Jordan Maron

Jordan Maron (born February 10, 1992), better known by his online alias CaptainSparklez, is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer, gamer, and electronic musician. Maron is primarily known for playing the video game Minecraft, which is featured on his main channel, CaptainSparklez, and the channel CaptainSparklez 2. His main channel is currently the 437th most-subscribed channel on YouTube with over eleven million subscribers as of November 11, 2020.[2]

Jordan Maron
Maron in 2018
Personal information
Born (1992-02-10) February 10, 1992
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
OccupationYouTuber
Websitejordanmaron.com
YouTube information
Also known as
  • CaptainSparklez
  • Jardon Maroon
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genre
Subscribers
  • 11 million (CaptainSparklez)
  • 827,000 (CaptainSparklez 2)
  • 415,000 (Jordan Maron)
  • 432,000 (Fortnite Cinema)
  • 179,000 (Maron Music)
  • 363,000 (Jordan Reacts)
  • 43,100 (ProsDONTtalkSHIT)
  • 49,500 (Jordan Games)
Total views
  • 3.73 billion (CaptainSparklez)
  • 143 million (CaptainSparklez 2)
  • 27.2 million (Jordan Maron)
  • 103 million (Fortnite Cinema)
  • 21.4 million (Maron Music)
  • 103 million (Jordan Reacts)
  • 2.81 million (ProsDONTtalkSHIT)
  • 540,000 (Jordan Games)
NetworkPocketWatch
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers 2011
1,000,000 subscribers 2012
10,000,000 subscribers 2017
Updated: August 21, 2020

Maron's first channel, ProsDONTtalkSHIT, was created in February 2010 and featured gameplay from the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.[3] Maron later created his main channel CaptainSparklez in July 2010, uploading both Minecraft and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gameplay before focusing mainly on Minecraft.

Maron has produced several Minecraft-themed songs and music videos, most notably "Revenge", a parody of "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by Usher, featuring vocals from himself and TryHardNinja. Other notable Minecraft music videos include his Fallen Kingdom tetralogy and "TNT". On his other channels, Maron also uploads reaction videos and gameplay of various other games including Fortnite and Trials Fusion.

Maron is an electronic music enthusiast, having used tracks from the label Monstercat on gameplay videos. He has experimented with music production himself. On March 27, 2016, he created Maron Music, a music promotion channel where he would share other artists' music, as well as his own original music. "Moonbeam" was the first of his tracks to be uploaded to the channel.[4]

Beginning in early 2017, Maron uploaded videos featuring his reactions and commentary to various communities on Reddit. This led to a temporary decrease in Minecraft-related content. Maron ultimately decided they were not what his core audience enjoyed watching.[5] He proceeded to create the channel Jordan Reacts, where he continued to upload Reddit reaction videos, and refocused on making Minecraft videos for his main channel.

In January 2020, Maron announced his official clothing brand, Quality Content Athletics.[6] Throughout 2020, it has sold various workout and lifestyle apparel.[7]

Early life

Maron was born in Los Angeles, California. At four years old, he and his mother moved to Santa Barbara. He attended Santa Barbara High School, beginning in ninth grade. Maron then went to the University of California, Santa Barbara as a chemical engineering major. He decided to switch his major to computer science midway through his freshman year, based on his interest in video games. After the first quarter of his sophomore year, he dropped out. In December 2011, he made YouTube his full-time job.[1]

Career

Maron owns a total of nine YouTube channels. Seven of his channels are currently active. On February 9, 2010, he created his first channel titled ProsDONTtalkSHIT (PDTS) where he primarily uploaded gameplay videos of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.[3] When PDTS began to become more popular, Maron decided he wanted a less vulgar name. He created a new channel named CaptainSparklez on July 20, 2010 and left PDTS inactive.[8]

On May 15, 2015, he created a channel called CaptainSparklez 2, where he uploaded unedited Twitch live streams and videos and other content he felt did not belong on his main channel. On March 27, 2016, he created Maron Music, a music promotion channel where he would share other artists' music, as well as his own original music.[9] On February 9, 2017, Maron created a dedicated channel for personal vlogs. Maron later created "Fortnite Cinema", a channel which featured short films created in the game Fortnite Battle Royale.

In early 2017, Maron began to upload videos featuring his reactions to top Reddit posts to his main channel. These reaction videos gained popularity, but Maron ultimately decided they were not what his core audience enjoyed watching.[5] As a result, Maron created a new channel called Jordan Reacts on August 11, 2018, where he continued to upload Reddit reaction videos, and refocused on making Minecraft videos for his main channel. Maron's newest channel is Jordan Games, where he uploads gameplay videos that would be irrelevant on his main channel.

Maron was featured in the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[10] In June 2016, he made an appearance in the sixth episode of Minecraft: Story Mode.[11][12]

XREAL

Maron started a mobile gaming company called XREAL with Howard Marks, co-founder and former CEO of Activision and co-founder of Acclaim Games and StartEngine. XREAL released their game Fortress Fury in May 2015, which received over 1.5 million downloads within its first month of launch.[13] Fortress Fury was originally titled Fortress Fallout; however, ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, known for the Fallout series, sent a cease and desist letter which requested that XREAL "immediately expressly abandon the application for Fortress Fallout and cease any and all current or proposed use of any mark incorporating the term Fallout."[14][15] The letter was sent to prevent competition in the mobile game market for their game Fallout Shelter. Maron and the XREAL's legal team were not informed of this,[16] because Bethesda kept Shelter a secret at the time and did not reveal its existence until its release on June 14, 2015.

Discography

"TNT"

On February 26, 2011, he released his first Minecraft music video, "TNT", a parody of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite", with vocals from singer TryHardNinja. In late 2015, the video was made private at the request of Maron's network and replaced by a new video with original music. In May 2018, the original video was made public again.[17] The video is currently the fourth-most-viewed video on Maron's channel with over 106 million views, surpassing the number of views of the original song.[A]

"Revenge"

On August 19, 2011, he released his second Minecraft music video titled "Revenge", which is a parody of Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love".[18] The video has over 200 million views,[A] making it the most viewed video on Maron's channel as well as the most viewed Minecraft-related video on YouTube. In late 2015, along with "TNT", it was made private and replaced by a new video with original music. In May 2018, along with "TNT", the original video and audio were restored.[17]

In July 2019, following the 10th anniversary of Minecraft, the song received renewed attention as an internet meme.[19] This has led to "Revenge" reaching the number one spot on Genius' Top Songs chart.[20] Maron acknowledged the song's popularity in November 2019, releasing a parody of Genius' lyric videos about "Revenge".[21]

"Minecraft Style"

Maron created a parody video called "Minecraft Style", based on "Gangnam Style" by South Korean entertainer PSY, that used animated Minecraft models.[22] According to MSN, within a few days, it had more than a million views.[23] The video was referenced in technology and gaming articles published by NBC,[24] The Daily Telegraph,[25] Mashable[26] and the Huffington Post.[22] Since its upload, the video has gained over 17 million views.[A]

Fallen Kingdom series

Maron is also known for his Fallen Kingdom series of four Minecraft music videos. They depict a storyline of a king and his son of a fictional kingdom in the Minecraft universe. The first installment of the series, "Fallen Kingdom", was released on April 1, 2012.[27] The video's music is a parody of the Coldplay song "Viva la Vida," with lyrics changed to fit elements of Minecraft as well as to tie into the narrative of the video, which shows a king wandering through a ruined town he once ruled, interspersed with flashbacks revealing what happened to the town. The video currently is the third-most-viewed video on Maron's channel, with over 122 million views.

The second video in the series, "Take Back the Night", was released on August 31, 2013.[28] The video, at over 130 million views,[A] is the second-most-viewed video on Maron's channel, after "Revenge". The video contains the titular track, an original song by TryHardNinja, and tells the story of what happened to the son of the king from "Fallen Kingdom". It shows a prince, the son of the king in "Fallen Kingdom", being taken in and raised by villagers due to his father's absence, later pursuing and defeating the character Herobrine after an attack on the village. "Take Back The Night" is the second most viewed video on Maron's channel.

The third video in the series, "Find The Pieces", was released on April 25, 2015.[29] The video currently has over 36 million views[A] and is the fifth-most-viewed video on Maron's channel. The video contains another original song by TryHardNinja, called "Pieces", and is a continuation of the story of the king's son, who is looking for his father. In the course of the song, he leaves his village, and battles a Wither. He is reunited with his father at the music video's end.

The fourth and final video in the series, "Dragonhearted", was released on November 19, 2016.[30] The video currently has over 25 million views.[A] The video contains yet another original TryHardNinja song, for which the video is named, and brings the tale of the king and his son to completion. The song ends with the self-sacrifice of the son.

Various Minecraft music videos

On May 27, 2017, Maron released a Minecraft music video for the song "Rush Over Me" by Seven Lions, Illenium, and Said the Sky, featuring vocalist Haliene.[31] The video has gained over 3.2 million views.[A]

On September 9, 2017, Maron released a Minecraft music video for the song "We Are the Night” by Madison Mars, featuring vocalist Sanjana Ghosh.[32] The upload has received over 3.1 million views.[A]

"Turn It Up"

On January 13, 2018, Maron released "Turn It Up", an original Minecraft music video, again featuring vocals from TryHardNinja. Unlike his previous music videos, "Turn It Up" appears to take place in a modern city setting within Minecraft.

Singles
Year Title
2014 "Work in Progress Thing That Probably Sucks, I Dunno"[33]
2016 "Moonbeam"[4][34]
"Once Upon a Time"[35][36]
2017 "Crusade"[37]
"Midnight Drive"[38]
2018 "Turn It Up" (feat. TryHardNinja)[39]

Remixes
Year Title Artist
2016 "Rockabye"[40] Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie
2017 "Take Back the Night"[41] TryHardNinja
"Closer"[42] The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
"Stay"[43] Zedd and Alessia Cara

Maron Music

The following lists rank tracks and songs promoted under the Maron Music channel by views and plays.

Top 10 YouTube uploads by views

Top 10 SoundCloud tracks by plays[44]

Awards
  • Nominated in 2016 Shorty Awards[45]

Notes
A1 2 3 4 5 6 7 as of 29 August 2019.[46]
B1 as of 29 August 2019[47]

References
  1. Jordan Maron (January 20, 2014). "Draw My Life - CaptainSparklez". YouTube. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  2. "CaptainSparklez". socialblade.com. Retrieved July 25, 2019..
  3. ProsDONTtalkSHIT. "ProsDONTtalkSHIT". YouTube. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  4. Maron Music (August 26, 2016). "Jordan Maron - Moonbeam". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  5. Maron, Jordan (August 21, 2018). "Goodbye For Now". YouTube.
  6. "Quality Content Athletics on Instagram: "The official clothing brand of @jordanmaron Coming soon."". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  7. "QCAthletics". QCAthletics. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  8. Maron, Jordan (July 20, 2010). "A New Main Channel: Why?". YouTube. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  9. "Maron Music - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  10. "Forbes 30 Under 30". forbes.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  11. "Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 6 Release Date Announced". IGN. May 31, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  12. CaptainSparklez (August 26, 2016). "CAPTAINSPARKLEZ EXPOSED" – via YouTube.
  13. "CaptainSparklez's Mobile Game Company Crowdfunds Capital Through StartEngine". tubefilter.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  14. "Bethesda parent forces Fortress Fallout developer into name change". Arstechnica. February 17, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  15. "Bethesda hits Fortress Fallout maker with legal name-change demand". Polygon. February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  16. "What Ever Happened to Fortress Fury? - YouTube". CaptainSparklez. October 31, 2016.
  17. Maron, Jordan. "Good News and Bad News..." YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  18. "iTunes - Music - Revenge (Minecraft Creeper Song) [feat. CaptainSparklez] - Single by TryHardNinja". iTunes. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013.
  19. toaster_strudel. "Minecraft "Creeper, Aw Man," Memes are Taking Over Discord". www.ebaumsworld.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  20. "CaptainSparklez's 'Minecraft' Parody Song "Revenge" Sees Renewed Interest Thanks To A Discord Meme". Genius. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  21. CaptainSparklez "Revenge" Official Lyrics & Meaning | Verified, retrieved November 22, 2019
  22. "'Minecraft Style' - Gamers Get Their Own 'Gangnam Style' Spoof (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post UK. October 23, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  23. "Minecraft wiz obsessively recreates Gangnam Style vid". MSN. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  24. Winda Benedetti. "Dig this 'Minecraft'-style 'Gangnam Style' parody". NBC. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  25. "Minecraft parody of Psy's Gangnam Style". The Daily Telegraph. October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  26. Anita Li (October 22, 2012). "Minecraft Meets 'Gangnam Style' in Block-Building Parody [VIDEO]". Mashable. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  27. CaptainSparklez (April 1, 2012). ""Fallen Kingdom" - A Minecraft Parody of Coldplay's Viva la Vida (Music Video)". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  28. CaptainSparklez (August 31, 2013). ""Take Back the Night" - A Minecraft Original Music Video". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  29. CaptainSparklez (April 25, 2015). ""Find the Pieces" - A Minecraft Original Music Video". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  30. CaptainSparklez (November 19, 2016). ""Dragonhearted" - A Minecraft Original Music Video". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  31. CaptainSparklez (May 27, 2017). "♪ "Rush Over Me" - A Minecraft Music Video/Song ♪". Retrieved September 28, 2017 – via YouTube.
  32. CaptainSparklez (September 9, 2017). "♪ "We Are The Night" - A Minecraft Music Video/Song ♪". Retrieved September 28, 2017 – via YouTube.
  33. "work in progress thing that probably sucks i dunno". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  34. "Moonbeam (Original Mix)". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  35. Maron Music (October 22, 2016). "Jordan Maron - Once Upon A Time". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  36. "Once Upon A Time (Original Mix)". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  37. Maron Music (June 24, 2017). "Jordan Maron - Crusade". Retrieved June 24, 2017 – via YouTube.
  38. Maron Music (October 28, 2017). "Jordan Maron - Midnight Drive". Retrieved October 28, 2017 – via YouTube.
  39. Maron Music (January 13, 2018). "Jordan Maron - Turn It Up (feat. TryHardNinja)". Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via YouTube.
  40. Maron Music (December 17, 2016). "Clean Bandit - Rockabye ft. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie (Jordan Maron Remix)". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  41. Maron Music (February 15, 2017). "TryHardNinja - Take Back The Night (Jordan Maron Remix)". Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via YouTube.
  42. Maron Music (February 15, 2017). "The Chainsmokers - Closer ft. Halsey (Jordan Maron Remix)". Retrieved March 18, 2017 – via YouTube.
  43. Maron Music (August 26, 2017). "Zedd, Alessia Cara - Stay (Jordan Maron Remix)". Retrieved August 26, 2017 – via YouTube.
  44. https://soundcloud.com/maronmusic
  45. "Jordan Maron - The Shorty Awards". Shortyawards.com. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  46. "CaptainSparklez". YouTube. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  47. "Maron Music". YouTube. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
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