Ray William Johnson
Ray William Johnson | ||||
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| Born | August 14, 1981[1] Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |||
| Alma mater | Columbia University School of General Studies | |||
| Occupations |
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YouTube information | ||||
| Channels | ||||
| Years active | 2008–present | |||
| Subscribers |
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| Total views |
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Last updated: April 20, 2025 | ||||
Raymond William Johnson (born August 14, 1981) is an American internet personality, actor, and comedian. He became famous for his YouTube series called Equals Three, where he talked about viral videos. His channel was one of the most popular on YouTube in the early 2010s.[1][2]
From June 2011 to January 2013, his channel was the most subscribed on YouTube. It was also the first channel to reach 5 million subscribers. By 2013, it had over 10 million subscribers and more than 2 billion views. Ray stopped hosting Equals Three in March 2014, but the show continued with new hosts. He also created other shows like Booze Lightyear, Top 6, and Comedians On.[3][4][5]
Early life
[change | change source]Ray was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He went to Norman North High School and graduated in 1999. Later, he studied history at Columbia University in New York, but did not finish his degree. While in college, he began making videos and uploading them to YouTube.[6][7][8]
Career
[change | change source]In 2009, Ray started the Equals Three series. It quickly became very popular. He later worked with Maker Studios but left in 2012 after a contract dispute. After that, he created his own studio called Equals Three Studios.[9]
He also made animated music videos on a channel called Your Favorite Martian. This project ended in 2012, but he revived it in 2023 with new videos.[10]
In 2013, Ray made a web series called Riley Rewind and worked on a TV project with the FX network. He also acted in a movie called Who's Driving Doug in 2016.[11]
Music and films
[change | change source]Ray is also a musician. He released an album called Fat Damon in 2018. He co-created a film company called Mom & Pop Empire, which made movies and documentaries.[12]
Recent work
[change | change source]In 2020, Ray returned to YouTube with a new series called Svperhvman. He now creates short comedy videos on YouTube Shorts and Facebook. He also brought back Your Favorite Martian after ten years.
Filmography
[change | change source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2014 | Equals Three | Host as himself (until 2014) | Also creator and executive producer, formerly writer |
| 2010 | The Professionals | Stan | Episode: "Special Request" |
| 2010 | Annoying Orange | Crabapple | Episode: "Crabapple" |
| 2010–2011 | Breaking NYC | Himself | 66 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Breaking Los Angeles | Himself | 8 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Your Favorite Martian: The Animated Series | Puff (voice) | 11 episodes |
| 2012 | RVC: The Lone Shopping Network | Derek | |
| 2013 | Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie | Quick Stop Hipster (voice) | |
| 2013 | Riley Rewind | Mr. Osborne | Also creator, director, writer, and executive producer |
| 2013–2014 | Epic Rap Battles of History | Goku / Boba Fett | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Fluffy Movie | Nurse | |
| 2015 | Manson Family Vacation | Executive producer | |
| 2015 | Booze Lightyear | Booze Player | Also creator, writer, and executive producer |
| 2015 | Comedians On | Himself | Also creator and executive producer |
| 2015 | Top 6 | Executive producer | |
| 2016 | Who's Driving Doug | Scott | |
| 2016 | We Love You | Derrick | |
Discography
[change | change source]| Year | Name | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Doin' Your Mom" | 24m |
| "Fresh Prince" (cover) | 41k | |
| 2010 | "YouTube Party" | 118k |
| "Muppet Sex" | 327k | |
| "Apple Store Love Song" | 143k | |
| "School'd" | 158k | |
| "(untitled gangsta song)" | 45k |
| Year | Name | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "My Balls" | 1.5m |
| "Zombie Love Song" | 33m | |
| "Bottles of Beer" | 13m | |
| "Club Villain" | 28m | |
| "The Stereotypes Song" | 5.2m | |
| "The Unofficial Smithers Love Song" | 14m | |
| "Orphan Tears Part 1"[a] | 48m | |
| "Mr. Douchebag" | 31m | |
| "Transphobic Techno (Bitch Got a Penis)" | 18m | |
| "Grandma Got a Facebook" | 2.8m | |
| "Tig Ol' Bitties" | 3.2m | |
| "Fight to Win"[b] | 21m | |
| "Stalkin' Your Mom"[c] | 24m | |
| "Robot Bar Fight" | 17m | |
| "8-Bit World"[d] | 19m | |
| "Puppet Break-Up"[e] | 411k | |
| "Whip Your Kids"[f] | 5m | |
| "Booty Store" | 1.1m | |
| "Nerd Rage" | 4.2m | |
| "Epileptic Techno" | 1.4m | |
| "Dookie Fresh" | 612k | |
| "Santa Hates Poor Kids" | 18m | |
| "Shitty G" | 10m | |
| 2012 | "Friend Zone" | 25m |
| "She Looks Like Sex (Remix)"[g] | 12m | |
| "We Like Them Girls"[h] | 8.9m | |
| "Alien" | 16m | |
| "White Boy Wasted"[i] | 12m | |
| "Complicated" | 15m | |
| "Take Over The World" | 17m | |
| "Text Me Back" | 12m | |
| "Jupiter" | 9.5m | |
| "Just a Friend" (Biz Markie cover) | 14m | |
| "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Gotye cover) | 10m | |
| "Fight for Your Right" (Beastie Boys cover) | 5m | |
| "Love the Way You Lie" (Eminem and Rihanna cover) | 8.7m | |
| "Road Rage" | 11m | |
| "My Balls" (Alt rock cover) | 10m | |
| "Alien (Unplugged)" | 3.6m | |
| "Jump Around" (House of Pain cover) | 500k | |
| "Bartender Song" (Rehab cover) | 4.9m | |
| "High Voltage" (Linkin Park cover) | 6.1m | |
| "Boom Headshot" | 7.8m | |
| 2022 | "Orphan Tears Part 2" (feat. Cartoon Wax and Stevi the Demon) | 4.6m |
| "Orphan Tears Part 3" (feat. Cartoon Wax and Stevi the Demon) | 2.4m | |
| "Verified" | 8m | |
| "Uno Reverse" (feat. Cartoon Wax) | 5.9m | |
| "Eff This Job" (feat. Cartoon Wax) | 2.8m | |
| "Brain Rave" (feat. Stevi the Demon) | 3.2m | |
| "This Is Why I'm Single" (feat. Shuba and Cartoon Wax) | 4.1m | |
| "Rich People" (feat. Cartoon Wax) | 7.2m | |
| 2023 | "Gentleman's Ballad" | 2.1m |
| "Everyone Clapped" (feat. Cartoon Wax) | 3.3m | |
| "Date Myself" | 2.9m | |
| "Damn I'm Ugly" (feat. Billy Marchiafava) | 2.6m | |
| "Telescope" (feat. Stevi the Demon) | 1.9m | |
| "Iamverybadazz" | 2.3m | |
| "The Trauma Song" | 2.2m | |
| "Algorithm God" | 1.6m | |
| 2024 | "Real Girl" | 1m |
| Year | Name | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Conspiracy Theory Guy" (feat. Wax) | 269k |
| "Fred Astaire" | 824k | |
| "My Life is Dope" | 116k |
| Year | Name | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Fred Astaire 1" | 824k |
| "Everything is Bullshit 2" | 152k | |
| 2020 | "BANG! 3" | 182k |
| "Wolverine 4" | 177k | |
| "I'm Speaking 5" | 107k | |
| "Pixar Mom 6" | 255k | |
| 2021 | "You Keep Me Hangin' On 7" | 138k |
| "Ugly 8" | 1.2m | |
| "Baby Yoda 9" | 132k | |
| "Brain Stew 10" | 1.1m | |
| "Silent Mode 11" | 17k[j] | |
| "Let's Do Drugs 12" | 363k | |
| "Yellow 13" | 363k | |
| "Heartcatchthump 14" | 21k[k] | |
| "Kung Fu in the Afterlife 15" | 527k | |
| "Stupid World 16" | 398k | |
| 2022 | "Everything is Bullshit 12" (Evolved Version) | 11k[l] |
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ features vocals from Wax
- ↑ features vocals from DeStorm Power
- ↑ features vocals from Wax
- ↑ features vocals from Hoodie Allen
- ↑ music video directed by Sam Macaroni
- ↑ features vocals from Nice Peter
- ↑ features Mike Posner
- ↑ music video directed by ForrestFire101
- ↑ features vocals from Dumbfoundead
- ↑ Streaming views
- ↑ Streaming views
- ↑ Streaming views
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 William Johnson, Ray (August 14, 2012). BIRTHDAY EPISODE (2012). Event occurs at 0:14. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2024 – via YouTube.
Whoo! We get to do an episode, which is great, cus you know today's my birthday. It really is um no big deal I probably won't bring it again it's it's just another day...
- ↑ Glazer, Emily (February 2, 2012). "Who is RayWJ? YouTube's Top Star". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ↑ Glazer, Emily (September 18, 2015). "The 15 most popular YouTubers in the world". The Record. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ↑ Humphrey, Michael (June 28, 2011). "Ray William Johnson: =3 Adds Up To Most-Subscribed On YouTube". Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Karnik, Kiran (September 4, 2012). "Given the double-edged sword social media has become, self-regulation by platforms is the best option". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ↑ Brouwer, Bree (February 12, 2015). "Ray William Johnson Returns To YouTube With 'How To Get A Date'". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Gutelle, Sam (February 13, 2015). "Ray William Johnson Produces List Show 'Top 6′ On His YouTube Channel". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Gutelle, Sam (July 6, 2015). "New Web Series From Ray William Johnson Offers Comedians' Takes On Snapchat". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Gutelle, Sam (December 12, 2013). "Ray William Johnson's 'Riley Rewind' Arrives On Facebook First". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Wallenstein, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "YouTube Star Ray William Johnson Lands TV Deal". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (May 15, 2014). "YouTube Star Ray William Johnson Lands Role in Indie Film 'Who's Driving Doug'". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (April 14, 2015). "Supergravity, Ray William Johnson Team on Documentary Blasting Cable 'Monopolies'". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Ray William Johnson's channel on YouTube
- Ray William Johnson on IMDb
- Ray William Johnson on Instagram
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by nigahiga |
Most Subscribed Channel on YouTube 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Smosh |
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
