Sam Tsui is a 26-year-old internet sensation from Pennsylvania. He has paved the way for the now ubiquitous YouTube cover artist, being one of the first musicians to establish such a popular channel of the like. Tsui has released two studio albums The Covers and Make It Up as well as several EP’s since 2010. The YouTube star has made several television appearances on shows like The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show, in addition to his tours in America in 2013 and Asia in 2014. Tsui’s career has even expanded outside of the music industry, starring as Cooper in the movie College Musical based off his YouTube parody series. So without further ado, here’s part one of our 15 facts you didn’t know about Sam Tsui.
Number Fifteen: He has a Massive Fanbase. Sam Tsui’s youtube page has 2.3 million subscribers. His most popular video, an Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith mashup, has reached over 30 million views in the past year.
Number Fourteen: His First Album The Covers Just Celebrated its 6 Year Anniversary. The joint project with producer Kurt Schneider features some of his most popular covers, showcasing his vocal talent on songs from diverse artists like the King of Pop in a Michael Jackson medley to the electronica artist Owl City.
Number Thirteen: Sam Tsui Has Been in More High School Musicals than Zac Efron. In high school, Tsui was heavily involved with musical theater. He was active in several productions, including Titanic and Miss Saigon. He also created a popular youtube series parodying the Disney favorite entitled College Musical.
Number Twelve: Tsui’s an Ivy Leaguer. He graduated from Yale in 2011. While attending the university, Tsui participated in the acapella group “The Duke’s Men of Yale” and was featured in Yale’s 2010 admission video. When Tom Hanks addressed Yale’s Class of 2011, he mentioned the youtube star three times in his inspiring speech.
Number Eleven: He’s a Classic Man. Tsui majored in classical Greek at Yale. His diploma also featured some Latin, graduating magna cum laude while simultaneously increasing his internet fame through his youtube channel.
Number Ten: He’s a Giver. All of the proceeds of Sam Tsui’s duet with Elle Winter “Unsinkable (Music is Medicine)” went toward pediatric cancer research as part of Music is Medicine’s “Donate a Song” project in 2013. Amazing!
Number Nine: He Has Some New Music in the Works. On February 5th, Tsui tweeted that he was recording and rehearsing a new project. His third studio album is rumored to be in the works, featuring some new original music from the internet celebrity.