Iman Crosson

Iman Crosson
Background information
Born March 27, 1982 (1982-03-27) (age 29)
Louisville, KY
United States
Occupations Actor, impressionist, dancer, singer, video producer
Years active 2005-present
Website youtube.com/Alphacat

Iman Crosson (March 27,1982) is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S. President Barack Obama, and for his use of the Internet to independently promote his career.

Crosson's propensity for dancing, acting and comedy manifested at age 5, his parents enrolling him in a school for the creative arts at age 12. Crosson showed interest in various performing arts. Crosson found early work as an actor at an amusement park, a hip-hop dancer, and a runway model before entering college to major in dance and minor in acting. He was recruited into a dance company. After moving to New York City, Crosson worked as a waiter, finding occasional work as a dancer and actor. In 2005, he began promoting his talents on Internet websites, especially video sharing website YouTube.

During the summer of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election campaign, Crosson won Denny's Restaurant's nationwide contest for the best impressionist of the then-candidate Barack Obama. Obama's election victory brought recognition for Crosson's comedy-, vocal-, musical-, and dance-laden video characterizations of a President during national crisis. Within months of the election, Crosson was featured on numerous entertainment, culture, and news television shows, blogs and newspapers, and performed at Aretha Franklin's March 2009 birthday celebration. Two of Crosson's videos occupy spots in the top ten most "favorited" videos on YouTube (Entertainment category). Crosson has had engagements at corporate events, parts in national commercials, and voice-over parts on Newsweek.com's The District and on two prime time television shows. Crosson co-edited and sang in the charity music video "We Are the World 25 for Haiti (YouTube Edition)," whose participants were collectively named ABC News' "Persons of the Week" by Diane Sawyer. He also spoke at the 66th Annual Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, impersonating Barack Obama who was not personally present at the event. Crosson produced "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)" as a spoof of Obama's May 1, 2011 speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, the video being named one of the top five Obama impressions by Matt Wilstein of The Huffington Post.com.

Contents

Professional career

The early days

After graduating from SCPA,[1] Crosson's first entertainment job was his portrayal of a self-created Romulan character at a Cincinnati amusement park. Crosson then landed gigs as a hip-hop dancer (The Nickelodeon Show) and a runway model (Essence magazine fashion show) before entering Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where he studied dance (ballet, jazz, modern, tap, African, hip-hop) with a minor in acting. The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company recruited Crosson into their student company. His experiences impelled the 20-year old to move from the Midwest to New York City.

Once in New York, Crosson practiced hip-hop dancing, performing on the set of MTV's Wannabe's show and during New York Rangers halftime shows. Crosson worked as a waiter while acting in student films and commercials. He said[2] that during this period he was "so stressed out about money" and he "needed to start doing what he enjoyed... quickly." His lack of an agent limited his recognition, so Crosson took career promotion into his own hands.

Alphacat on the Internet

On December 14, 2005, the 23-year-old Crosson opened a YouTube account with screen name Alphacat. Crosson explained that "Alpha" means leader, "cat" being the slang expression for guy. Crosson later explained,[3] "The alpha part is about the fact that most guys are alpha males in their own right."

Crosson's Alphacat YouTube channel, whose videos originated from what he called "The Lion's Den," was at one time subtitled "YouTube's most diverse channel."[4] His self-produced YouTube videos ranged from comedic,[5] spoof,[6] and dance and physical comedy[7] to serious-issue discussion blogs,[8] slice of life renditions,[9] and autobiographical blogs.[10] By July 2007, one of Crosson's videos had become a "promoted" video on YouTube's front page,[11] and by November 2007 another of Crosson's videos was "featured" on YouTube's front page.[12] During the June–December 2007 time period, Crosson's channel grew from about 1,500 subscribers to over 5,000 subscribers.[13]

In June, 2008, YouTube suspended Crosson's account in response to a copyright infringement claim from a foreign film production company. Crosson's counterclaim[14] caused YouTube to reinstate his account.

Continuing to work as a waiter in early summer of the election year 2008, Crosson said[15] he did not initially take seriously the "Obama" comments from his co-workers, but "then (he) had an epiphany" and began uploading Obama impersonation videos to his YouTube account.

Breakthrough: From Denny's Breakfast to "I Can Do Whatever I Like"

During the summer of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election campaign, Crosson's 30-second video[16] won Denny's Restaurant's nationwide contest for the best impressionist of the then-candidate Barack Obama.[17] He said that he "went from unemployed to self-employed in literally a matter of a month."[2] Saying he "had outgrown New York and needed more space to grow as an artist," Crosson moved from New York to California.

A month before the election, a video[18] of Crosson spoofing Obama preparing for a campaign debate, was posted by YouTube video publisher and Sarah Palin impressionist Lisa Donovan (LisaNova).  A week later, Donovan, whose video description had called Crosson "The Best Barack," also posted Crosson's spoof[19] of Obama in debate.  Almost contemporaneously, outside YouTube, Crosson's voiceover work had been combined with the animation of The Denver Post's editorial cartoonist Mike Keefe in a video cartoon, "What the Next President Inherits."[20]

On election day 2008, Crosson posted a spoof of Obama singing a variation of T.I.'s song "Whatever You Like,"[21][22][23][24] a comedic portrayal of a President-elect facetiously gloating, "I can do whatever I like." The video was viewed more than 11 million times in its first seven months.[22]

Obama's election victory brought recognition for Crosson's vocal-, musical-, and dance-laden video characterizations of the President during national crisis. Within YouTube, Crosson's popularity was recognized by an invitation to perform at YouTube Live in November 2008.[25][26][27] Outside cyberspace, early jobs involved voice-over work for commercials.[3]

Within a month after Obama's election victory, Crosson said[24] that he had received offers from several agents. In January, 2009, less than six months after posting his first, 30-second Obama impersonation video[16] for the Denny's contest, Crosson was invited to be on the America's Got Talent television program.[3]

The day before Inauguration Day 2009, Crosson posted a comedic dance and musical video ("Beyoncé Single Ladies Spoof")[23][28] spoofing Obama's assumption of the Presidency, its lyrics including "I got hope on my lips, BlackBerry on my hip" and repeating "change is on the way, know it."[29]

YouTube's official listing showed[30] Crosson's spoof videos "T.I. Whatever You Like" (posted November 2008) and "Beyoncé Single Ladies" (posted January 2009) as being the seventh and ninth "most favorited" videos of all time (Entertainment category), having been "favorited" over 142,000 times and over 135,000 times, respectively, as of July 15, 2010.

Evolution after the Inaugural "I, Barack Obama"

After Obama's inauguration, Crosson was featured on entertainment (Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, New York Daily News), culture (The Atlantic) and news (Fox News, ABC News, CNN, Time.com) television shows, blogs and newspapers. Crosson was called a "YouTube sensation" by Fox News' Neil Cavuto,[31] who "had a feeling (Crosson) would go very very far." New York magazine called Crosson "the man who proved Obama can be made funny."[24]

Crosson performed at Aretha Franklin's sixty-seventh birthday celebration in March 2009.[22][32][33]

Crosson's post-inaugural work included voice-overs in newsweek.com's The District,[34][35] a video blog series in which Crosson narrates Obama's first months in Washington from the President's point of view.

Crosson entered into commercial endorsement agreements with companies, including Sanyo for its Xacti camcorders.[36][37][38] Crosson collaborated with Rhett and Link in their March 2009 "Phatdippin' Rap" video,[39] which contained overlays that said each YouTube star used a Sanyo camera for filming,[37] and whose video description contained a hyperlink to Sanyo's website.[39] The resulting music track "Phatdippin'," including Crosson's Obama impersonation voice, was released on a Rhett and Link album in January 2010.[40]

The success of Crosson's YouTube videos, recognized by his acceptance[41] into YouTube's "partnership" (ad revenue-sharing) program, reportedly[22] gave him a degree of financial independence permitting him to focus on creative pursuits. Acknowledging YouTube's statement that hundreds of video producers receive thousands of dollars per month in ad revenue-sharing, Reuters said that Hollywood studios perceive the profitability of the Internet as an entertainment medium and distribution outlet to be uncertain, noting that "the Web remains mostly a springboard for performers to launch a career" and citing Crosson in particular as "one of a lucky few."[42]

Crosson's Presidential portrayals were not only musical and dance adaptations, but constituted editorials on the political, racial, ethnic and social issues of a critical time in national history. Two months after Obama's inauguration, in March 2009 Crosson's spoof[43][44] of T.I.'s "Dead and Gone" included an introduction: "Have you ever felt the weight of the future of a country on your shoulders?" A musical collaboration with YouTube personality Lisa Lavie,[44] Crosson's version of "Dead and Gone" adapted T.I.'s lyrics to support Obama in his wrestling a national crisis in which "so many things are wrong, dead wrong."

In May 2009 Crosson and totallysketch.com followed his earlier Obama impersonation videos with a satire of the personal and political "blame game," transforming Jamie Foxx's "Blame It (On the Alcohol)" into a collaborative[45] spoof[22][23][46][47][48][49][50] whose lyrics chide those who blame their situation on the economy ("Blame it on the news, taxpayer blues Blame it on the loans, ... on Bush, ... on Cheney).

After the late-2009 disagreement between the Obama administration and Fox News, Crosson's newly formed Tour de Force Entertainment LLC produced a collaborative acting, musical, and dance parody video, "Obama Does Thriller".[51] Crosson's parody was fashioned after Michael Jackson's 1983 Thriller video, with Crosson playing the Presidential role in a manner sympathetic to Obama and humorously portraying Fox News viewers as zombies.[52] The Entertainment Tonight television program previewed the Thriller parody video,[47] with explanation of the background politics, on October 30, 2009, the day before Halloween.[53] Asked about certain major media outlets saying that Crosson's video is "a slam at Fox news," Vernetta Jenkins, who played the part of First Lady Michelle Obama in the video, responded "With lyrics like 'Fox news is Thriller! It’s a fright! They claim they’re fair and balanced but I know they can’t be right!' This THRILLER parody is definitely a calling on the carpet for Fox News."[47]

In February 2010, Crosson sang in, and with Lisa Lavie co-edited, a YouTube musical collaboration video "We Are the World 25 for Haiti (YouTube Edition)"[54] for relief of victims of the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake. A collaboration of 57 unsigned or independent YouTube musicians, the YouTube video was posted as a video response to the celebrity version[55] We Are the World 25 for Haiti that was released eight days earlier. The YouTube collaboration video received its first half-million views on YouTube in two days[56] and became the subject of worldwide media attention, including multiple features on CNN,[57][58][59][60] and a primetime news broadcast on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer in which the video's participants were named ABC News "Persons of the Week."[61]

Crosson spoke at the 66th Annual Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner on March 17, 2010, impersonating Barack Obama who was not personally present at the event.[2][62][63]

Crosson's collaborations include comedic spoofs of the "Kendra" reality television series,[64] in which Crosson plays the role of professional football player Hank Baskett, husband of television personality Kendra Wilkinson who is played by fellow YouTube personality Lisa Lavie.

Three days after Barack Obama's May 1, 2011 speech from the East Room of the White House announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, Crosson posted a video spoof, "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)." The spoof, delivered in rap and including comedic dancing in an East Room-appearing backdrop, was said to "fast (become) a viral hit, ... (and) .... works in almost every meme from the last month."[65] The video was viewed at least 233,837 times in its first 24 hours,[66] and accelerated during its second 24 hours to achieve its millionth view about fifty hours after being posted,[67] and its two millionth view about 92 hours after being posted.[68] Bailey Johnson of CBS News.com contrasted Crosson's rap and dancing performance with Obama's "model of confidence, restraint, and calm authority," further stating that the video "seems to perfectly capture the national mood."[69] Al Jazeera remarked that Crosson's satirical interpretation "cuts through the usual diplomatic platitudes and delivers - what seems to be - a more honest and rhythmically tuned account of what happened."[70] Matt Wilstein of The Huffington Post.com named the video among the top five Obama impressions.[71]

Artistry and influences

Asked about his "secret to mastering the president-elect,"[24] Crosson explained "It's all in the speech patterns and vocal cadences, and a whole lot of uhhs. I've learned to lower my register a little bit. He's very pensive. ..." His impressions are based on careful study,[38] Crosson studying Obama telecasts closely, focusing on his vocal inflections, catch phrases, word delays and other mannerisms.[31] Crosson’s delivery of Obama's vocal cadence has been reviewed[72] as "uncanny," his pauses and emphasis being "dead-on."

Crosson expressed[73] that it is his dream to "perform Obama for Obama," that is, to perform for President Obama himself. "My ultimate hope is that Obama will see it one day and laugh."[24]

About his creation of YouTube videos, Crosson explained, "I'm a one-man band. I write 'em, edit 'em, post 'em on YouTube. I come up with bullet points I want to touch upon and I just turn on the camera and sit there and ad-lib."[3]

Interviewed about his creative process, Crosson explained that his comedic inspiration often comes from random moments of humor in everyday life, and that creating "infectious ideas" comes from observing things seen by everyone but not yet expressed.[74] For artistic innovation he credits self-knowledge—knowing and applying one's own talent and passion.[74]

Interviewed by YouTube on its fifth anniversary in May 2010, Crosson remarked "Now here I am (referring to the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner two months earlier), impersonating the President of the United States. It's amazing and I'm sitting there on stage thinking: this all stemmed from some videos I posted (on YouTube). I'm really, at the end of the day, an average Joe. ... I kind of shy away from (celebrity); I'd rather just be that guy on YouTube--for now."[2]

Contrasting to entertainers who rely on blue humor, Crosson remarked "One thing that has been important to me is to make it funny without making it profane or obscene."[24]

Crosson's facebook page indicates his political views as "other" but Crosson characterized himself[31] as a "big Barack fan," wanting to "support him with humor and positivity."

Performances and awards

Media coverage

Crosson or his work have been featured by national and international news organizations including CNN,[38][85] TIME,[86] Fox News,[31] Reuters,[42] ABC News,[87] CBS News,[69] and Al Jazeera;[70] entertainment television including Entertainment Tonight,[75][76][88][89] The Insider,[78][90][91] and G4 TV;[92] metropolitan newspapers[15][35][93][94][95][72] and magazines;[24] national magazines;[23][49][96][97] radio;[98] online news consolidators[99][100] and entertainment news websites;[46][101][102][103] and popular commentators.[104][105][22][106][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Most early biographical facts are distilled from Crosson's biography "America's Leading Barack Obama Impersonator" (WebCite archive) on the Premier Speakers Bureau website (downloaded 2009-04-02).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Higgins, Stephen (creator), "My YouTube Story: Iman Crosson" video (WebCite archive) uploaded on May 12, 2010 to YouTube's official "FiveYear" (fifth anniversary) channel (WebCite archive).
  3. ^ a b c d Dziemianowicz, Joe, "Obama's YouTube impersonator is a changer to almost believe in", (includes interview) Politics section, nydailynews.com, January 15, 2009 (WebCite archive).
  4. ^ WebCite archive of archive.org archive of Crosson's "Alphacat" channel as of March 14, 2008.
  5. ^ "The ARGUMENT (My Neighbors)" video posted June 16, 2008.
  6. ^ " "Chocolate Rain" Original Song by Tay Zonday SPOOF!" video posted July 31, 2007.
  7. ^ "Alpha-Duck Ninja Master" video posted in "Comedy" category December 12, 2007.
  8. ^ "OJ Simpson in PRISON 4 LIFE!!!" video posted December 7, 2008.
  9. ^ "HAIRCUT NIGHTMARE!!!" video posted December 4, 2008.
  10. ^ "*I'M LEAVING, YOUTUBE. *" video posted August 20, 2008.
  11. ^ WebCite archive of archive.org's archive of YouTube's front page as of 2007-07-05, showing thumbnail of Crosson's video under "Promoted Videos."
  12. ^ WebCite archive of archive.org's archive of YouTube's front page as of 2007-11-07, showing thumbnail of Crosson's video under "Featured Videos."
  13. ^ WebCite archive of archive.org's archive of Crosson's YouTube channel for 2007-06-20; and WebCite archive of archive.org's archive of same for 2007-12-08.
  14. ^ See "What I Do Know..." video (WebCite archive) explaining the YouTube suspension opposition process, posted on "AlphaCatSuspended" channel on June 27, 2008.
  15. ^ a b Ratner, Andrew (of the Baltimore Sun), "YouTube spoofs of Obama boost actor's recognition", Life section of The Columbus Dispatch (dispatch.com), February 27, 2009 (downloaded 2010-02-16) (WebCite archive).
  16. ^ a b "BARACK OBAMA's Real Breakfast (Video Contest Submission)" video (WebCite archive) posted on YouTube on July 18, 2008.
  17. ^ a b Denny’s press release of August 28, 2008 entitled "Americans Select Best Presidential Posers, Denny's 'Vote For Real' Contest Names Best Impersonators" (WebCite archive).
  18. ^ "Obama" video (WebCite archive) posted on YouTube channel "LisaNova" on October 8, 2008.
  19. ^ "Highlights from the Third 2008 Presidential Debate with Barack Obama and John McCain" video (WebCite archive) posted to YouTube channel "LisaNova" on October 16, 2008.
  20. ^ a b c Keefe, Mike et al., "Talking Heads by Mike Keefe / What the Next President Inherits" (WebCite archive), intoon.com (Keefe's website), October 9, 2008.
  21. ^ Crosson's “T.I. Whatever You Like SPOOF” video (WebCite archive) posted November 4, 2008 (U.S. national election day).
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Pendleton, Tonya, "YouTube Sensation Alphacat is Obama’s Number-One Impersonator", (WebCite archive) "News" > "Moving America" section of BlackAmericaWeb.com, May 20, 2009.
  23. ^ a b c d Wilson, Wendy L., "Hilarious Obama Spoof: Blame It on the Economy", Essence.com, May 14, 2009 (focuses on "Blame It" and mentions "Single Ladies" and "Whatever You Like" parodies; downloaded 2010-05-06) (WebCite archive).
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Gershman, Jacob, “Meet Alphacat, the Man Who Proved Obama Can Be Made Funny”, New York magazine, December 3, 2008 (WebCite archive).
  25. ^ a b "Lisa Nova as Sarah Palin with Alphacat YouTube Live" video (WebCite archive) of Crosson and Lisa Donovan posted to YouTube's official "Live" channel on November 22, 2008.
  26. ^ a b "Backstage at YouTube Live '08 - 2nd Stream" video (WebCite archive) of Crosson and Lisa Donovan posted to YouTube's official "Live" channel on November 23, 2008.
  27. ^ a b "Alphacat-Youtube Live" video (WebCite archive) posted to Crosson's YouTube channel "Alphacat" on November 26, 2008.
  28. ^ “Beyoncé Single Ladies SPOOF” video (WebCite archive) posted January 19, 2009 (the day before U.S. Presidential inauguration day).
  29. ^ "Beyonce Single Ladies Spoof (Barack Obama) Video" (WebCite archive), Shallow Nation chronicle, January 24, 2009 (downloaded 2010-05-06).
  30. ^ WebCite's archive (2010-07-15) of Official YouTube listing for most "favorited" Entertainment-category videos of all time.
  31. ^ a b c d "Hello, Mr. President? (Dancing Obama impersonator turning into huge YouTube hit)" video (WebCite archive) of Neil Cavuto interviewing Crosson on foxnews.com, February 2, 2009.
  32. ^ a b "Aretha Frenklin Celebrates Her Birthday in Queen Style", The Fresh Music Page, March 24, 2009 (WebCite archive).
  33. ^ a b " "Obama" performs for Aretha Franklin!!!" video (WebCite archive) on Alphacat YouTube channel, showing performance, uploaded March 31, 2009.
  34. ^ a b "The District Ep. 1 The Challenges We Face - Newsweek.com" video WebCite archive) which "aired" on newsweek.com on February 2, 2009 and was posted on YouTube's "NewsweekVideo" channel (WebCite archive) on February 4, 2009. The word "District" refers to the District of Columbia (DC), the U.S. capital. The District season finale "'The District' | Ep. 9 | Season Finale -- video.newsweek.com" (WebCite archive) "aired" on March 30, 2009.
  35. ^ a b c Wheaton, Sarah, "If ‘The Hills’ Were on the Hill…" (WebCite archive), "The Caucus" section of New York Times, February 5, 2009.
  36. ^ Sanyo.com's "Web Stars Xacti" page (WebCite archive). Crosson is pictured in rows 1, 3 and 4. Video thumbnails do not appear in WebCite archive but are present and clickable 1.5 inches and 4 inches below the word "performance."
  37. ^ a b Burkitt, Laurie, "YouTube? More Like AdTube" (WebCite archive), Internet Marketing section of Forbes.com, April 29, 2009.
  38. ^ a b c Finnstrom, Kara, Obama impersonated online video, CNN Video, April 3, 2009. (WebCite archive of CNN transcript)
  39. ^ a b "Phatdippin' Rap" video (WebCite archive) uploaded to YouTube channel "RhettandLink" on March 24, 2009.
  40. ^ "Phatdippin' (feat. Iman Crosson and Tay Zonday)" track (WebCite archive) on "Up to This Point" album, released on January 5, 2010.
  41. ^ Crosson's channel is shown in WebCite archive (2010-07-29) of YouTube's 100 most subscribed partners. Partnership is generally explained in YouTube's help section.
  42. ^ a b Dobuzinskis, Alex, "Hollywood struggles to find wealth on the Web" (WebCite archive), Reuters, February 19, 2009.
  43. ^ Crosson's “T.I. Dead and Gone SPOOF” video (WebCite archive) posted March 26, 2009.
  44. ^ a b "T.I. Dead and Gone Spoof Barack Obama Video" (WebCite archive), Shallow Nation chronicle, March 30, 2009 (downloaded 2010-05-06).
  45. ^ Crosson (Barack Obama) performed with YouTube contributors Vernetta Jenkins (as Michelle Obama), Lisa Lavie (Michelle Obama's singing voice), Richard Ryan (as Joe Biden), Lisa Donovan (as Sarah Palin), and Seth Hendrix (as Rod Blagojevich).
  46. ^ a b "Video: Blame It On The Economy (Spoof Video)" (WebCite archive), music section of BET.com, May 26, 2009.
  47. ^ a b c d Behrens, Dawnn, "Michelle Obama's double becomes a Youtube sensation with "Thiller" spoof!", (WebCite archive), includes interview with actor Vernetta Jenkins, published November 3, 2009.
  48. ^ "Blame It - Jamie Foxx- BARACK OBAMA SPOOF" video (WebCite archive) posted to Crosson's "Alphacat" channel on May 8, 2009.
  49. ^ a b EbonyJet.com staff, "Making it Viral" (WebCite archive), Ebony, (ebonymag.com), date: unspecified, presumably after May 8, 2009 upload date of "Blame It" video; downloaded 2010-05-06.
  50. ^ "Blame It Jamie Foxx Barack Obama Spoof Video" (WebCite archive), Shallow Nation chronicle, May 18, 2009 (downloaded 2010-05-06).
  51. ^ "Obama Does Thriller" video (WebCite archive) posted to Crosson's "Alphacat" YouTube channel on November 4, 2009.
  52. ^ "Video: Obama Does Thriller (Alphacat/Iman Crosson Sketch)" selection (WebCite archive) in Above and Beyond magazine, November 6, 2009.
  53. ^ "Iman Crosson doing the Obama (THRILLER style)" video (WebCite archive) showing Entertainment Tonight segment, video uploaded to YouTube channel "TheMJplus" on December 30, 2009.
  54. ^ a b "We Are the World 25 for Haiti (YouTube Edition)" video (WebCite archive) was posted to YouTube channel lisalavie1 on February 20, 2010.
  55. ^ "We Are The World 25 For Haiti - Official Video" (WebCite archive) posted to YouTube channel wearetheworld on February 12, 2010.
  56. ^ Jones, Anthony, "Lisa Lavie And Participants Talk YouTube Version Of 'We Are The World'" (WebCite archive), gantdaily.com (central Pennsylvania, U.S.), February 23, 2010. Same article posted on NCbuy.com WebCite archive) on same day.
  57. ^ Levs, Josh, "YouTube Singers Rock for Haiti", CNN video, March 6, 2010, was posted as a YouTube video " CNN Newsroom / YouTube singers rock for Haiti" (WebCite archive) to CNN's official YouTube channel on March 6, 2010 and in "We Are The World (Youtube Edition) on CNN / PART 1" video (WebCite archive) posted to YouTube channel LLjustlikeamovie on March 6, 2010.
  58. ^ A second Josh Levs (CNN) segment, distinct from the first segment, was broadcast later on March 6, 2010: "We Are The World (YouTube Edition) CNN / Part 2" video (WebCite archive) was posted to YouTube channel LLjustlikeamovie on March 6, 2010.
  59. ^ A third distinct Josh Levs (CNN) segment, "YouTubers do 'We Are the World'", aired March 7, 2010.
  60. ^ Textual transcripts of programs on which the CNN videos aired, are found at "CNN SATURDAY MORNING NEWS" (WebCite archive) (March 6, 2010), "CNN NEWSROOM" (WebCite archive) (March 6, 2010), and "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" (WebCite archive) (March 7, 2010).
  61. ^ a b "Conversation: 'We Are the World' 2.0" (WebCite archive) and The Conversation: 'We Are the World' YouTube Edition (WebCite archive) show an informal online feature by Diane Sawyer. The feature that was nationally telecast on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer on March 19, 2010 can be seen in the "Lisa Lavie's Interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC World News" video (WebCite archive) posted to YouTube channel LLjustlikeamovie on March 19, 2010.
  62. ^ a b Broadcast live on CSPAN2, recorded on cspan.org at "66th Annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner" , March 17, 2010 (Crosson's spot begins about 39 minutes into the video, after Vice President Joe Biden). Video embedded with program listing at: Velinska, Ellie, "Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner 2010 (Video)" (WebCite archive), March 18, 2010 publication of March 17, 2010 performance.
  63. ^ a b "World's best Obama impersonator, Iman Crosson aka 'Alphacat', goes to Washington" video (WebCite archive) uploaded to YouTube channel "CitizenTube" on March 18, 2010.
  64. ^ Thomas, Devon, "'Kendra Exposed': Kendra Wilkinson Gets 'Trashy'" (Webcite archive), "Celebrity Circuit" of CBS News, May 28, 2010. Also: "This is soooo funny!!!!" (WebCite archive) (April 19, 2010) and "KENDRA Spoof Episode 2" (WebCite archive) (April 27, 2010) entries in Kendra Wilkinson's website, referring to Crosson's YouTube video series.
  65. ^ "Osama Rap Spoof Reveals How Obama Really Wanted To Make His Announcement (VIDEO)", (WebCite archive), The Huffington Post, May 6, 2011.
  66. ^ WebCite archive of the video's YouTube comment page, saved between 23 and 24 hours after the video's posting.
  67. ^ WebCite archive of YouTube search results page at 50 hours after YouTube's posting time as reported on its video comment page (computed using an earlier comment page's archival times).
  68. ^ WebCite archive of YouTube search results page at about 92 hours after the video's posting time as determined from the video's comment page's earlier archive).
  69. ^ a b Johnson, Bailey, "President's bin Laden speech could have gone differently" {WebCite archive}, CBS News, May 5, 2011.
  70. ^ a b "Syria: Keeping the story alive" (WebCite archive), "Listening Post" section of Al Jazeera English, May 14, 2011.
  71. ^ a b Wilstein, Matt, "Happy 50th Mr. President! The Top 5 Obama Impressions" (WebCite archive), The Huffington Post.com, August 4, 2011.
  72. ^ a b Margolis, Kim, "Ex-WSU student, Dayton dancer hits big with Obama impersonation" article (WebCite archive) on Dayton Daily News online (daytondailynews.com), August 9, 2009.
  73. ^ Entertainment Tonight television show, February, 2009.
  74. ^ a b Bowman, Rachel, "Iman Crosson, YouTube Star as Alphacat (INTERVIEW)" (WebCite archive), trendhunter.com interview under "Business," "Pro trends," published August 29, 2009.
  75. ^ a b "New Video: YouTube's Dancing Obama Takes the ET Stage!" (WebCite archive), Celebrities section of etonline.com, January 28, 2009.
  76. ^ a b "New Video: YouTube's Dancing Obama Takes Over D.C." (WebCite archive), Celebrities section of etonline.com, February 3, 2009.
  77. ^ "Video: Lara & Samantha Dance with "Obama"  !" (WebCite archive), News section of theinsider.com, January 28, 2009.
  78. ^ a b "Insider Blog: YouTube's Dancing Obama!" (WebCite archive), News section of theinsider.com, January 28, 2009.
  79. ^ "Some Facts About Youtube", Factoidz, date unknown--after March 2009 event, but before download date of 2010-04-28 (WebCite archive).
  80. ^ "Downloaded" Event (WebCite archive) at Highline Ballroom in New York, June 3, 2009. Click on "Menu", click on "Browse On-Demand Library", click on "DOWNLOADED" then select performances "Alphacat" (two segments available).
  81. ^ WebCite archive of YouTube's front page as of 2010-02-20.
  82. ^ "VidCon, Los Angeles, California, July 9-11" event program (WebCite archive), see "Page 21/71" for first day's schedule.
  83. ^ Crosson's performance recorded at "VidCon Opening Remarks/AlphaCat" video (WebCite archive) uploaded to YouTube channel "theshikamaru5002" on July 9, 2010 (viewable 2010-07-11).
  84. ^ "Mayor Cupcake (2011) Full Cast" listing on MoviesPlanet.com (WebCite archive of 2010-10-01), actual release date: March 2011.
  85. ^ Moos, Jeanne, "Moos: So What", CNN Video, December 17, 2008.
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  87. ^ Tapper, Jake, "Is it Time for SNL to Hire a New Obama Impersonator?" (WebCite archive), blogs.abcnews.com, November 25, 2008 (SNL=Saturday Night Live)
  88. ^ "ET Blog: YouTube's Dancing Obama" (WebCite archive), Celebrities section of etonline.com, January 28, 2009.
  89. ^ "New Video: YouTube's Dancing Obama Blogs From the White House" (WebCite archive), Celebrities section of etonline.com, February 5, 2009.
  90. ^ "Video: Lara & Samantha Dance with "Obama" !" (WebCite archive), News section of theinsider.com, January 28, 2009.
  91. ^ "New Video: YouTube's Dancing Obama Takes Over D.C." (WebCite archive), News section of theinsider.com, February 4, 2009.
  92. ^ Dalonzo, Michael, "Iman Crosson, Obama Impersonator" (WebCite archive), Who's Who on YouTube section of G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, posted to g4tv.com on March 23, 2009.
  93. ^ Russo, Maria, "LisaNova gives Tina Fey and SNL some competition" (WebCite archive), Entertainment section of latimes.com (Los Angeles Times), October 10, 2008.
  94. ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe, "Obama's YouTube impersonator is a changer to almost believe in" (WebCite archive), (includes interview) Politics section, nydailynews.com, January 15, 2009.
  95. ^ Franke-Ruta, Garance, "This Cat? Man, He Scratches A Powerful Itch" title later changed to "Iman Crosson, a.k.a. Alphacat, Makes a Name for Himself by Impersonating Obama," (WebCite archive), "Arts and Living" --> "Style" section of The Washington Post (print and online), May 24, 2009.
  96. ^ Sullivan, Andrew, "Better Than Fred Armisen" (WebCite archive), The Daily Dish (of No Party or Clique) on theatlantic.com, November 17, 2008.
  97. ^ Coates, Ta-Nehisi, "A new Obama impersonator plz" (WebCite archive), culture section of The Atlantic, November 25, 2008.
  98. ^ "IMAN CROSSON on the JACK DIAMOND MORNING SHOW" video (WebCite archive) posted on YouTube channel "JackDiamondRadio" on February 5, 2009.
  99. ^ McMaster, Nick, "Iman Crosson for Prez... on SNL: Bloggers" (WebCite archive),Politics, Arts & Living section of newser.com (claims "Source: ABC News"), November 27, 2008. ("SNL"=Saturday Night Live). The newser.com article stated "the race to find a new comedian to impersonate president-elect Barack Obama on Saturday Night Live continues, reports ABC News"; however, a December 10, 2008 time.com article (WebCite archive) reported that despite rumors to the contrary, SNL said that its incumbent Obama impersonator, Fred Armisen, "is here to stay."
  100. ^ Berry, Philippe, "Interview avec le faux Barack Obama" (WebCite archive), ("Interview with the fake Barack Obama" translated into French language), high-tech section of 20minutes.fr, December 6, 2008.
  101. ^ "Whitney Port Worries That Obama Might Take Her Job" (WebCite archive), (describing newsweek.com's The District), News section of celebuzz.com February 5, 2009.
  102. ^ Cosma, Kristina, "Hunting Chris Brown & Other Celeb Spoofs" article (WebCite archive) on Giant Magazine online (giantmag.com), September 22, 2009.
  103. ^ Shallow Nation chronicles link to main page (multiple specific citations provided above).
  104. ^ Belton, Danielle, "FakeBamas: The New "It" Guy In Political Parody" (WebCite archive), blacksnob blog entry of January 15, 2009.
  105. ^ Hilton, Perez, "Barack Does Single Ladies!!!" (WebCite archive), perezhilton.com ("Filed under: Beyonce > Barack Obama"), January 23, 2009.
  106. ^ "Barack Obama Takes on Sasha Fierce!" (WebCite archive), What's Happening on ryanseacrest.com, January 26, 2009.

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