Commentary YouTube is a genre of YouTube channels which features creators who speak their thoughts on the latest drama/issues facing large youtubers, celebrities, politics, and other major issues and trends. This genre is very new and changing the YouTube landscape.
I first came across these videos when one of them was recommended to me on YouTube’s home page. Soon after watching that video YouTube continued to suggest more commentary videos to me. Finally, I got to the point where I voluntarily would be searching for commentary videos. Before I knew it, the content I was consuming on YouTube had completely changed.
This got me thinking to why I’m hooked to these videos and what their real effects are on viewers and YouTube as a whole. One positive effect is that they promote accountability. They provide a thorough critique on certain YouTuber’s actions and their wrongdoings. Unfortunately, many YouTubers think they are entitled to act a certain way and will not accept criticism. However, the public can gain insight from these videos they otherwise would have not gotten.
I find these videos interesting despite not following any of the YouTubers talked about actively. The way the commentary channels present these YouTubers gets my attention and allows me to educate myself on these YouTubers. Without these commentary videos, I would not have known about problematic YouTubers who have been accused of scamming their followers or promoting inappropriate content.
Here are some of the up and coming commentary YouTubers I follow:
Angelika Oles
Oles is from London and I happened to begin following her videos during my exchange in Leeds, UK. Her videos provide a thorough critique on the mistake that various celebrity youtubers have made. Oles has also been growing rapidly within the past year. I began watching her videos when she had around 100k subscribers and now she has nearly 500k subscribers. This shows that commentary channels are increasing popularity.
Luke Alexander
Alexander is based in Brisbane, Australia. He provides his perspective on youtuber scandals and his thoughts on various trends. Alexander also provides his thoughts on issues such as the negative effects of social media and diversity and does so with appropriate seriousness. He has also opened up about and discussed his sexuality in some videos which brings an additional dimension to his channel.
Olivia Kathryn
Kathryn in based in the U.S. and provides commentary on various shows and trends and is relatable as she recently graduated college and comments on student life. Her videos are very casual, and she does provide some videos with unpopular opinions on certain topics or shows which I find very insightful to hear her perspective on.
Commentary channels have been popular for a little over a year now and are not going away any time soon. YouTube has a great variety of videos that can be informational and entertaining. These are the youtubers that I’ve kept up with the most over the past year and a half, but there are many more commentary youtubers out there. I am eager to see where this genre goes in the future and if any new genres will develop on YouTube in the coming years.