S19: Bethany Mota: She's MOTAvational!

[radishcake]

In only five years, youtube.com sensation, fashion designer, and beauty expert, Bethany Mota has become one of the most recognizable names on social media. Today, Bethany’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/macbarbie07) has over 7 million subscribers, and her videos have been viewed almost 500 million times. Bethany got her start when she created a channel on YouTube under the moniker Macbarbie07 in June 2009. Originally intended as a fun outlet for a tween girl to share her opinions on fashion and style, Bethany's charismatic personality and unique eye for popular trends have earned her a devoted following on multiple platforms.

At the age of 19, Bethany regularly travels across the country and the globe to mentor and help build other social networks. In late 2013, Bethany designed and launched her first ever collection for apparel brand Aeropostale. Targeted at teens between 14 and 17 years old, the line can be found in over 900 stores around the country and includes apparel, accessories and jewelry. She most recently launched her new scent Bethany Mota fragrance.

Dancing with Derek Hough.

[Kromm]

I'd say she hit the jackpot getting Derek, except the show may make a point of Julianne scoring Derek and his partner a little low.

[truthaboutluv]

I liked Bethany. I noticed there were some comments about her having "bitch-face" at times during the show particularly when Sadie and Alfonso got praised but when I re-watched the show, I realized that her expression was pretty much the same anytime she was caught up in the skybox. And seeing a little of her personality after the show was over, when she was being interviewed I kind of got the feeling that she's just kind of naturally mellow and silent, maybe even a little serious when she's not being "on".

 

Maybe it has to do with the fact that she spends so much of her time being "perky" and "adorable" for her youtube videos that she just turns it all off when she doesn't have to be. She just seemed so calm and mellow during the judging, after and in some of the post-show interviews.  At one point it even seemed like Derek was trying to coax some excitement out of her when they got their scores. And honestly, I find it kind of interesting that's her personality considering she's only 18. I think with contestants that young you expect them to be very "youth-like" like Sadie was, Zendaya at times, etc. Bethany had a serious face at times that almost made me forget she is only 18.

Edited September 17, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[OakGoblinFly]

I think she was, while excited for the dance, terrified at the thought of dancing in front of a [Tom voice] LIVE [/Tom voice] audience (I know I would be).  I didn't notice any particular face or cool interactions - she smiled and clapped and appeared to be happy for her fellow contestants (then again, how much can we tell from a few 3 second shots).  I think she's very reserved - she said as much when talking about the difference between her v-blog and this show.

[CruiseDiva]

Has anyone watched her videos on You Tube? She is "perky" and "adorable" in what I imagine appeals to young teens, but between the perky parts her expressions are what y'all call Resting Bitch Face--similar to what I noticed during DWTS. She may be only 18 or 19, but with her social media base I'm guessing that she'll do well with call in votes.

[Stella MD]

I'm sorry - who? Man, they hit the D-list for contestants this season. There are always a few that I've literally never heard of, but I'm surprised that a complete nobody went to Derek the Wunderkind.

[viajero]

I'm sorry - who? Man, they hit the D-list for contestants this season. There are always a few that I've literally never heard of, but I'm surprised that a complete nobody went to Derek the Wunderkind

 

I guess you haven't checked out the magazine rack at your local supermarket lately given that she's on the cover of the last issue of Seventeen magazine and has been featured in a lot of other media over the past few months.  In fact, as I posted in the performance thread,  Mota is one of the few so called “stars” this season who I had actually heard of and this was originally because of all the coverage she’s gotten in the financial media.  There just aren’t all that many small town girls who have managed to build a multimillion dollar business by the time they finish high school.  She not only has her own clothing line at a major national retailer (Aeropostale) over which she maintains complete creative control, while also having partnered with two other major retailers (JC Penny and Forever 21), but she's also beginning to really pull in the bucks with fashion and internet related consulting from New York to Delhi to Tokyo (literally). 

 

Mota may be among the most influential trendsetters among the tween and teen crowd these days.   This goes way beyond just fashion.  Let me give an example that I happened to read about because I follow the indie music scene (what there is of it these days).  In one of her videos a few months ago, Mota happened to mention a song called "Cool Kids" by this relatively unknown So Cal teenage Indie Pop group called Echosmith.  The single and album had been a released a full year earlier and had gotten no traction at all as the group struggled to gain recognition doing things like the Warped Tour, even despite getting good reviews from the likes of MTV.  Not really surprising if you consider that the group's sound is a throwback to 80's alternative British Pop with no twerking or Bang Bang's, let alone any rapping.  The lead singer even keeps all her clothes on and the band actually play real instruments with no computer in sight.  Suddenly, within a month or so of Mota's recommendation, the song was featured on Teen Wolf and started getting radio play.  By August it was holding steady in the Top 20, You Tube views of their music video shot up from a couple hundred thousand to over 7 million and Echosmith is setting out on its first headlining tour. 

 

Needless to say, I'm not at all surprised that she got Derek.

Edited September 20, 2014 by viajero

[Kromm]

I'm sorry - who? Man, they hit the D-list for contestants this season. There are always a few that I've literally never heard of, but I'm surprised that a complete nobody went to Derek the Wunderkind.

I don't know if Mota is what you'd call a D-list star, as much as she's a new media star who's on a totally different track that in some ways barely makes sense when she's shoved into a traditional venue. That said, YouTube/Google themselves have ultimately been behind a move to elevate, and then mainstream this girl over this past year.  They didn't pick her out of a hat--she had some actual viewerbase--but they put her in their broadcast TV commercials pushing the YouTube brand itself, as well as I think whispering in the right ears to get her stuff like the Seventeen Magazine and ultimately probably DWTS.  Her financial/marketing success of her own brands/labels certainly didn't hurt either, although I believe that all has happened in the past year or so.  She's kind of a trial balloon, I guess, for Google to see how much actual power they have (answer: a lot).  

[kitcloudkicker]

I would just like to say I thought it was pretty cute that Bethany was dressed like the dancing emoji last night. 

Edited September 24, 2014 by kitcloudkicker

[Turkish]

 

I'm sorry - who? Man, they hit the D-list for contestants this season. There are always a few that I've literally never heard of, but I'm surprised that a complete nobody went to Derek the Wunderkind.

She's got over 7 million Youtube subscribers, which is pretty big as far as Youtube goes. Unless we are talking about someone like PewDiePie who has over 31 million and can pretty much do whatever he wants over there. That's a pretty large fanbase(comprised mostly of teen/tween girls) and I think one of the reasons she made the show. I would say she's more well-known than quite a few of the stars that make this show. Particularly with younger viewers anyway and the show usually likes to have at least one or two of them every season. Normally they tap them from Disney or Nick but this makes just as much sense.  

Edited September 30, 2014 by Turkish

[CruiseDiva]

I'd never heard of her and looked up a couple articles about her You Tube success. She has an agent, sponsors, and even a lawyer. The agent's goal is to get her the gigs, such as magazine features, commercials, and a spot on DWTS.

 

Then I looked at one of her videos. She's what they call a "hauler"--she shops for clothing and cosmetics and then shows off her "haul" in a video when she gets home. That genre must be very popular with tweens and teens who aren't likely to realize she probably gets a lot of stuff free in order to promote certain brands.

 

Interestingly, in the first "Badie" video with her and Sadie, Bethany talks about performing live in front of an audience and mentions the dance competitions she had previously taken part in. So, she does have at least some experience/training. That may be why she got partnered with Golden Boy.

Edited October 7, 2014 by CruiseDiva

[Uke]

http://www.justjaredjr.com/2014/10/11/bethany-mota-mark-ballas-try-out-extreme-hula-hooping-see-the-fun-pics/

 

Looks like Mark is tackling the root of the problem with Bethany being too reserved - getting her to relax, let loose, genuinely laugh and have fun. A lot of cute pics at the link.

[truthaboutluv]

So um, am I the only one who didn't know that Bethany apparently sings? Because I was just casually scrolling through iTunes and there she is at #3 behind Taylor Swift and Megan Trainor. Okay then... I hope Mark doesn't find out. That's a number he's never seen for any of his many singles. Hell I don't think even Zendaya ever got that high on iTunes and that's with coming off a hit Disney show.

Edited October 14, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[kitcloudkicker]

I don't know if anyone knew that, she seems to have unleashed it upon teenTwitter™ only in the last week or so. It's a little much autotune for me, but this video of her singing with her niece is kind of the cutest http://instagram.com/p/tVi24mp7tU/?modal=true

[Uke]

So um, am I the only one who didn't know that Bethany apparently sings? Because I was just casually scrolling through iTunes and there she is at #3 behind Taylor Swift and Megan Trainor. Okay then...  I hope Mark doesn't find out. That's a number he's never seen for any of his many singles. Hell I don' think even Zendaya ever got that high on iTunes and that's with coming off a hit Disney show.

 

That's what Bethany's millions of youtube fans will do. I listened to the sample (did not buy it) - very autotuned.  She posted an instagram a day or 2 ago of herself singing if you want to hear her actual voice. Surprised Zendaya never topped the iTunes chart.

[spanana]

That's what Bethany's millions of youtube fans will do. I listened to the sample (did not buy it) - very autotuned.  She posted an instagram a day or 2 ago of herself singing if you want to hear her actual voice. Surprised Zendaya never topped the iTunes chart.

 

Zendaya's single did go platinum and stayed in the Top 100 on iTunes for months.  I'm not taking anything away from Bethany's accomplishment because even I'm surprised by that, but in terms of iTunes it's about longevity as opposed to how quickly/how high one charts.  Unless Bethany is getting any sort of radio play or other promotional back-up, it will likely fade pretty quickly.   But yes, it still shows the power Bethany's fans have in terms of social media to even get her that high in the first place.

Edited October 14, 2014 by spanana

[truthaboutluv]

Yes, just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting she's on her way to music superstardom. I was just one, totally surprised because I didn't even know she sang and two, seeing the song get that high even if it may only be for a few days makes me wonder about her voting base in regards to the show. Like obviously I knew she had a decent sized fanbase but now I'm thinking it may be even bigger and more determined than I thought.

Edited October 14, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Uke]

The song came out earlier today, I think this (Monday) afternoon. Assuming all her fans clobbered iTunes all at once, I can see how that would push her to the top of the rankings. We'll see where she's at in a few days. I'd guess the teens would only buy the download once and after they do, there's nothing more to hold up the ranking. From the bit that I heard, I don't see it going mainstream for older teens or adults. Unless she comes out with a music video to accompany it, I'm guessing it will be a flash in the pan. But, eh! She's made some good money off it. Good for her.

[kitcloudkicker]

Yes, just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting she's on her way to music superstardom. I was just one, totally surprised because I didn't even know she sang and two, seeing the song get that high even if it may only be for a few days makes me wonder about her voting base in regards to the show. Like obviously I knew she had a decent sized fanbase but now I'm thinking it may be even bigger and more determined than I thought.

 

Youtube fans are interesting. There seems to be an intimacy to that bedroom to bedroom/laptop to laptop contact and a lot of Beth's fans really seem to believe she's like a good friend who's made it big. The flipside is they seem to turn easily, with a lot of them throwing temper tantrums, declaring they were over her and they felt abandoned when she "left them" and didn't post any videos for a month. So yeah, I have no idea how that translates into votes for this show. 

 

In other news, Bethany and Derek seem to be off to Australia for something, which seems like a bad idea. 

[truthaboutluv]

Yeah I saw that on Tumblr. I'm guessing it's some promotional thing Bethany has going on but yeah when I saw that my first thought was, "it takes like 15 hours just to get to  Australia". And then you consider possible jetlag and then the 15 hrs to get back to the U.S. and all this has to be done by next Monday for show day or hell they need to be back by Sunday actually for camera blocking and dress rehearsal. 

[Uke]

Ok, lets see how this goes...

Just guessing flight times.

Depart LA 8pm Monday

14hrs flight = arrival 10am PST Tuesday

Convert 10am PST Tuesday plus 1 day and minus 7 hours = arrival 3am Wednesday Sydney time

Meet + Greet event Wednesday 430pm-630pm

Depart Sydney 9pm Wednesday Sydney time

14 hrs flight = arrive LA 11am Thursday (Sydney time)

Convert 11am Thursday minus 1 day and plus 7 hours = arrival Wednesday 6pm LA time.

 

They'd also have to allow 2 hours checkin for international flights plus 1 hour for customs upon arrival. If they travel with just a carryon, there wouldn't even be baggage claim.  International 1st class is quite nice and they'd likely be able to fully stretch out and get some rest. Business class isn't so bad, but if they're in coach, they'd be a couple of pretzels by the time they got back to LA.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Uke

[truthaboutluv]

Bethany is one of TIME Magazine's 24 Most Influential Teenagers. Pretty awesome. 

 

http://time.com/3486048/most-influential-teens-2014/

[Kromm]

Bethany is one of TIME Magazine's 24 Most Influential Teenagers. Pretty awesome. 

 

http://time.com/3486048/most-influential-teens-2014/

Yeah, but it's a lot less impressive once you realize Jaden "My Dad Bought Me My Fame" Smith is on the same list.  Oh, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner. Who maybe belong on some list based on earning potential, being part of a brand and all, but "Influence" should be more than earning potential.

[truthaboutluv]

I try to ignore all things Kardashian/Jenner so I just scrolled past and pretended they didn't exist. As for Jaden Smith, eh, whatever. I mean I guess one can make the argument that influential doesn't have to mean well-liked and that if they were buzzed about in pop culture for the year that counts but seriously, there are some pretty amazing teens on that list doing some pretty awesome things so I just chose to focus on that.  

Edited October 16, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[calipiano81]

Team Badie Show #3 - Bethany and Sadie talk about Derek & Mark

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FecrncRRJHU

 

This is the best one yet! Bethany and Sadie really don't hold back talking about their partners' habits... LOL

Edited October 16, 2014 by calipiano81

[viajero]

I sense that Bethany is on an ascending trend or at least her technique and performance have steadily improved as the season has gone on.  I can't remember which judge said it, but Bethany really does seem to be coming out of her shell.

Edited November 4, 2014 by viajero

[twizzwhizz11]

I didn't know how to feel about Bethany when the show first started but she's really grown on me. She has a very fun and engaging personality - I can totally see how she's built a fanbase on YT because of that.

My only qualm is that her styling and make-up age her at least 10 years every week. I couldn't believe she was only 18 at Week 1. She looked really pretty and her age the week of her rumba. Otherwise the makeup always makes her look too edgy and much older.

[kitcloudkicker]

I've really warmed to her too - she's opening up and peaking at the right time. Her and Derek seemed to have clicked into a good partnership in the last few weeks too - they started out a little awkward and stilted and she's getting a lot more comfortable with him. 

 

In other news, she's on the current cover of AdWeek - looking very pretty. http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/how-youtubes-hottest-personalities-are-becoming-offline-superstars-161307

[spanana]

Bethany has really grown on me as well and of the remaining, I also think she's by far the most improved dancer.  Both in terms of her own actual skill and in terms of her own performance.  She just seems way more comfortable than she did at the beginning.   I can really see why she has the following that she does in that I think she has a very relatable personality in that girls see her as probably the best friend or older sister that they wish they had.

 

Also while it doesn't only relate to Bethany, apparently Beth, Sadie, Witney and a few others had a girls night on Saturday night at Alfonso's house.  I guess it was supposed to be a movie night and the crashed Alfonso's house because he had a good television.  So the whole gang seems to be getting along.  I bet when this season started Alfonso wasn't expecting to befriend a gaggle of teenage (or barely out of her teens in Witney's case) girls.

 

Anyway, I'm not necessarily rooting for Beth to win as I still want Alfonso to take it, but I certainly won't begrudge seeing her in the finals.  I think she's earned it.

Edited November 11, 2014 by spanana

[truthaboutluv]

I think Bethany's biggest issue at the start of the season was her performance ability. She wasn't truly selling the performances and the characters she was asked to play in those performances. As Derek said, and she mentioned it to Mark when she had Hip Hop with him, she lacked attack in her performances. While the Hip Hop was a good stepping stone for her, I really think the Tango was what completely turned things around. It's like because she had so little time to learn the dance and perfect it, something in her just snapped and went into "get it done" mode and since then she's been on it, selling the hell out of her performances. 

 

Because in my opinion, if you look back at her performances, her technique was never that bad. In fact, it was actually quite good. Her frame in the Foxtrot was gorgeous, she had some nice flicks and leg action in her Jive. I'd say Rumba was her worst dance and I suspect that's why Derek threw in such little content because he realized she wasn't getting the hip/leg action required for the dance at all. Like there was nothing happening in those hips. But other than that dance, her technique has been quite good and as the weeks have gone by, it's gotten stronger and now she's combined it with the performance element. Honestly, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I think at this point, Bethany's the better dancer than Sadie. 

 

I think in the beginning Sadie forged ahead because she always had the performance factor down and from day one she was selling the hell out of everything Mark gave her. Didn't matter if she looked slightly awkward or even dorky, she would go for it. However, her technique in that Paso was bad and I actually do think Bethany did better than her in the Cha Cha dance off.

Edited November 10, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[spanana]

It's hard for me to say who is better between Beth and Sadie because I think they have different strengths, but I definitely see greater improvement in Bethany.  Sadie to me looks about the same as she did first week out and I agree with the notion that Sadie came in with more natural performance ability so she was able to sort of jump out of the pack at the beginning, but now someone like Beth has caught up to her.  

 

I also thought Bethany won the dance off, but I don't think it was by a wide margin.  From a technical standpoint Bethany seemed sharper and crisper, though both Sadie & Beth were dancing ahead of the beat at times.  Sadie had more personality.

 

I also can't tell where I think Janel falls into the whole improvement arc as yet with the other two, because while I saw a good deal of improvement from Janel last week, I'm not sure if that Janel will stick around this week or if the improvement came across solely because she was back in her comfort zone.   Plus we didn't get to see any dance off dancing from her so there were no direct comparisons of that nature.

[truthaboutluv]

I also thought Bethany won the dance off, but I don't think it was by a wide margin.  From a technical standpoint Bethany seemed sharper and crisper, though both Sadie & Beth were dancing ahead of the beat at times.  Sadie had more personality.

 

 

Agreed and for me that epitomized exactly what I was saying, especially about those early weeks of the competition. Yes, Sadie sold the hell out of the Cha Cha and really performed it (and I guess it did help that it was more or less a rehash of her first week) while Bethany for a moment, slightly went back to that tentative place of the early weeks and I suspect it was because she was not comfortable and confident with the dance, being that they'd never done it. As Tom pointed out, and on rewatch you can see it, Bethany and Derek were practicing on the upper stage, all the while Sadie and Mark were performing. So this was clearly done right to the last second. So I'm not surprised Bethany wasn't fully confident with it but for me that's what made what she pulled off even more impressive. 

[Uke]

What they usually do for these type challenges, marathons, etc. is prepare a few seconds of the dance (or in this case, the 3 dances) and then the star just keeps repeating while the pro does little things to make it look different with each repeat. On Amber's season, she admitted she and Derek had not prepared and, lucky for her, she got immunity. I wonder if Derek just assumed he'd get immunity again and hadn't prepared Bethany.  IMO tptb decided Bethany needed the bonus points more than immunity (since they already knew Michael was going to be eliminated) leaving her needing a crash course in cha cha at literally the last minute.

[kitcloudkicker]

I very much doubt they had never gone over the cha cha throughout all of last week - last minute rehearsing doesn't equal teaching it at the last second. Also, immunity came with the bonus points - Val and Janel finished with a score of 43. (It'd be pretty dumb if it didn't, with the way they have scores set up going into next week - they'd basically have been punished for being the best if they didn't get the bonus 3.)

 

They did say in a post show interview that they had "received immunity" in dress rehearsal and didn't get to run it through - which left them with one less practice opportunity than the rest of them. I can see Derek seizing that time when Mark and Sadie were out there to have that one last run through. She wouldn't have been able to do it at all if he taught her the entire dance in 30 seconds. (And if he did - well then he really is an AMAZING teacher.) 

Edited November 11, 2014 by kitcloudkicker

[truthaboutluv]

My belief about the dance-offs is that the Pros all do a short crash course in each of the styles and if one of the styles is a dance they've already done, they pretty much just rehash the choreography. So no, I don't think Derek didn't do any of the Cha Cha with Bethany and that Amber comment has always been misquoted in my opinion. Tom, in his interview with Amber before she danced, asked about them perfecting four dances and she went "well..." and started laughing. What I always took from that comment was exactly what I noted above - that Derek did a crash course in the other styles to prepare for the dance off but the focus of the week was likely on their individual dance so they didn't exactly perfect four dances. And that is exactly what I imagined he did last week with Bethany.They likely spent most of their time on their salsa which was obviously the smart thing to do, as that was their individual dance.

Edited November 11, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Uke]

My belief about the dance-offs is that the Pros all do a short crash course in each of the styles and if one of the styles is a dance they've already done, they pretty much just rehash the choreography. So no, I don't think Derek didn't do any of the Cha Cha with Bethany and that Amber comment has always been misquoted in my opinion. Tom, in his interview with Amber before she danced, asked about them perfecting four dances and she went "well..." and started laughing. What I always took from that comment was exactly what I noted above - that Derek did a crash course in the other styles to prepare for the dance off but the focus of the week was likely on their individual dance so they didn't exactly perfect four dances. And that is exactly what I imagined he did last week with Bethany.They likely spent most of their time on their salsa which was obviously the smart thing to do, as that was their individual dance.

 

I was actually referring to Amber stating in an interview that they hadn't prepared. I can't remember which interview it was but I seem to recall it was not in the pressline after the show. It was an interview a day or so later.  Of course I have no idea if Bethany was prepared or not and I haven't watched any interviews other than the post show pressline.

eta: I vaguely recall her knees were flaring up + the interview was about how her knees were doing.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Uke

[twizzwhizz11]

I'm normally not a Derek fan, but Bethany is probably my 2nd favorite this season (after Alfonso). Looking back at her performances, she's always done really well and given really good performances. I have a feeling she'll end up 4th (maybe 3rd), but she's been fun to watch.