CHML’s Scott Thompson starts off our weekly chat with audio of Maria Aragon, the 10-year-old from Winnipeg who has suddenly become a viral superstar. The future American Idol winner was a guest on Ellen DeGeneres this week where she sang “Born This Way.” Ten million people have so far checked out Aragon singing the Madonna-like Lady Gaga song on YouTube. Check it out below.
Aragon is poised as only a 10-year-old could be, taking the stage and nailing her vocal and piano performance. Ellen gave her a box of puppies or something after her segment. The kid probably thought, “Damn–I could have done Oprah and won a car.”
Scott can’t believe all the attention Aragon has received (Lady Gaga has invited the youngster to perform with her in Toronto) but that’s YouTube, the worldwide, viral, star maker machine. Just ask that lady from Scotland who’s name I already forget.
The impact of the new media came up on the weekend during an NBC Saturday Night Live special. The success of Justin Timberlake’s “Dick in a Box” demonstrated how SNL is the perfect partner for YouTube, offering three minute sketches that slide perfectly over to Internet streaming. Jimmy Kimmel has very successfully mined new media to promote his show, as has Jimmy Fallon. CBS recently posted highlights of Howard Stern’s appearance on David Letterman before it hit the air that night on CBS. (Letterman’s talk show tapes six or seven hours before it airs in the East.)
The smart folks in TV have learned if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The new media drives viewers to the old media and vice-versa.
Scott also asks about some famous stars who may or may not have started off on SNL (Jennifer Aniston? Robert Downey Jr?), Piers Morgan vs. Larry King, the latest edition of Survivor and this weekend’s upcoming Academy Awards. Listen in to the whole shebang here.
