Five of the Best: First Uploads

This Five of the Best is about to take you all the way back to the start…

…back to a time when the camera quality was considerably dodgy and uploads would take several hours to complete. YouTube and our favourite creators have come a long way since those days, having dreamt up far more tags and collabs than we ever could have imagined, and they’ve consistently kept us coming back time and time again.

Whilst most YouTubers are incredibly embarrassed by their first videos – so much so that many of them private them or take them down altogether – we’ve managed to find five who are still willing to have their past selves (and all the cringeworthy nostalgia) out there.

So here they are, Five of the Best: First Uploads!

I’m Pregnant with Baby Glitter | Sprinkleofglitter

If you haven’t seen the news that Louise Pentland is preggers with her second child, then we have to ask: where have you been the past few weeks?! This video, where she talked about her first pregnancy, might be cheating slightly because it isn’t technically Louise’s first upload, but it’s pretty close, and how could we choose otherwise? Aloha YouTuberinos and welcome to Louise (and Darcy’s) world!

Filled with lots and lots of pink, this video screams Louise and her Sprinkleofglitter brand. Think pink fluffy cushions, pink and silver wallpaper, and a white princess bed, and you’ll find Louise sitting there sharing stories about her life. To be honest, not much has changed, and we love it! Who’s ready for another seven years of Louise? Because we’re ready and waiting!

The Only Exception Cover | ItsWayPastMyBedtime

It’s incredible to think just how far Carrie Hope Fletcher has come since uploading her first covers to YouTube. With Taylor Swift Love Story era hair and a killer voice, this video was our first hint that Carrie was destined for great things. It showed she isn’t afraid to sing – and sing hard – and we were (and still are) blown away by her early talent!

Now, Carrie’s a common feature on London’s West End, and she’s currently taking on the role of Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family musical in a national tour! And when she’s not showcasing her musical skills, you can find her writing novels, recording songs, and somehow still managing to find time to upload to her channel weekly. Honestly, how does she do it all?!

Starting YouTube | JackHoward

What better way to start a vlog on a brand new channel than to justify the deliciousness of Creme Eggs and the potential other snacks viewers should eat while watching Jack Howard‘s first video?

If you’re ever wanted to give your own YouTube channel a go, but are worried that nobody out there will watch, then we suggest taking Jack’s advice: do it because you want to. Create content and make things because it’s fun, not because you’re hoping to get your first YouTube Play Button within three months. Find some simple yet powerful credits, and people will know your name long before you’ve properly “made it”.

Take Jack’s video as inspiration and you’ll be succeeding in no time!

An Introduction to ‘ThatcherJoe’ | ThatcherJoe

So wholesome, so pure, so very Joe Sugg. Has he even changed, because he’s still wearing that same round neck t-shirt and delighting us with whistling solos.

Today, Joe’s awkward YouTube beginnings are long gone, replaced by a whole host of enviably successful videos that have allowed him to become an author, star in several films, and take part in what was arguably the UK’s largest housemate prank war that left us wishing ours were a little more forgiving in the prank arena… If only we knew what we were getting into when we subbed to Zoe Sugg‘s cute brother all those years ago!

Phil’s Video Blog – 27th March 2006 | AmazingPhil

Okay, so 2006 feels like a world away, because apparently the word “vlog” hadn’t even made it into pop culture yet. Not only did Phil Lester use the phrase “video blog” instead, but he also gave us the specific upload date to really create a formal occasion of it all! And SO MUCH happened on 27 March 2006! Not only was it Mother’s Day, but Phil also sat an exam in regressive voice assimilation (yeah, we don’t know either), and the clocks went forward. Boy, what a day!

The black-and-white aesthetic is everything we were looking for in what to expect from Phil’s past. Our only wish is that he had found his holiday hat to share with us. 11 years later and we’re still wondering what style he went for! A baseball cap? A fedora? A wide-brim straw hat? We guess we’ll never know…

So there you have it…

Five of the Best: First Uploads. This was a tough one to put together, and, unfortunately, some very worthy videos missed the cut this time around. Even though it’s only been around for a short period of time, YouTube sure does have a large and detailed history, with so many moments saved forever – the embarrassment can never be forgotten. So make sure you take a look yourself to find some more videos in the creator back catalogue! Tweet them to us – we’d love to seem some more, because it proves that even the best had to start somewhere.

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