Collins Key Contents Early life Career Awards References Navigation menu"America's Got Talent Finale: Find...
American YouTubersLiving people1996 birthsAmerican magiciansAmerica's Got Talent contestants
America's Got TalentUnileverGeneral MillsDemi LovatoNeon Lights tourTeen Choice Awards
Collins Key
Collins Key (born May 9, 1996) is an American entertainer, actor, host, magician, brand ambassador, corporate speaker and former finalist on America's Got Talent.[1]. His YouTube channel features comedic content that showcases Collins high-energy and engaging personality. As of February 2019, his channel has amassed more than 16 million subscribers[2], generating over 170 million views per month with over 2.8 billion total lifetime views[2].
Collins has partnered with major brands such as Unilever[3], General Mills[4], Johnson & Johnson[5] and Disney, and also created and starred in the multi-award-winning campaign for AT&T called The Disappearing Girl[6][7][8].
He has received a Shorty Award[9], an AdWeek Arc Award[10], a Cannes Lions Award[11], and a Streamy Award[12], and has been nominated for multiple Teen Choice Awards[13][14].
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Awards
4 References
Early life
Collins was born on May 9, 1996. His parents are Steven and Anne Key, and he has one younger brother, Devan, who he regularly collaborates with on his YouTube channel.
Collins fell in love with performing at age 4 when he acted in his first Shakespeare play. At the age of 12, he was drawn to another performance art form, magic, and dedicated himself to practicing and perfecting his craft. Magic became a way to connect with people of every age. At age 13, after doing magic for only 9 months, he was accepted into the elite Junior Program at the Hollywood Famous Magic Castle[15] which helped grow his skills and gain interest from Hollywood.
Career
At 16 years old, Collins was discovered on YouTube by the producers of America's Got Talent, and invited to appear on their 8th season[1]. Collins quickly gained notoriety as the fan favorite and first magician to ever become a finalist. He is often referred to as ‘Magic’s First Pop Star’.
In 2013, he toured across the country with America’s Got Talent[16], visiting 36 cities in six weeks.
In 2014, Collins joined Demi Lovato on her Neon Lights tour[17], opening up for the singer with other acts such as Fifth Harmony, Little Mix and Cher Lloyd during the 30-city tour, performing for audiences of 10,000-15,000 fans. Each night, Collins spent 55 minutes on stage performing magic as well as hosting the event.
In addition, he was asked to present at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards[18] alongside other presenters including Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift and Kylie Jenner.
After his appearance on America’s Got Talent, he focused on his YouTube channel, growing from 2 million to 16 million subscribers in just 2 years[2], with each episode averaging 25 million views over the last two years[2]. He and his brother, Devan Key, primarily upload advertiser-friendly comedy videos.
In addition to focusing on his YouTube channel, he has also created, produced and starred in The Disappearing Girl in partnership with AT&T[6][7][8]. The social media driven show blurred the lines between scripted and reality, and engaged fans in a social media scavenger hunt that culminated in a live activation on the streets of Los Angeles. The show went on to win a Shorty Award[9], an AdWeek Arc Award[10], a Cannes Lions Award[11], and a Streamy Award[12].
In 2017, Collins was the first digital creator given the opportunity to create and produce six weeks of interstitial content for The Disney Channel Television Network leading into the Fall Season Friday Night Lineup.
In 2017, he gave a TEDx talk[19] at the University of Santa Barbara about using magic to solve your problems and that the answer to every problem is hiding in plain sight. The video has amassed more than 1 million views on YouTube.
In 2018, Collins headlined the YouTube FanFest concert in Mumbai, India[20], which was attended by over 10,000 fans.
In 2018, he launched a new merchandise line on his website, which sold out in two hours.[21]
In 2019, Collins and his brother Devan are returning back to traditional media and are Executive Producers on a scripted television show currently in development at Nickelodeon[22][21].
Awards
In 2018, Collins was nominated for Choice Male Web Star and Choice Comedy Web Star for the 2018 Teen Choice Awards[14]
In 2017, Collins won a Shorty Award[9], an AdWeek Arc Award[10], a Cannes Lions Award[11], and a Streamy Award[12] for The Disappearing Girl. Collins was also awarded a Magic Castle Junior Achievement Award for his achievements in magic.
References
^ ab "America's Got Talent Finale: Find Out Who Won!". E! Online. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2019..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "It's Time to #AXEpressYourself..." Ditch the Label (USA). 1 May 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "#ItsBuzzcoinTime - Instagram Hashtag". PicoMico.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ Zerbib, Kathy. "Review: Demi Lovato At The Honda Center". Neontommy.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ ab "Collins Key Debuts Interactive Series For Hello Lab Dubbed 'The Disappearing Girl'". Tubefilter.com. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ ab "The Disappearing Girl". AT&T Hello Lab. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ ab Hamedy, Saba. "Magician Collins Key searches for mystery girl in new digital series". Mashable.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ abc ""The Disappearing Girl" - A YA Interactive Drama Played Out Over Social Media - The Shorty Awards". Shortyawards.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ abc "Adweek's Arc Awards: Recognizing the Best Brand Storytelling of 2017". Adweek.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ abc "Cannes Lions 2017: Design, Media y Product Design". Insights.la. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ abc "7th Annual Nominees". Streamys.org. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "Teen Choice Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List". E! Online. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ ab "Here are the YouTubers who won big at the Teen Choice Awards". We The Unicorns. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "About the Academy - The Academy of Magical Arts". Magiccastle.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "America's Got Talent Live™ Announces Full Tour Line-up Including Season 8 Winner, Kenichi Ebina". Businesswire.com. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "Collins Key brings magic touch to Demi Lovato tour - Globalnews.ca". Globalnews.ca. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "Sarah Hyland Is Teaming Up With a Teen Wolf Hunk". E! Online. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "Welcome to TEDxSantaBarbara 2017 - Outside IN". TEDxSantaBarbara 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ "YouTube sensation and illusionist Collins Key on headlining the YouTube India FanFest". Indianexpress.com. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ ab [1][dead link]
^ "NickALive!: Collins Key and Devan Key Reportedly Developing New 30-Minute Comedy for Nickelodeon". Nickalive.blogspot.com. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
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