Collins Key

Collins Key (born May 9th, 1996) is an American entertainer, actor, host, magician, brand ambassador and former finalist on America's Got Talent.[1] His YouTube channel features comedic content that showcases Key's high-energy personality. As of December 2020, his channel has amassed more than 22.5 million subscribers,[2] generating over 170 million views per month with over 5.4 billion total lifetime views.[2]

Collins Key
Key in 2019
Born (1996-05-09) May 9, 1996
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Occupation
  • Entertainer
  • actor
  • host
  • magician
  • brand ambassador
Websitehttps://shopcollinskey.com/

Key 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]

Early life

Key was born on May 9, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. His parents are Steven and Anne Key, and he has a younger brother, Devan Key, who he regularly collaborates with on his YouTube channel. At age 13, after doing magic for 9 months, he was accepted into the elite Junior Program at the Hollywood Famous Magic Castle.[15]

Career

At 16 years old, Key was discovered on YouTube by the producers of America's Got Talent, and invited to appear on their 8th season.[1] Key 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, Key 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, Key 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.

Collins Key, performing magic tricks with Jaggi Vasudev (September 2020)

After his appearance on America's Got Talent, he focused on his YouTube channel, growing from 2 million to 18 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, Key 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, Key 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, Key and his brother Devan are returning to traditional media and are Executive Producers on a scripted television show currently in development at Nickelodeon.[22][21] In 2018, Key was nominated for Choice Male Web Star and Choice Comedy Web Star for the 2018 Teen Choice Awards.[14]

In 2020 he has surpassed over 22.5 million subscribers.

References
  1. "America's Got Talent Finale: Find Out Who Won!". E! Online. September 19, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  2. "Collinskey YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics - Socialblade.com". Socialblade.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  3. "It's Time to #AXEpressYourself..." Ditch the Label (USA). May 1, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  4. "#ItsBuzzcoinTime - Instagram Hashtag". PicoMico.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. Zerbib, Kathy. "Review: Demi Lovato At The Honda Center". Neontommy.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. "Collins Key Debuts Interactive Series For Hello Lab Dubbed 'The Disappearing Girl'". Tubefilter.com. November 4, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  7. "The Disappearing Girl". AT&T Hello Lab. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  8. Hamedy, Saba. "Magician Collins Key searches for mystery girl in new digital series". Mashable.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  9. ""The Disappearing Girl" - A YA Interactive Drama Played Out Over Social Media - The Shorty Awards". Shortyawards.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  10. "Adweek's Arc Awards: Recognizing the Best Brand Storytelling of 2017". Adweek.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  11. "Cannes Lions 2017: Design, Media y Product Design". Insights.la. June 20, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  12. "7th Annual Nominees". Streamys.org. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  13. "Teen Choice Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List". E! Online. August 13, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  14. "Here are the YouTubers who won big at the Teen Choice Awards". We The Unicorns. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  15. "About the Academy - The Academy of Magical Arts". Magiccastle.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  16. "America's Got Talent Live™ Announces Full Tour Line-up Including Season 8 Winner, Kenichi Ebina". Businesswire.com. September 19, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  17. "Collins Key brings magic touch to Demi Lovato tour - Globalnews.ca". Globalnews.ca. March 26, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  18. "Sarah Hyland Is Teaming Up With a Teen Wolf Hunk". E! Online. August 1, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  19. "Welcome to TEDxSantaBarbara 2017 - Outside IN". TEDxSantaBarbara 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  20. "YouTube sensation and illusionist Collins Key on headlining the YouTube India FanFest". Indianexpress.com. March 28, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "NickALive!: Collins Key and Devan Key Reportedly Developing New 30-Minute Comedy for Nickelodeon". Nickalive.blogspot.com. August 5, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
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