Now, YouTube’s terms and conditions state that those under the age of 13 aren’t allowed to use the service. The dark side of meme cultureĪfter the initial shock, Alisha began to scroll and see what people were saying about her, the trolls laughing and jeering, until it eventually became too much. And the person making money from the adverts is the one who reuploaded it. Today, nine years later, it’s had over 17.6 million views. The clip was reuploaded by another YouTube user, under the title “PSYCHO GIRL tries to sing I will always love you”. Alisha Barnardīut deleting it wouldn’t change anything. I never expected anyone to see it.”Īlisha went viral when she was just 11 years old.

When she uploaded the video, “I was just a kid playing around on a laptop and somehow managed to post it to YouTube.

She’s 20 now and working as a sales and customer service advisor in Scunthorpe. The “it” in question is webcam footage of her attempting to sing Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, screaming with rage when she couldn’t hit the high notes.Īfter being shocked by the view count, Alisha frantically tried to delete it – not knowing it was already too late. “I was in my bedroom when I first saw that half a million people had viewed it,” Alisha explains. Alisha Barnard was just 11 years old when she went viral, and, losing the copyright to her own video, wasn't able to earn any revenue. Some meme stars, like the two boys who appeared in the world-renowned Charlie Bit My Finger video, can make an unprecedented amount of money from going viral, and you'd be forgiven for thinking the same goes for all accidental meme stars.īut not everyone is so lucky.

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