The Rise of James Charles
How it started
James Charles, originally James Charles Dickinson is a young American beauty guru. Making his entrance into the beauty community at 16, James would publish his make-up looks, which were inspired by celebrities on his Instagram page. He later started creating YouTube videos after followers requested that he upload more detailed videos of his creations. (Promolta, nodate)
Known for his presence in the beauty community the self-taught beauty guru’s content features makeup tutorials and his BIG ‘Sister’ personality which is coined by his infamous catch Phrase “Hey sisters!” James is also a member of the LGBTQ community which he proudly represents through his platform.
His Accomplishments
Flourishing in the YouTube community at the age of 17, his social media presence afforded him the role of Cover Girl's first-ever Cover Boy (Puglise, 2016). Since then James has collaborated with The makeup brand Morphé to create a James Charles inspired eyeshadow pallet. (Morphe, nodate) He has also walked red carpets including the met gala which is known as the Super Bowl of fashion, an annual fundraising gala celebrating the Costume Institute‘s magnificent new exhibition on changing themes. (Ward, 2019)
Over the years James‘s hard work and dedication to his craft have afforded him many opportunities that most young people his age may only dream of. In 2018 the influencer posted to his Instagram announcing that he had become a homeowner at just 19 years old during that year he also launched his clothing brand Sister Apparel. Last year, James went on to start his own YouTube show called ‘Insta influencer’. The series is the hottest new reality show where six up-and-coming influencers battle it out to win $50,000 and a video Collab on James’ channel. The YouTube Original series is hosted by James Charles and features permanent guest judge Norvina, the president of makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills (PopBuzz, 2020)
Biggest Collaborations
Aside from makeup James also has a passion for singing. If you follow James' YouTube channel you would have certainly come across a cover of him there. He’s collaborated with Zhavia, one of the top 4 contestants in the singing competition ‘the Four’, where they both sang their makeup routine. In an interview with Elle last year the makeup artist also revealed that he plans on adding singer to his resume. (Elle, 2020) During the interview, he mentioned that he would if possible love to collaborate with Hip pop artist Doja Cat saying, “In the future, if this were a possibility, I would probably have to say Doja Cat, because I love every single song that she puts out and she’s incredible and I love her visuals and music videos, too. So, I think that would be in line and create something really cool.” (Elle, 2020) Two months later James was able to work with Doja Cat in a video he posted to his channel titled “Doing Doja Cat’s Make-up” which shows that his success as a YouTube personality has not only come from his makeup tutorials and creative content but also his collaborations with multiple internet personalities on the platform (influencermatchmaker, 2020). His involvement in Iggy Azalea’s music video for the hit single Sally Walker boosted his fame and global recognition. James has so collaborated with Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner and even won the award for the best channel in the Beauty category for the 8th Streamy Awards. (influencermatchmaker, 2020)
James has also collaborated with many other influencers in the YouTube Beauty community. His most popular collaborations include:
7 YouTube Gurus For self-dubbed “Biggest Beauty Collab In History” Friends who joined Charles (18 million subscribers, 50 million views per month) for the self-dubbed Biggest Beauty Collaboration In History include:
NikkieTutorials (13.4 million, 20 million), Patrick Starrr (4.4 million, 2 million), Manny MUA (4.7 million, 5 million), Mykie (3.8 million, 8 million), Bretman Rock (7.3 million, 15 million), Louie (2.3 million, 7.5 million), and Nikita Dragun (2.7 million, 2 million).
Downfalls in his career
While being in the spotlight has had its glory days, he has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest celebrities including Shawn Mendes, and Tati Westbrook.
FEB 2017 — JAMES POSTED AN OFFENSIVE TWEET
When James made the cover of CoverGirl in 2016 the following year his career was damaged when he posted a tweet that many found offensive. On a school trip to Africa, he tweeted “I can’t believe we’re going to Africa today omg what if we get Ebola?” (Cosmopolitan, 2019)
James quickly deleted the Tweet and posted a heartfelt apology, explaining that he understood that his remark was “offensive and ignorant” and that he “clearly has a lot to learn”
OCTOBER, 2018 — SHAWN MENDES DRAMA
James Charles sparked controversy after leaving numerous comments on the singer, Shawn Mendes’ social media accounts, that many deemed inappropriate. During a live stream where the singer showed off his cool juggling skill, James commented “can you juggle me like that?” Shortly afterwards, Shawn abruptly ended the live stream and many fans speculated that it was James’ comment that triggered him to end the stream. (Twersky, 2019)
after James wrote an apology via Twitter Shawn reach out to James via Twitter direct message to clear things up, which James later shared on Twitter for fans to see.
MAY 2019 — THE MET GALA
When James Charles landed an invite to one of the most exclusive events of the year, the 2019 MET Gala, he caused controversy with an Instagram post that many deemed insensitive.
James and Tati Westbrook “Bye Sister”
When James posted a “swipe up” Instagram story promoting Sugar Bear Hair, the instal-popular gummy bears They are a direct competitor with Tati’s supplement brand, Halo Beauty. This did not sit well with her. Tati followed up with an Instagram story where she looked visibly upset and said, according to BuzzFeed, which captured the story, “Everybody says what they need to say and uses who they need to use, and I have had about enough. It’s not right.
Tati says James was not genuinely apologetic, but more concerned about his reputation. James posted a since-deleted video in response to Tati’s, significantly shorter at eight minutes. It reached over 33 million views. In the days following both videos, James continued to lose millions of followers. After the scandal, James took some time away from social media to spend time with family and friends away from the drama. He also gained back his followers and later returned to the internet saying “I’m not mentally in a place where I want to be,” James told Paper magazine in a recent interview. “I thought by this time I’d be completely good — back to normal if you will — and that’s not the case.” (Osifo, 2018).
Everyone from Jeffree Star to Kylie Jenner had been getting involved in the drama, and James lost over 2.6 million subscribers during the drama. Although he has since gained more than the number of followers he lost he and Tati have yet to reconcile their friendship but have bout put the incident behind them and have now moved on.
