professional bands for a local television station.

Odell chose to drop out of university to focus his attention on his YouTube channel "BryanStars" after winning YouTube NextUp in 2011.[4] Through the NextUp contest, YouTube aimed to foster creators on its platform. Odell and 25 other YouTubers received a $35,000 grant for their channel and a multi-day workshop in New York City with professional online bloggers.[1] At the time, he had about 55,000 subscribers.[5]

YouTube career

[edit]

Odell is best known for his BryanStars Interviews, series on his YouTube channel, BryanStars. He primarily publishes interviews and music videos by artists of the scene subculture. In 2013, BryanStars Interviews was voted by music fans as the "Best Music Blog" in the Alternative Press Reader's Choice Poll 2013.[6] BryanStars Interviews was nominated for a Shorty Award for "Best Web Show" in 2014 along with Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.[7] In 2014, retailer Journeys produced "This Is My Journey" segment about Odell that played in stores nationwide.

Warped YouTube Program

[edit]

In 2014, Odell was picked to be one of the "Warped YouTubers" with Damon Fizzy (also calling himself DeeFizzy), Johnnie Guilbert, CYR and Piddleass. The following year, Kevin Lyman (creator of Warped Tour) made Odell the official host of the tour. Odell worked with Warped Tour through 2015 as their official host on all social media, announcing over 100 bands for the tour.

Odell taught a class on the 2015 Vans Warped Tour called "YouTube 101" where he taught aspiring YouTubers how to pursue a career in social media.[8] The lines for Odell were reportedly longer than the lines for the actual artists on the tour.[9]

My Digital Escape

[edit]

Odell then founded "My Digital Escape," a collaborative project and YouTube channel featuring numerous smaller creators who shared a similar passion for music. While an active creator in My Digital Escape (MDE), Odell served as manager of the project as well.[according to whom?] The channel stopped uploading in May 2016. The channel reached 800,000 subscribers and 100 million views.[10][11] The channel prominently featured Odell, Johnnie Guilbert, Shannon Taylor (HeyThereImShannon), Luke Wale, Kyle David Hall, Alex Dorame, and Jordan Sweeto.[12]

Several collaborators on the channel claim to have taken down their videos so Odell would be unable to generate revenue from them.[13]

Personal life

[edit]

Odell is gay.[14]

Reception and legacy

[edit]

Retrospectively, Odell's interviews and content have been described as having "not aged well".[9] Former collaborator Johnnie Guilbert has described Odell as simulataneuosly "iconic" and "notorious".[13]

Controversies

[edit]

Austin Jones controversy

[edit]

In 2017, he was being accused of covering up for convicted sex offender Austin Jones, Odell stepped back from his social media ventures, specifically his YouTube channels.[15] He has not been active on any of his YouTube channels or social media since.[16]

Child exploitation allegations

[edit]

On September 26, 2016, several former collaborators of Odell's (who were minors) posted lengthly video statements accusing him of exploitation.[17][18] Odell responded with a tearful apology video.[19][20] As of 2024, Odell's apology videos have been removed from YouTube.

During the time Odell was involved with My Digital Escape, he was living with YouTuber Johnnie Guilbert, who was 16 at the time. Odell, who was in his mid-twenties at the time, reportedly hid from his family for over a year that he had invited a minor living with him; Guilbert claims that during this time Odell would only let him leave the apartment to go to Walmart. Guilbert also claims that Odell pressured him to consume alcohol, saying he would "be like, 'oh, you gotta keep up with the bands', so he would hand me alcohol and stuff". Guilbert also claimed that after he had starting becoming profitable for Odell's management venture, he began demanding a twenty percent cut of the former's income.[9][13]

Further harassment allegations

[edit]

On January 19, 2022, a former collaborator of Odell's claimed Odell been harassing them over text message.[21]

Never Shout Never incident

[edit]

On June 3, 2012, Never Shout Never was interviewed by Odell in an interview that was being covered by The New York Times. Never Shout Never lead vocalist Christofer Drew Ingle was aware of The New York Times coverage of the interview. About halfway through the interview, Ingle cut Odell off, denouncing his show as "a joke" and his questions as "bullshit" with bassist Taylor MacFee also taking Odell's interview question papers from him, throwing them on the floor, and finding his questions to be annoying and irrelevant. As a result, the band abruptly ended the interview, leaving Odell in tears.[22] Drew recalled:

"I definitely didn't think it was a huge deal when it was happening... it didn't feel like a huge deal ... it didn't feel that hostile. But then I rewatched it, and I watched him crying at the end, and I was just like, "Oh my God! I can't believe I did this." It was very hard to know if I was wrong or right, and I didn't really know how to handle it all ... it was a very confusing moment for me."[23]

An outpour of support for Odell resulted from the incident. Numerous musicians such as Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens, Chris Fronzak of Attila, and Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides came to Odell's defense.[22] Ingle claims he received hate mail in response to the incident.[23] In a Stickam broadcast, he expressed remorse for making Odell cry, later admitting that he had taken acid earlier the day of the interview while working in the studio.[24] Drew elaborated:

"We were just having a crazy day. I had taken acid earlier that day and we were in the studio, and I like getting weird in the studio and experimenting, especially when it's a mixing day, and I want to add weird effects on stuff... It hadn't completely worn off, and I was still in this really intense mindset of, like, "It's all about music! Shut the fuck up if it's not!" I don't know why I got in that mindset, I just did."[23]

Awards and recognition

[edit]

Discography

[edit]

Extended plays

[edit]
List of extended plays
Title Album details
Follow Your Dreams
  • Released: April 1, 2016
  • Formats: CD, Digital Download
Picture Perfect
  • Released: December 4, 2016
  • Formats: Digital Download

Singles

[edit]
List of singles
Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Year Album
"Shut Up and Kiss Me" James Tyler Hagen, Bryan Odell Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount 2016 Follow Your Dreams
"Smile" James Tyler Hagen, Bryan Odell Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount 2016 Follow Your Dreams
"Moment Like This" Jason Pagan, Eric Pagan, Max Iantorno, Matt Jacino, Dom Fazzari, Bryan Odell Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount 2016 Picture Perfect

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Mertes, Micah (May 23, 2011). "Lincolnite attends YouTube training, wins $35,000 for his channel". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Hoar, Adrienne (March 9, 2008). "StudentCam Contest Winner Interview". C-Span. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Star, MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal (May 23, 2011). "Lincolnite attends YouTube training, wins $35,000 for his channel". JournalStar.com.
  4. ^ Jennifer Preston: The New York Times: At YouTube Boot Camp, Future Stars Polish Their Acts
  5. ^ Moffitt, Chase (July 3, 2011). "Cashing in on Clicks". WOWT 6 News. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Whitt, Cassie (December 26, 2013). "2013 Readers Poll: Best Music Blog". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Lee, Ashley (February 24, 2014). "Justin Bieber, Lena Dunham, Jimmy Fallon Among Shorty Awards Finalists (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bryan Stars". The Entertainment Institute. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "What happened to Bryan Stars?? (w/ Johnnie Guilbert)". April 4, 2023 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "MyDigitalEscape YouTube Channel Analytics and Report". noxinfluencer.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  11. ^ "MyDigitalEscape's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". socialblade.com. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "BryanStars's Instagram post: "Thank you escapers for this amazing journey. Honestly the best year of my life. So many great memories. I hope MDE helped you as much as..."". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "Johnnie Guilbert talks BryanStars, rise & fall of My Digital Escape and new music!". February 18, 2021 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "YouTube Star BryanStars Comes Out As Gay In Emotional Video". HuffPost. February 13, 2017.
  15. ^ "Teen Girls Tried to Stop Austin Jones in 2015". BuzzFeed News. June 26, 2017.
  16. ^ "BryanStars" – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "My Digital Escape 2.0 | HeyThereImShannon". September 26, 2016 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "MY DIGITAL ESCAPE My Thoughts | Johnnie Guilbert". September 26, 2016 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Amid controversy, YouTuber Bryan Stars releases apology: "I f*cked up"".
  20. ^ "*DELETED VIDEO* BRYANSTARS "I Messed Up My Digital Escape 2.0"". September 29, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ "Bryan Stars is still harassing people in 2022". January 19, 2022 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ a b Glennon, Lauren (June 9, 2012). "How to pretend to be a "Rockstar" by Christofer Drew". altsounds.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  23. ^ a b c "Never Shout Never Opens Up About Bryan Stars Interview Controversy". Tumblr.
  24. ^ "Never Shout Never – The Gunz Show – Interview with Christofer ..." idobi.com. June 14, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BryanStars&oldid=1247412796"