Who is Jonah Marais?
#PHOTO Jonah Marais via Instagram just now: “u smile, I smile” pic.twitter.com/vnFKll2s3y
— Jonah Marais News (@everythingjonah) May 8, 2016
You may have asked yourself that question this weekend while scrolling through the trending topics and hashtags on Twitter. Why? Simply because “Jonah Marais” was listed as one of the most popular topics within the social media platform. If his name does not ring a bell, do not become overly concerned. Not very many people recognize his name with the exception of his growing collection of devoted fans and followers.
Who exactly is Jonah Marias? Where did he come from and why is he currently a trending topic?
To truly understand the story, you must first pay attention to the one-word setting: DigiTour.
Last year, the DigiTour consisted of seven of the biggest YouTube and Vine stars in the United States going on a cross-country tour. Jonah Marais was one of the seven featured acts.
hey jonah marais, look at these cute candids i got of you???? pic.twitter.com/KQn1TWKa8S
— kaitlyn (@pillowtalkjonah) May 22, 2016
A detailed article published by Ellen Cushing with BuzzFeed shared the background stories and further details about the lives of the seven talented internet celebrities — including Jonah. According to the article, “Marais” is not even Jonah’s real last name. However, quite a few fans were able to find the address to Jonah’s family home online when he used his legal name.
Therefore, his parents — Carrie, a midwife, and Tim, a professional musician — advised Jonah to use a stage name for his career instead.
Long before he built a growing fan base on social media or traveled across the country on a tour bus, Jonah Marias enjoyed a pretty standard childhood. He attended Waldorf schools, grew up in a suburban area of Minneapolis, went to church, played travel baseball, and enjoyed singing songs with his family.
ICYMI: Jonah Marais joins #DigiFestHOU & #DigiFestDAL ! Come see ya boy slayyy???????????????? http://t.co/IjaQPVoxeZ pic.twitter.com/NUavBjcjQd
— DigiTour (@DigiTour) August 16, 2015
Jonah Marais at The DigiTour SA stripping it down???????????? #Digitour #united26tour #stripping http://t.co/4ucQ21mBTy pic.twitter.com/rBaCj0IIvV
— Best of Vine (@bestofvineorg) July 7, 2015
Nearly one year before the DigiTour in 2015, Jonah Marais was first discovered at a similar event known as MagCon — “Meet and Greet Convention” — which was located in the Twin Cities. Chad Grier signed him to 26, and, before long, Jonah Marias was born!
“Marias” is not a completely made up name. It actually refers to a small town located on Lake Superior, a special spot that Jonah and his family enjoy visiting.
He may have been signed to a label, but Jonah did not go on his first tour until the DigiTour of 2015. According to BuzzFeed , that was also the first time he was separated from his family for more than a week.
me n jonah marais are so cute pic.twitter.com/bkkXRCr5hg
— keenan ::) (@laterkeen) May 22, 2016
During the interview, Marias opened up about the exhausting side of meet-and-greet events.
“When you do a meet and greet, every single girl wants something special from you — an extra little hug or something. And that takes something out of you, almost — like, emotionally, you know? You have to be so willing — to hug and say ‘I love you’ so much. And you have to talk to every single personal individually — which I love doing, but it’s actually, like, really emotionally tiring.”
In addition to the exhausting side of meet-and-greet events, Jonah Marias also opened up about missing the regular social routine of a grade school student.
JONAH MARAIS @JonahMarais @DigiTour #IWANTDIGIFEST pic.twitter.com/BvBYl6WqgZ
— mads (@moonlightjuarez) May 1, 2015
All of the kids that were featured on the DigiTour had left school. Most were reportedly taking online classes to prepare to take exams to obtain their GEDs.
However, the social aspect of the school experience is what Jonah admittedly missed during his tour last year. On the other hand, Jonah was still able to find a silver lining for that dark cloud by paying attention to the life-changing opportunity that allowed him to leave school in the first place.
“I definitely miss the social aspect of it, and my friends and stuff. But at the same time, the other kids don’t really get what I’m doing.”
Jonah Marias may not have the same brand and name recognition as Justin Bieber and other similar acts. However, if you pay attention to the way that his fans have responded to him on Twitter, it becomes apparently clear that he is well on his way.
i miss Jonah Marais so much omg he needs to come back to louisville @JonahMarais pic.twitter.com/8AZwMGIJHS
— ? (@morganmthomass) May 22, 2016
jonah marais is still trending what the heck omg i’m so proud
— emily ? (@warpaintreed) May 23, 2016
remember when the jonah marais and the Wesley Tucker hung me upside down???? pic.twitter.com/peNRtXeW32
— marcyna (@tuckmeup) May 22, 2016
Jonah Marais here’s a picture of your 6th grade teacher wearing your merch pic.twitter.com/MG9WXL20Yp
— brittney (@maraisftrowland) May 22, 2016
Jonah Marais’ merch is so comfy even my dog wears it pic.twitter.com/dICeZs3TDV
— tina••• (@wydmarais_) May 22, 2016
Jonah Marias may not have the Justin Bieber-lifestyle at the current moment. However, like Bieber did when he first started , it is clear that Jonah is using the internet and his growing social media following to build a successful and hopefully long-term career in the music industry.
[Image Credit: Jonah Marais Facebook]
