It’s weird, frustrating, jealousy-inducing, unfair, amazing and inspiring—all at the same time—how there are ordinary people who shoot to stardom because of their online presence: bloggers, movie reviewers not associated with any newspaper or magazine, food critics who didn’t graduate from culinary school, wannabe singers and stand-up comedians, anyone who has an opinion—and a video cam.

But the irrefutable fact is these people are, indeed, famous and even making money, thanks to their 15 minutes of online fame, which fortunately for some of them, have stretched to 15 days or even more and has given them popularity not just in the cyber world.

Video site YouTube is hugely responsible for ordinary people getting “discovered” and for the year 2011, the following are some of their most famous discoveries.

Karmin

This musical couple, composed of Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan (who are engaged!), got the attention of YouTubers because of their countless brilliant covers, most especially of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now.” Millions of hits after, they guest on Ellen DeGeneres’ show and are now scheduled to release an album on February 2012, under a major record label.

Babies talking to each other

Proof that you don’t need to speak, dress up in fancy clothes or be a certain age to be a star, these adorable babies shot to online stardom, thanks to a home video featuring the two diaper-clad babies communicating in gibberish and obviously understanding one another—based on how they exchanged “lines.”

Mikey Bustos

Pinoys first heard about this Fil-Canadian when he became a finalist on Canadian Idol. He grew even more famous after he posted several hilarious Pinoy tutorial videos on his YouTube account. Thanks to familiar subjects (like making ligaw and playing with plastic balloon) and his character’s funny Pinoy accent, the videos were a huge hit, raking in lots of hits and subscribers. Mikey’s online fame even bagged him an endorsement for a chicharon snack in the country.

Ashley Rivera

aka Petra Mahalimuyak

It was only during the last few months of 2011 when people discovered Petra Mahalimuyak, the English-speaking (but with a heavy Pinoy accent), singing and dancing how-to guru, but it’s obvious how she’s made an impact in such a short span of time. The number of subscribers of her YouTube account and the passionate comments her videos have been getting are enough proof.

Sophia Grace Brownlee

This loud and adorable British girl instantly won hearts when her “Superbass” rendition video surfaced. Dressed in a pink princess costume, Sophia sang and rapped the Nicki Minaj hit together with cousin Rosie, who pretty much let Sophia enjoy the spotlight. With her obviously exceptional singing and rapping skills, everyone took notice, including Ellen DeGeneres, who asked the two to guest on her show. She even asked Nicki Minaj to drop by and meet the girls.

Maria Aragon

This Fil-Canadian’s performance of Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way,” where she played the keyboard while singing the song, got a lot of hits, thanks to Lady Gaga herself, who tweeted the link to her followers. As the number of clicks grew, so did Maria’s fame. She appeared on several TV shows, performed with Lady Gaga in one of her concerts, and went to the Philippines to record and release an album. Maria’s “Born This Way” vid is actually YouTube’s eighth most watched video of 2011.

Rebecca Black

Rebecca is probably one of the biggest online stars ever, thanks to “Friday,” a song from ARK Music Factory. Rebecca’s mom paid the company to produce a music video of her daughter singing the song—and the rest is history. The video went viral, attracting some fans and a lot of haters. While several people were posting hate comments and blog posts about Rebecca and her song/video (while singing the song in their head, of course), she was busy with a blooming career that involved TV show appearances, plus a cameo on Katy Perry’s video for “Last Friday Night.”