From video games to vloggers, digital video celebrated its biggest night Sunday when the 2014 Streamy Awards were handed out in Beverly Hills.
The ceremony took place in the same room in the Beverly Hilton where Hollywood annually throws the Golden Globes, giving the fourth annual awards a shine of legitimacy as digital video finds its place in the greater world of entertainment media. The evening had more polish than years past, and hosts Hannah Hart and Grace Helbig called out to other high-level award show moments like Ellen DeGeneres‘ infamous Oscars selfie. Epic Meal Time‘s Harley Morenstein and Epic Rap Battles of History‘s EpicLLOYD had one of the most lighthearted yet honest moments of the night, going off script to remind everyone that anyone who’d touched the microphone that night was a millionaire, and that YouTubers were big business, not just side gigs. While that’s an exaggeration, the super popular YouTubers who took home awards do command legions, and broker powerful brand deals.
Of course, the show was still a celebration of all things digital, meaning sometimes the video screens futzed out.
Overall, the awards were well spread out, with few nominees taking home more than a single award for their work. Video Game High School, which premieres its third and final season in October, took home awards for Best Ensemble Cast and Sci-Fi/Action Show. Other exceptions included Tyler Oakley, who snagged both an ICON award for his activism with The Trevor Project and an audience-voted Entertainer of the Year award, as well as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which won for Drama and saw actress Ashley Clements awarded for her breakout role.
The show also paid honor to recently departed Joan Rivers, who last year started her own YouTube show after a storied career. It was the evening’s most somber moment, since the genre of YouTube is so new that it doens’t have need for an in memoriam section. Overall, the show felt more grown up than years past, and more focused on digital-only talent instead of bridging the gap between digital and mainstream, with YouTube and Vine creators standing on their own as legitimate stars.
Of course, sometimes a non-digital artist can still bring down the house. While YouTube native artists like Pentatonix and Postmodern Jukebox wowed the crowd throughout the night, the evening closed with a dance-along to Starship, the 1970s group, now a duo, who thrilled with “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” both featuring cameos from various YouTube singers. For all the work to make the Streamys feel like a legitimate award show, in the end it was simply a dance party. You just can’t take the laid-back vibe out of a show honoring the Internet.
A full list of winners is below:
Channel, Show, or Series – Overall
Best Comedy (Channel, Show, or Series) – My Drunk Kitchen
Best Companion (Channel, Show, or Series) – Vandaveon and Mike (Key & Peele)
Best Drama (Channel, Show, or Series) – The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Best Non-Fiction or Reality (Channel, Show, or Series) – Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Channel, Show, or Series – Subject
Best Action or Sci-Fi (Channel, Show, or Series) – Video Game High School
Best Beauty (Channel, Show, or Series) – Missglamorazzi
Best Dance (Channel, Show, or Series) – Jabbawockeez
Best Fashion (Channel, Show, or Series) – Bethany Mota
Best Food and Cuisine (Channel, Show, or Series) – Epic Meal Time
Best Gaming (Channel, Show, or Series) – Smosh Games
Best Health and Wellness (Channel, Show, or Series) – Blogilates
Best Kids and Family (Channel, Show, or Series) – Kids React
Best News and Current Events (Channel, Show, or Series) – SourceFed
Best Pranks (Channel, Show, or Series) – Jack Vale
Best Science and Education (Channel, Show, or Series) – Vsauce
Best Sports (Channel, Show, or Series) – Red Bull
Special
Best Animated (Channel, Show, or Series) – RWBY
Best First Person (Channel, Show, or Series) – Jenna Marbles
Best Indie (Channel, Show, or Series) – Little Horribles
Best International (Channel, Show, or Series) – Noob (France)
Performance
Best Actress in a Comedy – Mamrie Hart, You Deserve a Drink
Best Actress in a Drama – Ashley Clements, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Best Actor in a Comedy – David Milchard, Convos With My 2-Year-Old
Best Actor in a Drama – Joey Graceffa, Storytellers
Best Collaboration – Zach Galifianakis and President Barack Obama, Between Two Ferns
Best Ensemble Cast – Josh Blaylock, Johanna Braddy, Brian Firenzi, Ellary Porterfield, Cynthia Watros, Jimmy Wong, Freddie Wong, Harley Morenstein, Brennan Murray, and Joey Scoma, Video Game High School
Music
Best Cover Song – Pentatonix, Daft Punk Mashup (Daft Punk)
Best Music Video – Goku vs Superman, Epic Rap Battles of History
Best Musical Artist – Lindsey Stirling
Best Original Song – “Whistle While I Work It,” Chester See
Craft
Best Choreography – Mortal Kombat: Legacy II, Garrett Warren and Larnell Stovall
Best Cinematography – Devinsupertramp, Devin Graham
Best Costume Design – Epic Rap Battles of History, Sulai Lopez
Best Directing – Video Game High School, Matt Arnold and Freddie Wong
Best Editing – Kids React, Dan Seibert, Justin Reager, Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, and Jordan Towles
Best Original Score – RWBY, Jeff Williams
Best Visual and Special Effects – Action Movie Kid, Daniel Hashimoto
Best Writing – Epic Rap Battles of History, Nice Peter, EpicLLOYD, Zach Sherwin, Dante Cimadamore, and Mike Betette
Vine
Best Vine Comedian – DeStorm Power
Best Vine Creativity – Zach King
Viner of the Year – Brittany Furlan
Campaign or Event
Best Brand Campaign – Need For Speed: Ken Block’s Gymkhana Six (Need For Speed)
Best Live Event – #Tubeathon 2013
Best Public Service – YouTube Stars Talk Health Care at the White House
Television
Best Television Show – Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Audience Choice
Entertainer of the Year – Tyler Oakley
Show of the Year – EnchufeTV
Photo by sham hardy/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III
