Internet sensation Bo Burnham building a career through YouTube

This Friday Comedy Central will premiere its latest "Comedy Central Presents" special, featuring up and coming comic Bo Burnham. Like most comics who have been featured on the series, Burnham is just starting to become well known. Like most featured comics he has had success in some of the most well known comedy clubs in the country. Like most featured comics he is not yet quite a household name but has shown promise in his work. Yes, in several ways Bo Burnham is just like the many other comics who have been featured on "Comedy Central Presents," but there are two ways that Burnham is unique. One, he is only eighteen years old, and two, he got his start by posting videos on Youtube.

While many YouTube videos are uploaded in hopes of getting discovered, Burnham began uploading his videos for a different reason. Having written a few songs about what he described as teenage angst, Burnham uploaded the videos onto Youtube so that his brother would be able to see them at college.

Filmed in Burnham's bedroom, the two videos were done very simply. Burnham in fact later said that instead of actually having a tripod, the camera filming was simply placed on a pile of books. The two videos both featured noting more than Burnham playing the piano and singing his two songs, "My Little Secret" and "My Whole Family Thinks I'm Gay." The videos had unexpected success, both of them now having over a million hits each. Since then, Burnham has gone on to release a total of 14 videos of himself singing comedic songs that he wrote.

Burnham's comedy comes from his R-rated lyrics, most of them unprintable, which poke fun of anyone and everyone including himself. He sings songs which talk about white supremacy, Helen Keller's disabilities, pedophilia, homosexuality and more, all with a tongue planted firmly in his cheek attitude. Burnham describes his on stage persona as a "more arrogant, stuck-up version [of] himself." In addition to their R-rated tone, Burnham's lyrics are also well known for their sly puns that always seem to work surprisingly well: "Lets rob an Asian kitchen, or stroll down the block, either way girl, we're taking a walk" (Wok).

Today, Bo Burnham is one of the biggest stars on YouTube. Of his 17 videos, 12 of them have had over a million hits, With his song "I'm Bo Yo" getting over seven million. His YouTube channel is the eighth most-subscribed comedian channel, directly behind Seth Comedy from Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy. He also appeared and performed at YouTube Live with many other YouTube celebrities, singing his new song "Welcome to YouTube."

Outside of the Internet, Burnham is experiencing success. His first digital only release titled "Bo Fo Sho" topped the iTunes comedy album chart and sold over 20,000 copies in the first three months. He recently released a self-titled album that included a DVD of the upcoming comedy special. Douglas Edley, a talent agent who also represents Drew Carey and Dave Chappelle, is currently representing him. He also has landed a small part in the upcoming Judd Apatow comedy Funny People.

Even with all his success, Burnham still updates his YouTube channel on a regular basis, his latest song being uploaded just over a week ago, titled "Love Is…" Other than his video "High School Party," all of his song videos have the same feel as the first two that helped to make his name known. He still appears as a juvenile teenager sitting in his bedroom, writing and playing songs, a persona that seems to be working for him.