In May 2010, well before the TikTok era, a 12-year-old from Oklahoma named Greyson Chance was summoned to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” A couple of weeks earlier, Greyson had found early viral fame after he posted his middle school talent show performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” on YouTube.
In the following days, media coverage around the 12-year-old sensation exploded, and his performance ballooned to more than 30 million views.
Next year, Ms. DeGeneres will step down from her daytime talk show, signing off after a 19-season run of light jokes, celebrity interviews and cash giveaways.
“She was the originator of creating viral content off of other viral content,” said Lindsey Weber, one of the hosts of “Who? Weekly,” a podcast focused on celebrity culture.
conducted an investigation into workplace misconduct on the set of “Ellen,” Ms. DeGeneres’ role in daytime television has diminished.
The year after Greyson Chance appeared on “Ellen,” the show invited 8-year-old Sophia Grace, a burgeoning internet personality, and her cousin Rosie to come in from England and to do a cover of a Nicki Minaj song.
When Sophia Grace appeared on “Ellen,” Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance, and the 8-year-old flung herself into the arms of the singer.
“The interviews she did with these viral personalities would get millions or tens of millions of views,” said Earnest Pettie, who leads YouTube’s trends and insights team.
In 2009, when David DeVore posted a video of his 7-year-old son, who is also named David, groggily returning home from a trip to the dentist, the video quickly earned millions of views and became an early YouTube hit.
An influencer now can make in the millions, and in a handful of cases, tens of millions.