Speaking with vlogger and musician Chris Collins, a.k.a @WeeklyChris, via video chat, we found him to be charismatic and down to earth. As fellow Canadians, we talked about the cold winter weather and he gave us a glimpse of the sunny California weather outside his window. When did life get so crazy for the 19-year-old and how did Chris become the Internet sensation that he is today?
He started out as a shy kid who just loved spending time on his computer. Creating videos was something he did just for fun. “I used to take my mom’s pink video camera and film videos, and then I would post them on YouTube.” Chris wasn’t expecting anyone to watch them, but little did he know that these videos would start garnering over 100,000 views each. Soon, he became a social media star, and fans began to want more. Not only is Christian a YouTuber, he is an online global influencer with fans all across the world. His social media spans seven different platforms and tallies over 20 million followers across Facebook, Vine, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, and Musical.ly.
We asked Chris what he does in his down time, but he says that creating videos and making music is a full-time job for him. “It’s what I love doing. If I actually had down time, I would still be using it to make videos and music.”
If you take a quick glance at Chris’s YouTube channel, you’ll quickly find that it’s filled with a lot of R&B covers; Chris’s favourite genre of music. He strongly relates to the emotion and authenticity behind it and says, “I feel like it’s alive, it’s such a powerful genre.”
In addition to creating videos, Chris is also making waves with his music. With his original single You Don’t Have to Go becoming a big hit, Chris is spending this year focusing on finishing his much anticipated debut album. Like many other people, Chris admits he tends to overthink things when working on a project. “There’s a lot of stuff, especially within the lyrics that I’ll go over sometimes. It’s random things that a lot of people won’t catch but I’ll overthink it and fix it just for me.” With this album he explained that much of the content will reflect his experiences and everything he was going through at the time.
On Chris’s upcoming album, fans may even hear some collaborations with other Youtubers who are also pursuing music. He didn’t reveal any names, but Chris did say there are definitely spots for features from other artists and that he has some people in mind. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see exactly who those artists are!
Although Chris is working on a few other projects, which may involve some experimenting with acting right now his main focus is finishing the album and getting it released. After that’s done, Chris’s next venture is a tour. “That is the dream right now—just to tour as much as possible. Touring and just being able to travel would be amazing.”
When it comes to his personal taste in music, we think it’s safe to admit that everyone has a few unexpected artists or songs on their music players. On Chris’s iPod, people might be shocked to discover that he listens to a lot of classical music. Aside from that, Chris said the music on his iPod varies, “I listen to a lot of interesting things, but I think I really like a lot of independent artists. But, I have to represent Canada by listening to Drake and The Weeknd. There’s also Travis Scott on there, Jon Bellion, Black Bear, and just a lot of different people.” Right now his top three albums are:
- Jon Bellion – The Definition
- Travis Scott – Rodeo
- Bryson Tiller – Trapsoul
Chris exudes positivity and confidence in his YouTube videos and these are qualities he constantly discusses on his channel. When asked what advice he has for Faze readers who are currently faced with a major challenge, he responded with, “Hype yourself with positivity. I mean, you see people who have nothing and they have the biggest smile on their face, so yeah, just focus on the good. It’s not so much about just forgetting the negative stuff, but forgetting it does benefit you, because it allows you to move forward.”
It may seem like all is perfect for this internet sensation and musician, however, Chris has had a few bumps in the road. He mentioned that last year was a discovery process for him and that he’s still learning. One of the biggest struggles he faced in 2015 was dealing with other people’s opinions. He found himself constantly worrying about what people thought and whether they were going to like his work. He overcame this challenge by realizing that it’s okay to value other people’s opinions, the key is to not base your self worth on them.
Chris’s life may not be like the average 19-year-old’s, but he loves what he does. This hardworking teen is only getting started and fans should expect big things this year. He’s putting everything into this album and a lot of long hours. Despite the hectic schedule, Chris says it doesn’t really feel like work, “You know what they say, ‘Do what you love and never work a day in your life.’ I go running, start filming, meetings, and then music until like 6 a.m.. Every moment is doing what I love.”
Co-written by Kendra Mclean and Kayla Mclean
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