What You May Not Know About Jacob Sartorius
Social media sensation Jacob Sartorius—real name Rolf Jacob Sartorius—could very well be the next big pop crush if he plays his cards right. The teen gained viral video fame lip-syncing (yes, lip-syncing) on an app called Musical.ly. At the time of this writing, the 13-year-old had more than 1.5 million YouTube channel subscribers—more than reality star Kim Kardashian. After making it big for his faux vocals, Satorius proved he could dance, rap, and really, truly sing as well. He debuted his first single and video, "Sweatshirt," in 2016. If that doesn't have "Justin Bieber 2.0" scrawled all over it in cute, adolescent handwriting, we don't know what does. Check out some fast facts you might not know about this social media ingenue.
He's adopted
Though he was raised in Virginia, Sartorius revealed that he was born in Oklahoma and adopted via a YouTube video in August 2016. "My parents weren't able to take care of me, so they made a plan for me to be adopted. Luckily for me, I was blessed to be adopted by two of the most loving parents in the world, my mom and my dad," he said. "I've had the best childhood any kid could ask for. It's had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade my life for anything."
He reiterated that his adoption wasn't news to those who know him well. "Being adopted is something I've never tried to hide or keep a secret," he said. "My friends and family have known all this, but I think it's the right time for [my fans] to know, too."
His sister and dad are humanitarians
Sister Caroline Sartorius began attending Wake Forest University in 2015 and boasts an impressive Instagram presence with more than a quarter-million followers. Based on her photos, she enjoys traveling, food, and art, as well as spending time with her famous brother.
Prior to Wake Forest, Caroline attended South Lakes High School in Reston, Va. and won a Daily Point of Light award for her humanitarian work in a poverty-stricken region of the Dominican Republic. Caroline reportedly raised $9,000, which was doubled by a foundation called Humanity United.
Caroline inherited her passion for social work from her father, Rolf, who is President and CEO of Social Impact, an organization that works internationally to help alleviate social issues such as "poverty, HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation, civil war and conflict" and implements management consulting and training programs to strengthen social programs in impoverished areas.
Sartorius has a major crush on two A-list celebs
It should probably come as no surprise that this little Bieberesque sensation harbors a "major obsession" with pop stars Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande, two ladies the Biebs himself has been romantically connected to in the past. Early in 2016, Sartorius tweeted, "I tried to follow Selena Gomez's future boyfriends' Instagram but it said 'edit profile.'" Smooth, kid. Smooth.
Never mind that Gomez is 11 years his senior, and Grande has a decade on him. When Sartorius turns 18 in 2020, Gomez will be 28 and Grande will be 27. That age gap is significant, but not unheard of in Hollywood.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that the video muse in Sartorius' breakout single, "Sweatshirt," looks an awful lot like a mashup of Grande and Gomez.
If his pop starlette crushes never materialize, Sartorius told his YouTube followers he would definitely date a fan: "If she was, like, chill, and if I got to know her well, and she had a nice personality, then we can date, I guess, yeah."
He's not scandal-free
It was bound to happen sooner or later, but at 13 years old, Sartorius found himself embroiled in a scandal that involved an allegedly inappropriate photo solicitation. In June 2016, Sartorius addressed the conflict via Twitter. "As you may know, there have been false allegations that I asked a girl for inappropriate photos," he tweeted. "Sure, I'm a kid and still learning and figuring out who I am and trying to be the best person I can be. But I can tell you that I'd never ask a girl to send inappropriate photos. I try my best to ignore rumors and drama, but this latest one went beyond social media and into other media channels."
Facebook reportedly determined that the offending messages were sent by an imposter posing as Sartorius. "My heart goes out to the girl who received these abusive texts," the real singer said. "It's cyber-bullying and more needs to be done to stop it." He used the controversy to urge everyone to talk to their friends and family about safety on the internet and to look for ways to "have a positive impact on the world." What a kid, right?
Sartorius isn't exempt from the dreaded fame faux pas
Sartorius faced criticism after a fan posted a video where he couldn't remember the girls' names to whom he was supposed to deliver a shout-out. The encounter itself is pretty cringeworthy, and Sartorius later faced internet backlash over it, including from model Hailey Baldwin, who poked fun at the footage and asked her Twitter followerswho Sartorius was. He responded to her tweet: "I'm Jacob Sartorius and I'm bad at remembering names."
On a related note, he also suffered another fame faux pas at the hands, literally, of a disgruntled "fan." According to Teen, the incident occurred at a fan meet-and-greet. A girl supposedly wanted to take a picture with Sartorius, but instead of posing for the camera, she slapped him on the back of the neck and ran away laughing as her accomplice filmed the entire, embarrassing, uncalled-for stunt. In the footage, you can clearly hear the "smack" and Sartorius saying, "Ow!" as the girl makes a break for it.
He's going on tour in 2016
Sartorius held a three-date All My Friends tour in October 2016 with stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Others on the billing included Johnny Orlando, and The Bomb Digz.
Record company UTA signed Sartorius in 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter (via Yahoo), so the young man is clearly going places. "Sweatshirt" made the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. His followup track, "Hit or Miss," showcases his rhyming skills too.
Sartorius can wiggle his ears
Last but not least, do you know that only 10 to 20 percent of the population can wiggle their ears?
You guessed it: your new favorite social media star is among the select few who can, so if the music thing doesn't work out...