Vikkstar123

Vikkstar123
Barn in 2022
Born
Vikram Singh Barn

(1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 29)
Guildford, Surrey, England
EducationSilverdale School
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • live streamer
  • DJ
  • music producer
YouTube information
Also known asVikkstar
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genres
Subscribers12.1 million (combined)[1][2]
Total views3.8 billion (combined)[1][2]
Associated actsSidemen
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2013
Last updated: 5 April 2023
Musical career
GenresElectronic music[3]
Years active2023–present

Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), better known as Vikkstar123 or simply Vikkstar, is an English influencer and record producer. He is a member of the YouTube group the Sidemen. He is the co-owner of XIX Vodka, Sidemen Clothing, restaurant chain Sides, and cereal brand Best Breakfasts.

Early life and education

Barn is of Indian descent[4] and was born on 2 August 1995[5] in Guildford, Surrey, England,[6] where he lived until eight years of age.[7] He moved to Sheffield where he attended Silverdale School.[8] Barn was offered a place to study natural sciences at University College London, but he ended up declining the offer in order to pursue his YouTube career full-time.[9] He is the youngest of three children.[10]

Online career

Barn joined YouTube in 2010; having played games with his friends, he got into watching YouTubers and making videos of their own. Eventually, he decided to launch his own channel, stating:[11]

I got involved thinking I might be able to do a little bit better than they were doing, and get involved and have some fun with it. I started recording myself playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I started making tutorial videos that people could watch – some of them were for knives and how you could throw them across the map. I made videos showing places where you could throw a knife or tomahawk and get a kill. I thought it would be cool to show off these ridiculous kills.

As his popularity increased, he began to take it more seriously, branching out into Minecraft.[11]

In 2013, he joined the Sidemen, which caused his popularity to rise further.[12] He would later move in with three other members, sharing a house with them from 2014 to 2018, when he announced he was moving out of the Sidemen House.[13][14] He was a member of the Minecraft group the Pack along with JeromeASF, Lachlan, Preston, Woofless, and Bajan Canadian. He was also part of the Dream SMP server.[15][16]

In January 2021, he announced on his channel that he was quitting playing Call of Duty: Warzone due to a proliferation of cheating,[17] saying hackers would be "the death of the game" if it went unfixed.[18] Along with criticism from several other high-profile streamers, the resulting uproar caused Activision to update the game's anti-cheat software.[19]

On 13 July 2024, Barn appeared in a MrBeast video titled "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000".[20]

Music career

On 5 December 2022, Barn, KSI, and TBJZL released a Christmas-themed charity single titled "Christmas Drillings" under the Sidemen banner featuring Jme, which charted at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.[21][22]

In 2023, Barn began his music career by releasing singles as a DJ and music producer.[3] On 28 September, Barn released his debut single "Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)" with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin, which charted at number 1 on the Association of Hungarian Record Companies.[23][24] On 1 December, Barn released "Humans" with Shaun Farrugia.[3] On 25 April 2024, Barn released "Know Me Better" with Masked Wolf featuring Jme.[25] On 16 August, Barn released "Have It All" with RetroVision and Dyson.[26] On 8 November, Barn released "Where Do I Go" with Nicky Romero, Alpharock, and Oaks.[27]

Other ventures

Investment

In January 2021, it was revealed that Barn had invested in the London Royal Ravens, a Call of Duty esports team, speaking of his desire to 'build a blueprint' for the wider popularisation of the sport.[28]

In July 2023, Barn invested in notwoways, an East London sneaker brand owned by fellow YouTuber and friend Callum "Callux" McGinley.[29][30]

CIRCULR

On 3 August 2023, it was announced that Barn would be joining as the new co-founder of British eyewear brand CIRCULR.[31][32][33]

Personal life

In December 2021, Barn announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend.[34] They got married in 2023.[35]

In a Sidemen video released in March 2024, Barn revealed he has Crohn's disease.[36]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2022 Talk to Me Himself Uncredited; archival footage [37]
2023 KSI: In Real Life Documentary [38]
The Naughty List The Baker Short Film [39]
2024 The Sidemen Story Himself Documentary [40]
Web
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014 The Sidemen Experience Himself Comedy Central UK Main role; 5 episodes [41]
2016–2017 YouTube Rewind YouTube Episode: "The Ultimate 2016 Challenge"
Episode: "The Shape of 2017" 		[42][43]
2018 The Sidemen Show YouTube Premium Main role; 7 episodes [44]
2020 How To Be Behzinga YouTube 1 episode [45]
2024 The Chase: Sidemen Edition The Chaser Special Spin-Off Episode [46]
Inside Host Reality Show created by the Sidemen [47]
Television
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2021 The Wheel Himself / Celebrity expert (Gaming) BBC One Series 1, episode 6 [48]
Music videos
Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2018 "Manchild" Randolph Himself [49]
2022 "Don't Lie" A1 x J1 featuring Nemzzz Himself [50]

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with selected peak chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
HUN
[24] 		MLT
[51] 		NOR
[52]
"Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)"[53]
(with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin) 		2023 1 — 30 Walkerworld[a]
"Humans"[55]
(with Shaun Farrugia) 		— 1 — Non-album singles
"Know Me Better"[56]
(with Masked Wolf featuring Jme) 		2024 — — —
"Have It All"[26]
(with RetroVision and Dyson) 		— — —
"Where Do I Go"[57]
(with Nicky Romero, Alpharock, and Oaks) 		— — —
"—" denotes single that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Charity singles

List of charity singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Notes
UK
[58] 		UK
Ind.
[59] 		IRE
[60] 		NZ
Hot
[61]
"Christmas Drillings"[62]
(as part of Sidemen featuring Jme) 		2022 3 2 25 7
  • Produced for a Sidemen Sunday video and raised money for FareShare.[63]

Remixes

List of remixes
Title Year Album
"Barcelona (Vikkstar remix)"
(with Alan Walker and Ina Wroldsen) 		2024 Barcelona (Remixes)

Music videos

List of music videos
Title Year Director(s) Ref.
As lead artist
"Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)"
(with Alan Walker and Dash Berlin) 		2023 Mads Neset [64]
"Humans"
(with Shaun Farrugia) 		Troy Roscoe [65]
"Know Me Better"
(with Masked Wolf featuring Jme) 		2024 Guy Davies [66]
As featured artist
"Christmas Drillings
(as part of Sidemen featuring Jme) 		2022 Konstantin [67]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2016 NME Awards Vlogger of the Year Himself Nominated [68]
2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Gamer Himself Nominated [69]
2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year "Sidemen: The Book" (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [70]
2019 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble Himself (shared with the Sidemen) Nominated [71]

Notes

  1. ^ Better Off (Alone, Pt. III) is absent from the Apple Music release of Walkerworld.[54]

References

  1. ^ a b See:
    • "Vikkstar123's YouTube Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
    • "Vikkstar123HD's YouTube Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
    • "VikkstarPlays's YouTube Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
    • "VikkstarShorts's YouTube Stats". Social Blade. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Vikkstar123". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c "Shaun Farrugia & Vikkstar's Song 'Humans' Is Out Today!". Malta Daily. 1 December 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. ^ @Vikkstar123 (10 May 2013). "... Ethnicity and Nationality are two completely separate things, I've lived in England for all my life. My ethnic background is Indian" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Barn, Vikram [@Vikkstar123] (2 August 2020). "25 years on this big rock. Super happy & grateful. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021 – via Twitter.
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  7. ^ Barn, Vikram [@Vikkstar123] (21 April 2015). "It's always nostalgic coming back to Guildford. I lived here until I was 8" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via Twitter.
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  29. ^ Bottomley, Tom (28 July 2023). "Sneaker brand notwoways secures £2.3m investment to turbo charge growth". TheIndustry.fashion. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  30. ^ Taylor, Nigel (21 August 2023). "UK sneaker brand Notwoways secures £2.3m in fresh funding". FashionNetwork. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
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  61. ^ Peaks on the NZ Hot Singles Chart:
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  63. ^ Smith, Carl (7 December 2022). "Christmas Number 1 2022 contenders revealed: LadBaby, Sidemen, Stormzy, Mariah Carey and more". Official Charts Company.
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  66. ^ "Vikkstar & Masked Wolf - Know Me Better (feat. Jme) [Official Music Video]". 25 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024 – via YouTube.
  67. ^ "Sidemen - Christmas Drillings Ft. JME (Official Music Video)". 4 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via YouTube.
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