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Teens Create Pop Song With Help of YouTube Community

by Caleb Johnson on November 10, 2009 at 05:00 PM

As the de facto spokes-band of the U.K. once suggested, "Get by with a little help from your friends," a notion four British teenagers took to heart, becoming a YouTube sensation in the process.

Charlie McDonnell and his buddies don't fancy themselves musicians, songwriters or producers, but the boys know the power of online communities. According to Mashable, these teens created a song that was completely crowdsourced by people on YouTube. Entitled "I've Got Nothing" (video after the break), it's the boys' shot at BBC's ChartJackers competition, which encourages participants to crack the U.K. music charts without using traditional means. YouTube users sent in comments, which were compiled and tweaked into the song's lyrics by another user. The lyrics were made public, and users wrote melodies and sent those to McDonnell and Co. Then, the boys auditioned a band, found a producer, and somebody to shoot a video (featuring the YouTube nation, of course) all using the site.

If this intentionally cheesy pop song hits the charts, these boys might deserve the U.K. equivalent of the Grammy (Not to mention, proceeds from the song, which is available on iTunes, go to charity). But stranger things have become wildly popular across the pond. Remember Susan Boyle? Yeah, we're trying to forget, too. [From: Mashable]

Tags: crowdsourcing, music, top, viral video, ViralVideo, youtube

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