Andy Samberg: The First Viral Video Star

"The comedian is the first of the Internet auteurs to cross into the mainstream." That's an observation in a Time magazine article this week about Saturday Night Live cast member Andy Samberg, a freshman of the long-time sketch comedy show who has shot to Internet stardom for his "digital shorts," most famously the "Lazy Sunday" gangsta rap video he performed in with Chris Parnell. The video was a highlight of the SNL episode in which it originally aired, but it became a massive pop-cultural hit when it got posted on the Net and virally exploded, reaching a much bigger viewing audience than SNL itself. Time devotes a big feature this week on how clever video clips on the Web are giving rise to a new pool of talent and entertainment for the global broadband audience. Andy Samberg is the first true star of the trend. He used to make comedy clips with his friends and post them on the Web, which is part of how he landed the SNL gig.

Posted by Supercore at April 21, 2006 03:24 AM