HI-TRANSFER

The oldest known Valentine still in existence today is a poem written by a Frenchman, Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was locked away in the Tower of London. On Valentine's Day he sent his wife a rhyming love letter. Written in 1415, this poem now lives in the British Library in London.

The Duke had 25 years in prison to craft poems to make his love swoon, but you have just one day until Valentine’s Day to woo the one you love. So look no further than YouTube to find some inspiration.

Find the way into your Valentine’s heart through his or her stomach with the help of some of YouTube’s cooking channels. From romantic fondue dips to red velvet vegan cupcakes to recipes for raw food hearts, you’re sure to find a dish for any loved one’s palette.



Whatever your budget, whomever your Valentine, truly great gifts are thoughtful and personal. From an origami bouquet of roses to a sentimental deck of cards to tips for creating a romantic dinner at home, YouTube channels have great gift ideas for you.



Finally, are you thinking about asking someone special an important question this Valentine’s Day? The YouTube Slam team cooked up a Valentine's Day Slam of romantic proposals to help you get inspired! Watch the proposals side by side and vote for whichever pulls on your heartstrings or even brings tears to your eyes. And don’t forget to check out the top voted proposals.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Jessica Mason, communications associate, recently watched “How to cook a lobster for Valentine's Day!”

From the streets of Jerusalem to the bedrooms of America, this week on Music Tuesday we’re celebrating some of the musicians who are beginning their careers, making their names and finding an audience on YouTube.

YouTube stars rock Jerusalem
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s “Power of the People,” last year a group of musicians on YouTube came together on the ancient streets of Jerusalem to create a new version of the song. Having performed together at an event earlier that day, Maria Aragon, 2CELLOS, Cobus and Marina Maximillian Blumin rendezvoused at the Iraqi Market and before long a large crowd had gathered to join the party. We’re excited to debut the final video today. Enjoy!



Five people, one guitar
This week’s standout music video success was undoubtedly Walk of the Earth’s five-people-play-one-guitar cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” With 25 million views and counting, it’s also provided a boost for the original song.



YouTube Slam
Do you think you could spot the next Bieber or Adele? YouTube Slam lets you compare and vote on the best bedroom balladeers, and each week crowns a new star. Check out a playlist of the current Top 10 below, and then head over to YouTube Slam to have your say on next week’s competition.



Tim Partridge, YouTube Music Manager, recently watched “Stereo Express - Shadooroack (Official Video Clip).”

Have some free time this week? Think you can find the next singing sensation, viral video like Charlie bit my finger or Surprised Kitty?

Then come play YouTube Slam—a video discovery experiment we cooked up with folks from Google Research. Each week a new crop of videos battles head-to-head in Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre and Dance Slams, where your votes determine who wins the Slam and gets featured on the leaderboard.


Earn points for predicting the crowd favorites, and see how you stack up against other players at the end of each week. Get your daily dose of the most talented, hilarious, adorable or weird videos on YouTube, and you could help uncover the next big thing.


You can also subscribe to our Slam channels to see each week’s video leaderboards: Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre or Dance. Pick a Slam and start playing!

Tomas Izo, Software Engineer, recently watched “Brick By Boring Brick: Paramore (Storm Kaden Cover)” via YouTube Slam.