The Audio Long Read ‘The Mozart of the attention economy’: why MrBeast is the world’s biggest YouTube star
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Jun 27, 2025 Mark O'Connell, a writer and journalist known for his insightful articles, delves into the world of MrBeast, YouTube's sensation with 400 million subscribers. They discuss the thin line between clickbait and avant-garde genius in MrBeast's outrageous stunts, from slime baths to being buried alive. O'Connell explores the morality of turning serious themes into viral entertainment while reflecting on how this digital phenomenon shapes modern culture and societal anxieties.
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Formula for MrBeast's Viral Success
- MrBeast owes his success to highly entertaining, elaborate, and expensive videos with fanatical clarity of purpose.
- His videos deliver constant stimulation, minimizing slow narrative setups to keep viewers engaged.
Counting to 100,000 Viral Hit
- MrBeast's early viral hit was a 40-hour video of him counting to 100,000.
- This obsessive and silly stunt prefigured the large-scale endurance challenges central to his content.
Supermarket Survival Challenge
- In a popular video, MrBeast bought a supermarket and paid a contestant $10,000 daily to live inside it.
- The contestant dealt with boredom, accidents, and growing detachment from the money as the days passed.