Collins Key (born May 9, 1996) is an American

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

, entertainer, actor, and magician. As of December 2020, his channel has amassed more than 21 million subscribers, generating more than 170 million views per month with over 5.4 billion total lifetime views. As a magician, he was a finalist on the eighth season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...

,'' and later toured as part of

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

Neon Lights tour Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

. Key created and starred in a campaign for

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

called ''The Disappearing Girl,'' for which he received a number of awards. Key has also been nominated for multiple Teen Choice Awards.

Early life

Key was born on May 9, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. His parents are Steven and Anne Key, and he has a younger brother, Devan Key, who he regularly collaborates with on his YouTube channel. At age 13, after doing magic for 9 months, he was accepted into the elite Junior Program at the Hollywood Famous

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in ...

Career

As he was 16 years old, Collins was discovered on YouTube by the producers of ''America's Got Talent'', and invited to appear on their eighth season. Key became the first magician to make the finals of the show. He is often referred to as "Magic’s First Pop Star". In 2013, he toured across the country with ''America’s Got Talent'', visiting 36 cities in six weeks. In 2014, Collins joined

on their

, opening for the singer with other acts such as

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group si ...

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ...

, and

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, " Swagger Jagger", was r ...

. Each night, Collins hosted and performed magic. In addition, he was asked to present at the 2014

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

alongside other presenters including Jennifer Lopez,

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

and

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series '' Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and is the founder and owner of ...

After his appearance on ''America's Got Talent'', he focused on his YouTube channel, growing from 2 million to 18 million subscribers in two years. He and his brother, Devan Key, primarily upload comedy videos. He also created, produced and starred in

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

''The Disappearing Girl'' in partnership with

. The series won a Shorty Award, an

AdWeek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cove ...

Arc Award, a Cannes Lions Award, and a

Streamy Award The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...

. In 2017, Key was the first digital creator given the opportunity to create and produce six weeks of interstitial content for Disney Channel leading into the Fall Season Friday Night Lineup. The same year, he gave a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk at the

University of Santa Barbara A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

about his experiences as a magician. In 2018, Collins headlined the YouTube FanFest concert in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, India, and was nominated for Choice Male Web Star and Choice Comedy Web Star at the

2018 Teen Choice Awards The 2018 Teen Choice Awards ceremony was held on August 12, 2018, at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The awards celebrated the year's achievements in music, film, television, sports, fashion, comedy, and the internet, and are voted on by vie ...

. In 2020 he surpassed 22.5 million subscribers on YouTube.

References

External links

Collins Key at Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Collins American YouTubers Living people 1996 births American magicians America's Got Talent contestants Entertainers from Los Angeles Academy of Magical Arts Junior Achievement Award winners