''PrankvsPrank'', also known as ''PvP'', is a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel created by Jesse Michael Wellens and his then-girlfriend Jennifer "Jeana" Smith. In 2007, the two began to play

pranks A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

on each other and post videos of the pranks on websites, eventually forming a channel on YouTube. They became one of the most-watched channels. The channel has more than 1.8 billion video views and more than 10.2 million subscribers as of February 2017. After Wellens and Smith split in May 2016, Wellens became the sole user of the channel.

History

Wellens had filmed Smith attempting the cinnamon challenge and posted a video on the Internet, starting the serial pranking of each other. The videos show how they prepare the pranks for each other and record their reaction afterwards. In 2012, Wellens and Smith appeared as Spartan King

Leonidas I Leonidas I (; , ''Leōnídas''; born ; died 11 August 480 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. He was the son of king Anaxandridas II and the 17th king of the Agiad dynasty, a Spartan royal house which claimed descent fro ...

and Queen Gorgo in the web series '' Epic Rap Battles of History'', in season two, episode 2 "Master Chief vs. Leonidas". On April 1, 2013,

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rated ''PrankvsPrank'' YouTube's best pranksters. On September 25, 2013, Wellens (as "Chip Chocolate") released a rap song on iTunes called "Cookie Dance". Produced by Les Professionnels, the song peaked at #68 on the UK Singles Chart and was number one in Sweden for a couple of weeks. On September 17, 2015, PrankvsPrank won the Streamy Award for the Best Prank Show. In 2016, Wellens and Smith hosted a

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original series titled '' Prank Academy'', where they taught celebrities how to pull off pranks and graded the individual outcomes. The series premiered on March 30, 2016, and concluded on July 20, 2016. While the full-length episodes were only available to YouTube Red subscribers, Wellens and Smith provided condensed versions featuring the highlights of the pranks free of charge to the public. On April 11, 2016, PrankvsPrank won the Shorty Award for the Best YouTube Ensemble. After Wellens and Smith split in May 2016, Wellens continued posting on ''PrankvsPrank'' as a solo effort, while Smith posted on ''BFvsGF''.

BFvsGF

Smith and Wellens also have a channel on YouTube called ''BFvsGF''. On ''BFvsGF'', they posted videos about their lives on a daily basis from 2012 until May 19, 2016. The videos often show them walking around

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, visiting

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, or traveling with Contiki Tours. The videos also have frequent guest appearances by other YouTubers, including Louis Cole, Roman Atwood, Alli Speed, Andy Milonakis and Charles Trippy. It was on this channel that Smith and Wellens introduced the character Chip Chocolate with the video "Fruit Assassin". ''BFvsGF'' has more than 9.3 million subscribers and 2.7 billion video views, as of February 2017. On May 18, 2016, Wellens and Smith announced on ''BFvsGF'' they have decided to place their relationship on "hiatus" and they would be taking a break from vlogging for the foreseeable future. They cited relationship problems and stress from daily vlogging as factors for this break. Wellens announced he would be moving to New York, with Smith remaining in Philadelphia. On March 5, 2019, Smith announced that she will be launching an online talk show on ''BFvsGF'', titled ''Jenuine Talk'', where she will discuss various real-life topics with guest stars, having shot two episodes over the winter.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{authority control Prank YouTubers Shorty Award winners Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows YouTube channels launched in 2007 YouTube vloggers YouTubers from Philadelphia