Bart Baker (born May 5, 1986) is an American social media personality, singer, and comedian.[5][6][7][8] He is best known for making parody videos of notable songs,[9][10][11][12] for which Billboard dubbed him one of the most prolific makers of music parodies.[13][14]

Bart Baker
Baker at Trevor Live in 2015
Personal information
Born (1986-05-05) May 5, 1986 (age 38)
EducationNew Trier High School
University of Miami
YouTube information
Also known asMaster of Parodies, King of Music Video Parodies,[1][2][3] Lil Kloroxxx
Channel
Years active2006–2018; 2021–present (United States)
2018–present (China)
Genres
Subscribers9.81 million[4]
Total views3.36 billion[4]
Network
100,000 subscribers2011
1,000,000 subscribers2013
10,000,000 subscribers2018

Last updated: June 19, 2024

Baker is prominent on YouTube, where at one point his self-titled channel peaked at 10 million subscribers.[15] Baker is also a top-earning broadcaster on the platforms Vine and Live.ly.[16] His subsequent ventures include appearing in the 2016 film Laid in America, and uploading content onto the social media app Kuaishou and Douyin, where his English covers of Chinese songs have gained a following.

In 2018, Baker released satirical music on World Star Hip Hop and a new YouTube channel using the stage name of Lil Kloroxxx.[17]

Early life

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Baker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Albanian parents that had emigrated from Berat, Albania[18] on May 5, 1986. He attended high school at New Trier High School and film school at the University of Miami. After realizing the potential of video sharing on the internet, he started filming comedy videos in his backyard on a green screen. The Lonely Island was described as a 'big inspiration' to Baker when he first started.[19]

Career

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Baker portraying Justin Bieber in the music video for Mockstars' "Deadpool Epic Rap", 2016

Baker was encouraged when the first video he posted on YouTube, "Look into My Eyes While I Masturbate", about men masturbating in a future world where robots have replaced all women on Earth, quickly received about 100,000 views. This prompted Baker to decide on making more videos.[19] His second video was a parody. He has said, "I figured if I could do it right, my videos could do amazingly well... people want to subscribe to a channel they know has a certain programming structure. Mine is parody videos, and people love that".[19][20][21]

Baker worked with his friend Austin Smith from the channel's launch until early 2011, when the duo mutually decided to part ways. During his time with Smith, they were sponsored and signed to RKShorts.com.

Not long after leaving RKShorts, Baker signed on with Maker Studios in Los Angeles and began recording with them. In 2013, Baker's parody of "Royals" by Lorde was taken down by Matt Pincus, CEO of Songs Music Publishing, for alleged copyright infringement.[22] Baker quickly posted a video accusing Songs Music of not understanding US laws governing fair use and encouraging fans to tweet about it. A few days later, Songs Music released their take-down and the parody was restored to Baker's channel. It was reported on November 26, 2014, that Baker had reached one billion views in total on YouTube.[23] Around the same year, Baker's videos aired on Music Choice along with a TV special titled Bart Baker's Funniest Videos. In 2015, Baker signed with Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency.[24] It was the second time in four months Baker had signed with a major Hollywood talent agency, the first being WME, when he was one of seven people who signed deals at about the same time.[24][25] As of October 9, 2021, Baker has over 9 million subscribers and 3 billion lifetime views on his YouTube channel.[15][26] Since starting the channel in 2009, he has created over 100 parody videos that have featured guest stars like Joan Rivers and Stan Lee.[27] Speaking about YouTube, he said, "YouTube is honestly one of the only platforms that has proven it's not going anywhere".[28] On 23 September 2016, it was announced that Baker would feature in a film titled FM starring fellow internet personalities Jason Nash and Brandon Calvillo.[29][30]

On September 6, 2019, Vice News reported that after YouTube's demonetization of several YouTubers to satisfy family-friendly advertisers, Baker shifted his career to the Chinese market. His works consist of translating and singing Chinese songs on the social media app Kuaishou, and his English covers of Chinese songs have been gaining a following on Douyin.[31] He moved to Shanghai to further develop his career as an internet content creator in China.[32] Since Baker had moved to the Chinese market following the drastic change of YouTube's policies to satisfy family-friendly advertisers, his channel has reached the end of his subscriber peak, as his number of subscribers had dropped from 10 to 9.8 million (as of August 31, 2024).[15] On August 29, 2021, Baker uploaded his first YouTube video in over three years.[33] He announced that he would be returning to the United States in September 2021, and added that he would be able to afford making new content, including occasional parodies, using cryptocurrency. Baker's most recent music video, "PolyDoge", was released in November 2021.[34]

Other ventures

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In November 2016, Baker released his first non-parody single, titled "Drake".[27] It is also the debut single from his first album, titled Celebritease. He partnered with Music Choice, a multi-platform video and music network, to serve as the exclusive TV distribution partner for his single.[27] The next month, "Kimye", was released as a single from "Celebritease".[35] The album was subsequently released through his own record label alongside indie label 26 Music, a division of 26 Entertainment.[27] The songs featured on the album are all named after celebrities except the final track, "#DWBD (Don't Worry Bout Dat)". On March 18, 2017, the album peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Comedy Albums chart.[36] In summer of 2018, Baker created an official rap persona known as Lil Kloroxxx. The video for his song "Popper" was released on the WorldStarHipHop YouTube channel on July 21. He then went on to release two more songs nearly a month later, "4 Xanny" and "Prom Queen". Online sources have said that Lil Kloroxxx is fake and heavily spoofs off of SoundCloud rappers such as 6ix9ine and Lil Pump, but Baker himself has confirmed that this persona is "real".

Also in 2016, Baker announced he was running for President of the United States by setting up a large billboard in Times Square, dressed in American-flag boxer-shorts.[37] He believed that his presidential candidacy would shed light on the nature of celebrity and how it has influenced the election cycle.[37][38] In a 2015 livestream podcast, Baker discussed his involvement with "Fuck Cancer", a nonprofit charity that is dedicated to early detection, prevention, and providing support to those affected by cancer, and an online fundraiser where fans could participate to win an appearance in one of his videos while donating money to the cause. The disease has impacted people in his own life including his mother, who survived breast cancer when he was a child.[39]

Filmography

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Film

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Title Year Role
Laid in America[40] 2016 Blindr Spokesperson
FML Swagg

Television

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Title Year Role
Remix the Movies 2013 Agent
YouTubers React 2014 Himself
In Bed with Joan
TakePart Live
CrashPad[41][42]
Ear Biscuits 2015
Teens Wanna Know

Music videos

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(Not including parodies or Lil Kloroxxx songs)

Title Artist Year
"Fireball"[35] Pitbull ft. John Ryan 2014
"Friends with Benefits" KSI 2016

Discography

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Studio albums

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(not including "Greatest Hits 2014" album[43])

Title Details
Celebritease[44]

Singles

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(Not including parodies)

Title Year Album
"Drake"[26] 2016 Celebritease
"Kimye"[35]
"Popper"[45]

(as Lil Kloroxxx)

2018 non-album singles
"Prom Queen"[46]

(as Lil Kloroxxx)

"Savior"[47]

(as Lil Kloroxxx)

"Feelin U"[48]

(as Lil Kloroxxx)

"Poly Doge" 2021

Parodies

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Parodies
Title Original artist Release date
"Big Old Pubes" (parody of "Boom Boom Pow") Black Eyed Peas June 30, 2009
"ChiK KoK" (parody of "Tik Tok") Kesha January 21, 2010
"Teenie Weenie" (parody of "Eenie Meenie") Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber June 21, 2010
"California Boys" (parody of "California Gurls") Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg July 3, 2010
"Horny" (parody of "Baby") Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris July 29, 2010
"Used To Be a Guy" (parody of "Love the Way You Lie") Eminem featuring Rihanna September 9, 2010
"Only Boy (In The World)" (parody of "Only Girl (In the World)") Rihanna November 8, 2010
"Born this Way" Lady Gaga March 10, 2011
"Friday" Rebecca Black March 19, 2011
"E.D." (parody of "E.T.") Katy Perry featuring Kanye West April 25, 2011
"Anus" (parody of "Judas") Lady Gaga May 12, 2011
"The Jerk Off Song" (parody of "The Lazy Song" Bruno Mars May 24, 2011
"My Moment" Rebecca Black July 25, 2011
"Slutty Mom Anthem" (parody of "Party Rock Anthem") LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock September 8, 2011
"Cameltoe" (parody of "Mistletoe") Justin Bieber October 16, 2011
"Sexy And I'm Homeless" (parody of "Sexy and I Know It") LMFAO November 22, 2011
"I Wear A Glove (When I Masterbait)" (parody of "We Found Love") Rihanna November 29, 2011
"Super Fake" (parody of "Super Bass") Nicki Minaj December 21, 2011
"My Grandpa's Super Gay" (parody of "The One That Got Away") Katy Perry January 8, 2012
"Bang Your Mom" (parody of "Turn Me On") David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj February 10, 2012
"I'm a Stupid Hoe" (parody of "Stupid Hoe") Nicki Minaj February 17, 2012
"Fat Hungry Chick" (parody of "Rack City") Tyga February 24, 2012
"I Should've Worn a Condom" (parody of "Sorry for Party Rocking") LMFAO April 6, 2012
"Pussies" (parody of "Starships") Nicki Minaj April 13, 2012
"Senior Citizen Love" (parody of "International Love") Pitbull featuring Chris Brown April 20, 2012
"Hot Problems" Double Take April 27, 2012
"White Negro" (parody of "The Motto") Drake featuring Lil Wayne May 11, 2012
"Birthday Cake" Rihanna June 1, 2012
"Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen June 22, 2012
"Boyfriend" Justin Bieber July 6, 2012
"What Makes You Beautiful" One Direction July 20, 2012
"Gangnam Style" PSY September 14, 2012
"As Long as You Love Me" Justin Bieber featuring Big Sean October 5, 2012
"Live While We're Young" One Direction October 19, 2012
"Little Things" One Direction November 9, 2012
"It's Thanksgiving" Nicole Westbrook November 16, 2012
"Scream & Shout" will.i.am featuring Britney Spears December 14, 2012
"Kiss You" One Direction January 18, 2013
"I Knew You Were Trouble" Taylor Swift February 8, 2013
"Thrift Shop" Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz March 1, 2013
"Started from the Bottom" Drake March 23, 2013
"22" Taylor Swift April 20, 2013
"Gentleman" PSY May 25, 2013
"What About Love" Austin Mahone June 28, 2013
"We Can't Stop" Miley Cyrus July 12, 2013
"Blurred Lines" Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams August 2, 2013
"Best Song Ever" One Direction August 24, 2013
"Applause" Lady Gaga September 13, 2013
"Wrecking Ball" Miley Cyrus October 5, 2013
"Pour It Up" Rihanna November 2, 2013
"Royals" Lorde November 23, 2013
"Bound 2" Kanye West December 14, 2013
"All That Matters" Justin Bieber December 27, 2013
"The Monster" Eminem featuring Rihanna January 18, 2014
"Adore You" Miley Cyrus February 1, 2014
"Confident" Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper February 22, 2014
"Can't Remember to Forget You" Shakira featuring Rihanna March 8, 2014
"Dark Horse" Katy Perry featuring Juicy J March 22, 2014
"Happy" Pharrell Williams April 19, 2014
"Hello Kitty" Avril Lavigne May 17, 2014
"We Are One (Ole Ola)" Pitbull featuring Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte May 31, 2014
"Fancy" Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX June 14, 2014
"Hangover" Psy featuring Snoop Dogg July 5, 2014
"Problem" Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea July 20, 2014
"Wiggle" Jason Derulo featuring Snoop Dogg August 3, 2014
"Rude" Magic! August 17, 2014
"Break Free" Ariana Grande featuring Zedd August 31, 2014
"Anaconda" Nicki Minaj September 14, 2014
"Shake It Off" Taylor Swift September 28, 2014
"Booty" Jennifer Lopez featuring Iggy Azalea October 13, 2014
"Animals" Maroon 5 October 27, 2014
"All About That Bass" Meghan Trainor November 9, 2014
"Love Me Harder" Ariana Grande and the Weeknd November 23, 2014
"Blank Space" Taylor Swift December 7, 2014
"Lips Are Movin" Meghan Trainor December 21, 2014
"Uptown Funk" Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars January 31, 2015
"Elastic Heart" Sia featuring Maddie Ziegler and Shia Labeouf February 15, 2015
"Sugar" Maroon 5 March 1, 2015
"I Really Like You" Carly Rae Jepsen March 21, 2015
"FourFiveSeconds" Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney April 11, 2015
"Style" Taylor Swift April 26, 2015
"Big Girls Cry" Sia May 10, 2015
"Pretty Girls" Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea May 24, 2015
"Bad Blood" Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar June 14, 2015
"Feeling Myself" Nicki Minaj featuring Beyoncé June 28, 2015
"Bitch I'm Madonna" Madonna featuring Nicki Minaj July 19, 2015
"Where Are Ü Now" Skrillex and Diplo featuring Justin Bieber August 2, 2015
"Worth It" Fifth Harmony featuring Kid Ink August 16, 2015
"Can't Feel My Face" The Weeknd August 30, 2015
"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" Silentó September 13, 2015
"What Do You Mean?" Justin Bieber October 11, 2015
"Wildest Dreams" Taylor Swift October 25, 2015
"Hotline Bling" Drake November 8, 2015
"Focus" Ariana Grande November 22, 2015
"Hello" Adele December 6, 2015
"Sorry" Justin Bieber December 20, 2015
"Love Yourself" Justin Bieber January 31, 2016
"Stitches" Shawn Mendes February 14, 2016
"Hands to Myself" Selena Gomez February 28, 2016
"Work" Rihanna featuring Drake March 26, 2016
"Pillowtalk" Zayn April 9, 2016
"No" Meghan Trainor April 23, 2016
"Work from Home" Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign May 7, 2016
"Hair" Little Mix featuring Sean Paul May 29, 2016
"Ain't Your Mama" Jennifer Lopez June 25, 2016
"Sweatshirt" Jacob Sartorius July 9, 2016
"This is What You Came For" Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna July 23, 2016
"Me Too" Meghan Trainor August 13, 2016
"Kill 'em with Kindness" Selena Gomez September 3, 2016
"Hit or Miss" Jacob Sartorius September 24, 2016
"Side to Side" Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj October 8, 2016
"Closer" The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey October 29, 2016
"Starboy" The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk November 19, 2016
"Juju on that Beat" Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall December 17, 2016
"Black Beatles" Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane February 4, 2017
"Shape of You" Ed Sheeran February 18, 2017
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever" Zayn and Taylor Swift March 4, 2017
"That's What I Like" Bruno Mars March 25, 2017
"I Feel it Coming" The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk April 15, 2017
"Humble" Kendrick Lamar May 20, 2017
"I'm the One" DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne June 3, 2017
"It's Everyday Bro" Jake Paul featuring Team 10 June 24, 2017
"Look What You Made Me Do" Taylor Swift September 23, 2017
"Gucci Gang" Lil Pump November 11, 2017
"Rockstar" Post Malone featuring 21 Savage December 23, 2017
"Finesse" Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B January 27, 2018
"Esskeetit" Lil Pump May 26, 2018
"This Is America" Childish Gambino June 9, 2018
"Fefe" 6ix9ine featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz August 24, 2018

References

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  1. ^ Miller, Leanne (March 12, 2015). "How this YouTube Star makes money". CNBC. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Robinson, Will (October 30, 2015). "Bart Baker teases his 'Hotline Bling' parody video". EW.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  3. ^ Sabrina, Danielle (June 30, 2016). "From Parodies to Politics: Forbes Announces Second Round Of Speakers For Under 30 Summit". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "About Bart Baker". YouTube.
  5. ^ Newlands, Murray. "Bart Baker, YouTube Star And Entrepreneur, Galvanizes Fans To Engage In Voting". Forbes. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  6. ^ Lazar, Shira (May 4, 2015). "YouTube Parody Star Bart Baker on Offending Celebrities". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "The three times that Bart Baker parodies came true in real life". Blasting News. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. ^ Gutelle, Sam (November 1, 2016). "Top Stars On Musical.ly's Live Streaming App Live.ly Reportedy Making $23,000 Per Week - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. ^ Hogan, Kate (October 31, 2015). "Bart Baker Hotline Bling, Bart Baker Stream Con". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. ^ DeSimone, Evan (August 13, 2015). "Interview — Bart Baker On Original Music, a Movie Project and the YouTube Grind". VideoInk. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Bart Baker's Fans Say Taylor Swift Lifted From Him - New Media Rockstars". New Media Rockstars. December 9, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  12. ^ Chesler, Josh (August 2, 2016). "Weird Al Versus YouTube: Who Does Better Song Parodies?". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  13. ^ Smirke, Richard (September 30, 2014). "U.K. Parody Laws Set to Come Into Effect". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  14. ^ Winkie, Luke (May 23, 2016). "The 7 most unnecessary parody songs on the Internet". The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c "bartbakerofficial YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics - Socialblade.com". socialblade.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
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  17. ^ Fears, Niki (January 4, 2015). "'All About That Bass' Parody Calls Out Meghan Trainor". The Inquisitr News. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  18. ^ "PEOPLE Bart Baker – Biography, Gay, Age, Net Worth, Wife, Family, Other Facts". naijanews.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
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  21. ^ Chew, Cohan (December 21, 2015). "Adele's 'Hello' Like You've Never Heard It Before". gigwise.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  22. ^ Van, Alan (December 7, 2013). "Songs Music CEO Comments on Bart Baker/Lorde Controversy in Heated Twitter Exchange With Fullscreen CEO - New Media Rockstars". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
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  25. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (February 17, 2015). "WME Signs Slew of YouTube Stars, Including Lohanthony, Bart Baker (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
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  27. ^ a b c d Weiss, Geoff (November 11, 2016). "YouTube Star Bart Baker Teams With Music Choice To Release First Non-Parody Single, 'Drake' - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  28. ^ Inverso, Emily. "21st Century Funny: How Bart Baker, John Shahidi And The Fine Brothers Make It Big". Forbes. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  29. ^ Gutelle, Sam (September 23, 2016). "YouTube Star Bart Baker Introduces New Trailer For Feature Film 'FML,' Due Out October 7th - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
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  32. ^ "Headlines from China: Is Chinese Social Media Becoming A Better Place for YouTubers to Thrive?". China Film Insider. September 27, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  33. ^ "WTF Happened To Me? (Why I Disappeared)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023.
  34. ^ "BART BAKER - "POLYDOGE" (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". youtube.com.
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  40. ^ "Laid in America (2016) - IMDb". IMDb.
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  42. ^ Patel, Sahil (December 4, 2014). "Maker Studios to Debut Bart Baker-Hosted Clips Show Across Screens". VideoInk. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  43. ^ "Bart Baker - "Greatest Hits 2014" PARODY". YouTube.
  44. ^ LaCroix, Emy (March 1, 2017). "Bart Baker's 'Celebritease': How He's Going From YouTube Parodies To Pop Stardom". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  45. ^ "Lil Kloroxxx - 'Popper' (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video)". YouTube.
  46. ^ "Lil Kloroxxx - 'Prom Queen' (Official Music Video)". YouTube.
  47. ^ "Lil Kloroxxx - 'Savior' (Official Music Video)". YouTube.
  48. ^ "Lil Kloroxxx - 'Feelin U' (Official Music Video)". YouTube.
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