Announcing the Winner of the People/YouTube Red Carpet Reporter Contest...
Did you vote? The time to find out who won has finally arrived.
We challenged you to show off your celebrity reporting skills, and after two rounds of voting for your favorite microphone-toting reporter, we're pleased to announce a winner. Congratulations to Chescaleigh, who will be joining People.com's Michelle Beadle on the red carpet at a major awards ceremony in Los Angeles this September. As your official Red Carpet Reporter, Chescaleigh will have the opportunity to interview some of TV's biggest celebs as they strut their stuff before the big show. Check out Michelle Beadle's announcement video here:
Chescaleigh's trip to L.A. comes complete with a makeover from Revlon and invites to some of the hottest parties in town. You can catch her exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage on the Red Carpet Reporter channel next month.
Well done, Chescaleigh, and special thanks to everyone else who entered or voted.
Cheers,
The YouTube Team
Trendspotting Tuesday: Unusual Art
With the outlandish Burning Man festival taking place this weekend,
TrendspottingTuesday takes a wide-eyed look at the world of unusual art.
If art is food for thought, our collection of unusual arts and crafts includes some raw materials that are more commonly thought of as, well, food. Though you wouldn't want to swallow bubblegum, have you ever considered sculpting with it? And if you enjoy your cheese sliced, how do you feel about a whopping 1,200 pounds of it, expertly carved? These are all questions you can ponder while watching a butter sculpture meltdown. Here's the full playlist:
All the best,
The YouTube Team
The Democratic National Convention on YouTube
Today in Denver, the Democratic National Convention begins! Thousands of delegates, super delegates, party leaders, media, and political tourists have descended upon this Colorado city for four days of non-stop celebration. Here on YouTube, you can join them.
Visit our Convention Headquarters at www.youtube.com/2008conventions for all the latest video from the Convention floor, in addition to behind-the-scenes footage from party leaders and videos uploaded straight from the Convention by delegates. We'll also have upload booths set up around the Pepsi Center and Convention Hall, not to mention in the the Big Tent, where all the bloggers will congregate for the week. Video will be pouring in from these locations and hundreds of others...and we'll do our best to stay on top of it all on our Convention channel.
Be sure to look out for Rich Peters, the winner of our Democratic Convention contest, who will be reporting all week on the proceedings. He even wants to know you if you have questions you'd like him to pass along to those he meets in Denver.
Every Convention has had its signature moments (like Senator Obama's 2004 speech in Boston), so watch out for this year's defining occurrences and rising stars on YouTube. In fact, check www.youtube.com/2008conventions often for the kind of coverage you won't find anywhere else.
Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics
Aimee's "Freeway" Takeover
Today we're highlighting the winners of Aimee Mann's "Freeway" cover song contest on our home page. (She even made a video explaining the tough decisions that went into selecting her favorites from hundreds of entries.) Congratulations go out to the top two winners (it was a tie!), who are both scheduled to perform with Mann on her tour next month. On September 5, iSO the Robot will sing with Aimee in Atlanta, and Tucson singer-songwriter John Galt will join her in Greensboro, North Carolina, the next day. Here are their winning video entries:
Along with iSO and John, we're also featuring an array of finalists, including Vicki Bass, a 14-year-old from the U.K., and unsigned singer-songwriters from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Several of these musicians took this opportunity to hit the road to make their videos, singing "Freeway" from the back seats of their vehicles (one accompanied by his nephews in adjoining car seats). You can see many of the talented contestants on our home page and in this playlist:
Enjoy these diverse versions of "Freeway," and if you can't make it to Mann's live shows, stay tuned for videos of the winning duets, which will be featured on Aimee's YouTube channel and in our music category in September.
Green Guru Challenge Highlights
In June, Michelle Kaufmann asked you to share your creative alternatives to recycling. Many great ideas were submitted, but perhaps the most impressive was the Bejeweled 'Cuff Style' Bracelet by beadclub. To take an everyday coffee sleeve and to turn it into a fun accessory exemplifies what this challenge was all about: