BY DC CUEVA
On two occasions here, DCBLOG has featured the most viled pair of brothers in the world of social media and the global platform known as YouTube. In December 2018, Jake Paul invited some friends over for a $10,000 made-for-YT game of trying to be the longest to stay in a tub full of Icy Hot, and the one who outlasted him and everyone else was Taylor Selfridge from Are You The One? Season 5 and Ex On The Beach Season 1, and now a mom in waiting with MTV king Cory Wharton. And midway through The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2, we featured his older brother, Logan, when during the press tour of his recent boxing rematch with rival YouTuber KSI in London, he ran an eventual champion of that just-concluded season, two-series EOTB alum Rogan O'Connor.
The Paul brothers have earned a reputation for creating videos that are always must-see viewing, wild antics that have attracted tabloid attention, and being two of the biggest stars in the world of viral videos and social influencers. Often times, it's controversy that brings in the buzz for both Jake and most particularly Logan, but nothing seems to have totally brought them down... anything from two attempts to create a supergroup of social influencers under their wing under the banner of "Team 10," to those two fights. And this past summer, Jake brought his talents to MTV for a new venture, but only as the supporting act to the person who was the subject of so much attention during what was the biggest moment in this viral world this year -- and it happens to involve his girlfriend turned wife.
On Memorial Day 2018, Tana announced her own convention, TanaCon, taking place simultaneously with what is the most prestigious conference in the video tech community, VidCon, in Anaheim, CA outside Disneyland. The beef she had with VidCon (now owned by ViacomCBS) was that she was snubbed and restricted in past events and proceeded to go on her own and invited Shane Dawson, Casey Neistat and other influencers for TanaCon. But when thousands of people came to the door the weekend of June 22-23, they endured hours of standing in the 80° heat and with a lack of food & water... and the sunburn, dehydration and one being hospitalized turned this event into another Fyre Fest, and the immense criticism led to lawsuits and an apology from the organizer herself.
Tana's life outside the vlogging circle has seen her date notable exes: rapper Lil Xan who dated her for some time (and who later dated Noah Cyrus and now YouTuber Gabby Parsons, as well as having had a pregnancy scare last year), then teen pop star, actress and model Bella Thorne during the ordeal of TanaCon and continued for two years, and she had a few months' affair with Justin Bieber lookalike Brad Sousa before she began dating Jake. And Tana, like the Pauls, has also released music in having released several singles during this same time frame... one which has seen her YouTube videos be viewed over 921 million times by her 7 million subscribers (on two channels) there, plus nearly 5 million followers on Instagram and almost 2 million on Twitter.
Last year, Viacom's Digital Studios unit made Tana the subject of a new reality series created solely for MTV's YouTube channel entitled, MTV No Filter: Tana Turns 21, and where cameras will get to follow her and her friends through life as a vlogger, in the studio, partying like rockstars and the ultimate of all transitions for anyone in their twenties: becoming adults. The series' synopsis reads, "Viewers and fans will get to follow Tana through friendships and struggles as she takes on the next phase of her life. She just turned 21 in June and celebrated her birthday with a shocking public engagement to fellow YouTube creator Jake Paul. From learning how to drive and launching her own line of merch to starring on MTV's Wild 'N Out and now becoming a Featured Creator at VidCon, there’s never a dull moment."
The summer begins for her trying to rebuild her reputation in the community post-TanaCon, along with some personal demons in having endured those bad breakups. But it's when she finds her rebound guy in Jake and her getting her boobs pierced that roommate, Ashly, may worry that she may have found the wrong man. It takes some time but ultimately Tana & Jake get engaged, then decide a wedding date and add in a twist: an agreement on the legality of their nuptials - hence, the immense scrutiny that surrounded them all summer long right until they got to say their "I do's" in front of family, friends and a record streaming audience to everything that goes down on wedding night - and yes, that includes that fight.
But along with the main event, the undercard events include her 21st birthday... but like what has been the case at any big party in Siesta Key, no party can take place without drama going down: she and Jake get into it over the invitation list. And after the mess of the previous two years, the organizers that realize that the made a huge mistake of not realizing how big she has become in this world, and is named a Featured Creator at the 2019 convention. Those events and more are chronicled in Season 1 of Tana Turns 21... and the entire season is embedded below to binge on.
EPISODE 1
EPISODE 2
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 4
EPISODE 5
EPISODE 6
Tana Returns to VidCon
Tana Returns to VidCon
EPISODE 7
Tana & Jake Get Married
Tana & Jake Get Married
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| IG @TanaMongeau |
Tana posted in Instagram @TanaMongeau, "I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE SUCH A REALITY HOE THAT I’D HAVE A HOLIDAY SPECIAL. thank you for watching and doing this for me. filming this has truly taught me that not only the people pictured but all of you are my family. that’s what this season is all about." And this comes just after she beat out David Dobrik, Ninja, MrBeast and NBC late-late night host Lilly Singh to win the fan-voted award of Creator of the Year at the Streamy Awards earlier this month... and all signs point for 2020 to be Tana's year.
EPISODE 8
Here Comes Tana Claus
Here Comes Tana Claus
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