Instant Influencer with James Charles

About

Instant Influencer with James Charles is YouTube's first beauty influencer competition show hosted and produced by YouTuber James Charles. The series airs for free on YouTube in April 2020 and features six contestants competing in various makeup and influencer challenges to win a cash prize.

History

On November 15th, 2019, James Charles uploaded the video "I'm Filming My Own Reality Competition Show… & I Want YOU To Be In It!" (shown below). The video, which gave viewers instructions on how to enter to be a contestant on the show, garnered over 1.5 million views and 65,000 likes in five months.

That same day, Jame Charles^[1] tweeted, "This show has been one of my biggest dreams since DAY 1. I've learned SO much over the past few years and have been so blessed to grow the platform I have, and now I CANNOT WAIT to pass along that knowledge and help a few deserving artists grow their platform, too" (shown below). The tweet received over 6,200 likes in five months.

On April 1st, 2020, @YouTube^[2] tweeted, "Many talented artists auditioned… but only one will win. Get those palettes ready because #InstantInfluencer with @JamesCharles is coming. Learn more about our contestants" and listed a thread of contestants which include @strashme, @bennycerra1, @BritanyRaquell, @twigjesus, @GabrielDreams and @kailinchasee. The tweet gained over 5,400 likes in five days. That same day on Instagram,^[8] James Charles posted a promo image for the show with the caption, "I am so excited to FINALLY announce my very own show, @instantinfluencer will be streaming on a @youtube screen near you for FREE starting April 24th. 🎨 This project has been a dream come true and I cannot wait for you all to see all of the hard work that went into it… Blend, but don’t blend in. 🔥 #instantinfluencer" (shown below, right).

On April 1st, 2020, Twitter users began responding to posts about the show with their own entries. Twitter user @Allhailvell^[6] posted several photos with the caption, "I didn’t make it, still check me out sisters!" (shown below, left). The tweet garnered over 360 likes in five days. That same day, Twitter user @itswhitneybro^[7] tweeted, "so…not ONE dark skin influencer was chosen for the james charles “show”??not even ONE?!?! and not ONE plus sized creator?!?! wtf is dis Henny #instantinfluencer" (shown below, right).

That same day, Twitter user @Drechambersx posted a video about his disappointment in the lack of diversity among contestants with the caption, "I’m so Disappointed @jamescharles there were multiple talented black boys that could’ve got the opportunity but I guess they weren’t good enough huh? 🤷🏽‍♂️I guess we do have to work twice as HARD😔 #jamescharles #instantinfluencer" (shown below). Both Variety^[4] and PopBuzz^[3] published articles on the upcoming show.

Search Interest

External References