Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
This installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Segway. 
Each election cycle brings with its a new host of online video stars who use the heightened political climate to support their videos. 2004, for example, had JibJab. 2008 had the Obama Girl. In the 2012 election cycle, few creators soared quite as high as Fadi Saleh. Saleh is the man behind Baracksdubs, which syncs up words from President Obama’s speeches to match popular songs. This format has proven quite popular and has inspired many imitators — including the folks at NBC. As Saleh gears up for another set of election year dubs, we talked to him about his recent achievement of one million YouTube subscribers:
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Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
Fadi Saleh: It’s surreal. It’s been surreal since day one. When I started Baracksdubs in 2012, I didn’t imagine that the channel would grow to where it is today. So it’s really exciting that we’ve brought together an audience that returns every week to watch Obama sing, or Bernie, or Trump, or whoever. So to my fans, I say thank you and I love you back!
TF: Where did you get the idea for your channel?
FS: I’ve created content since middle school. Drawing, animating, making Flash games and YouTube videos, that was childhood for me. But I never called myself a creative because I was the child in the family who was supposed to go to medical school.
Then I took Organic Chemistry (the weed-out course for pre-med students) in my freshman year of college, and it wasn’t pretty. And that winter break, with my brain turned into soup, in the shower, I was singing my favorite song of the year, “Cheers” by Rihanna. And seemingly out of nowhere, I thought…what if I made Obama sing this?
So I spent the next two weeks bringing this idea to life. Launched the channel January 4, 2012. And the rest is history.
TF: How do you search for the clips you need for your videos, and where do you find them?
FS: The White House has every speech Obama’s ever given. 6,000 hours’ worth. In the very beginning, I watched each hour long speech and tracked it along a transcript below the video. Add that to a super slow computer and what felt like a 56k connection, and the videos took me 100 hours to make. Later on, whitehouse.gov added closed captioning which made it a bit easier to search through, and I’ve since learned other tricks to help me go through the content.
TF: How much do you have to edit the President’s voice to get him to fit the beat? Are there any songs where you struggled to get the rhythm to match up?
FS: Matching the president’s words to the artist’s words is a vital piece of the puzzle, but this far into the game, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. What’s usually a challenge, however, is what I think is an even more important piece to pulling off the dubs: the word search. Finding the words said in the right inflection is super important to making the dubs sound coherent. And sometimes, he’s never said the words I’m looking for. Take “swag” for example. That’s when you have to get creative with the sounds and syllables you use to make it happen. I used “sweat” and “bag.”
TF: When you listen to the President speak, are you constantly thinking about particular phrases he uses as potential clips for your videos?
FS: His voice is forever embedded with mine. People say I tend to slip into an Obama dialect when I’m speaking. I know all his catch phrases, but it goes deeper than that. His tone, the way he structures his speeches, other themes. I can basically predict what kinds of things he will say just based on the setting he is in. Still not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse.
TF: How does it feel to see The Tonight Show using a very similar format for their Brian Williams videos?
FS: Not going to lie, it was frustrating at first. The Tonight Show has a habit of creating internet-inspired content without crediting or even referencing the original creators, and that’s looked down upon in comedy. But at this point, I’m just taking it as validation that Baracksdubs is built for a wide audience and millions more can love our work. But if The Tonight Show ever wants to make amends and do a little project together (a Jimmy Fallon dub), then he knows how to reach me.
TF: Does the President know about your videos? Has his Twitter account acknowledged your work?
BD: Yes! He was interviewed by a New Mexico radio station in 2012 and asked if he’s ever heard “Call Me Maybe.” He said he hadn’t heard the original song, but he had watched Obama Singing “Call Me Maybe.” So I’m honored that Baracksdubs is helping Obama keep his finger on the pulse.
And you know Malia and Sasha are subscribed. And Joe. Definitely Joe. But we’re still waiting for a collab with the President before he leaves office. I’ve got a few ideas.
TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?
FS: The president is leaving office in just 6 months, and I’ve spent the last two years preparing for that day. And the next phase for the channel is to make everyone sing everything. In addition to the next president and other politicians, we’ll make talk show hosts, movie stars, news anchors, athletes–any personality–sing. And we think our fans are going to love it. In fact, we’ve already started.
There will always still be a place for Barack Obama on the channel, but it’s clear this channel can be so much bigger. And that’s the direction we’re going in.
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