Why Is PewDiePie so Popular?

PewDiePie is easily one of the most popular YouTubers in the world. Having risen from a gaming channel, he built his popularity gradually. He slowly branched out to other types of content, from memes to general rants. Although his road was rather turbulent and not without its bumps, this YouTube star has remained on top and is still a role model for many aspiring YouTubers.

Owing to the fact that he is a role model for many, analyzing his meteoric rise can help others better pave their own roads to success. Here’s why this Swedish YouTube rockstar still remains at the very top of the game.

Gaming

PiewDiePie is, and will probably forever remain, a gaming YouTuber. But the fact that he is a gamer pales in significance when put against the fact that he practically invented the video gaming genre on YouTube. Sure, there were others that made funny videos, maybe even people who came up with the idea of recording videos of themselves playing video games, but it’s PewDiePie who nailed it and made it a thing.

If you look at his YouTube channel, you’ll see that the world’s most popular gaming YouTuber has the oldest video dating back 8 years ago. This may sound long, but it really isn’t. However, PewDiePie, like most YouTubers, deleted his oldest videos because of sub-par content quality.

Finding a good screen recorder, camera, and a mic wasn’t easy back in the day, and the fact that PewDiePie managed to make the most out of what he had is not something that his “OG” fans will forget.

He’s from Sweden

This may come off as discouraging for non-Swedish readers, but knowing what assets you don’t have at your side can be just as useful as knowing which ones you do. First of all, the fact that he’s a Swede gives him some edge over his US peers, and that edge is his international appeal. Swedish people tend to be fantastic English speakers, as well, which is another huge plus with the English-speaking crowd.

In addition to the international appeal and despite the fact that his English was always near-perfect, he still had that Swedish accent. This may sound off-putting to some, but is really a good thing, as the native English speakers tend to actually enjoy a bit of diversity. PewDiePie’s Swedish roots have given him a great command of English language, an international appeal, and a great accent. More than a decent combination, we can all agree.

His “Let’s Play” Videos

The videogame commentary market wasn’t invented by PewDiePie, but he used his genuine wit and humor to make extremely entertaining content. His horror game reactions are what started drawing the internet’s attention toward him. His perfect combination of humor and emotion provided his subscribers with not only a fun pastime, but also with the ‘feel’ review of a video game.

His Comedy Skills

His gaming skills aren’t what made him popular. His ability to capture the feel of a videogame in a single sentence wasn’t what did it either. What sold his content is his ability to make people laugh. Knowing how to not only choose the perfect timing, but knowing what parts of a gaming video to edit out, and which ones to keep is truly nothing short of art. Yes, PewDiePie is loud, yes he is outrageous, and yes, his personality might not fit everyone. But this is exactly what made him popular.

His Scandals

Unfortunately, PewDiePie, a.k.a. Felix Kjellberg, is prone to scandals, more so than any other of his direct gaming peers. Whether he meant it, or not, PewDiePie has made numerous racist and white supremacist rants and slurs over the years.

The main problem with PewDiePie is that in response to the racist claims, he came out with a follow-up video, which he used to scoff at the idea that he has anything to do with racism and white supremacy, but, unfortunately, the video wasn’t well executed. At some point, he did apologize for his actions, which made him appear even guiltier. Sensitive subjects are best left aside, an example Felix could have taken from his then-very-popular peer, iDubbbz.

The Real YouTube Rockstar

PewDiePie remains one of the most popular, if not the most popular YouTuber in the world. His rise to internet prominence wasn’t without road bumps and hiccups, but who’d have thought a decade ago that a YouTube username could ever be more popular than the user’s real name?

What do you think about PewDiePie? Are you one of his subscribers? Do you think he could’ve handled the scandals better? Give us your two cents in the comments section.