| Gary Brolsma | ||
|---|---|---|
Brolsma in 2006 |
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| Born | Gary William Brolsma January 14, 1986 Saddle Brook, New Jersey, United States |
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| Nationality | American | |
| Years active | 2004–present | |
| Internet information | ||
| Web alias(es) | Gman250 NewNuma | |
| Web hosting service(s) | Newgrounds, YouTube | |
| Meme | Numa Numa | |
| Website | ||
| Music sample | ||
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"Dragostea din tei"
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Gary William Brolsma[1] (born January 14, 1986; Saddle Brook, New Jersey),[2] also known as simply The Numa Numa Guy, is an American singer who gained worldwide attention after posting onto the Internet, near the end of 2004, a webcam video of himself miming to the song "Dragostea din tei" by Moldovan pop band O-Zone. It was known as Numa Numa, after a phrase in the song, and became an Internet phenomenon watched by millions of people, leading to mainstream media exposure for him. He initially withdrew from the attention, but returned with a band and a new video New Numa in the late summer of 2006 and began to do interviews. The Numa Numa video has been made famous for Brolsma's entertaining arm moves and facial expressions.
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Brolsma has created variants of the Numa Numa video since it became popular. One version also contains some puns, among them pictures of feta cheese during the lyric "fericirea" (happiness) and a LEGO representation of Bob Ross during the singer's words: "sunt eu, Picasso" (it's me, Picasso). Other versions include a showdown between him and Angry German Kid getting angry at his computer. The video also had a cameo by the Star Wars kid.
He made appearances on ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's The Tonight Show, and VH1's Best Week Ever.
A story in The Believer (June/July 2006) explored the song's spread and global homogenization, while arguing that Brolsma's video "singlehandedly justifies the existence of webcams . . . It’s a movie of someone who is having the time of his life, wants to share his joy with everyone, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks".[3]
Gary's video inspired singer/songwriter Dan Balan, formerly of O-Zone, to re-create Dragostea Din Tei, as a new single "Sugar Tunes Numa Numa". He appeared in a New York City signing event at an F.Y.E. store on June 29, 2007.
He was voted the Number 1 Internet Icon by 40 Greatest Internet Superstars on VH1, beating the Star Wars kid at Number 2.
He set a record in the Guinness World Records 2008, for the original Numa Numa video. The Starwars Kid clip is the most popular ever with an estimated combined 900 Million views, followed by Gary Brolsma dancing to the tune of Numa Numa (Dragostea din tei) with 700 Million views.
In November 2008, Gary started NumaNetwork.com, which re-directs to his YouTube channel. Through this venue, he uploaded shows from various production companies across the country. These shows included Good at Cooking with Andy, Dr. Depend, Tales from Taffytown, Smooth and Rusty, Rock That Ride, Bill Cafe, Bob And Rob Save A Buck, Soap Athetic, The Kristy Storms Show, Tobias and more.
Brolsma was featured in a Geico commercial lip-syncing the Mysto & Pizzi version of "Somebody's Watching Me" for one of their commercials in 2009.
Brolsma has appeared in episode 1204 (#171) of the animated series South Park, "Canada on Strike". It was first broadcast on April 2, 2008. The episode parodies the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike and popular Internet videos.
Brolsma also made a video promoting the Discovery Channel's National Body Challenge, which he stated he was joining.[4] In it, he parodies, among other things, the Atkins Nutritional Approach and Star Wars kid. He also plays Warcraft 3.
Brolsma also appeared in the music video for the Barenaked Ladies song "Sound of Your Voice", which featured a compilation of YouTube celebrities.
Brolsma once had a small part on The War at Home when Dave was talking about him,[5] giving his distinctive "Aló" to a person on the phone in a short scene.
On October 15, 2007, The New York Times reported that Brolsma had recently collaborated on a video with lonelygirl15's Glenn Rubenstein, as well as Chad Vader's Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan, as a part of Canon's Battle of the Internet Superstars.[6]
In 2008, Brolsma was featured among many other Internet/YouTube stars in the music video "Pork and Beans" by Weezer.[7]
On October 21, 2008, Brolsma finished his first musical album, titled Weird Tempo. He has been working on the CD for the past 2 years since releasing his last Numa 3 video. The album is a mix of electronic beats with rock influences.[8]
On October 28, 2008, Brolsma was featured in the original Numa Numa video on the CBS series NCIS.
On October 26, 2009, Brolsma appeared in a two part video series[9] in which he was stalked and pursued by reporter Kristy Storms, a character frequently featured on his website.
On February 7, 2010, Brolsma was featured in a Super Bowl commercial for Vizio TV.
On April 5, 2010, Brolsma was "kidnapped" by band Those Mockingbirds. A video[10] demanding a reward appeared on Gary's YouTube channel, along with a website.[11]
On April 28, 2010, Gary Brolsma starred alongside recording artist Randy Reiman in a new music video for the song, M.I.S.H.A.P.[12]
In late 2010 a Vizio commercial began circulation featuring a long shot of someone (either Brolsma or a look alike) reenacting his famous "Numa Numa Dance" during a montage of various examples of internet content available on Vizio's new television line.