mike_diva

Mike Dahlquist (born June 23, 1987), better known as Mike Diva, is an American video director, special effects artist, musician and YouTube personality.

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Career

Based in Southern California, Diva began experimenting with video equipment at age 13. A piano and cello player, he performed in several orchestras and was the lead singer for the band “Vyncent Flaw” alongside keyboardist “Maxx Jenga”. His YouTube channel is eclectic, a mix of parodies, skits and music videos.[1][2]

In 2011, Diva’s “Sexy Sax Man” video featuring saxophonist Sergio Flores went viral. In 2012, Diva collaborated with fellow YouTube stars Joe Penna, Tay Zonday, Corridor Digital and DeStorm Power to create the YouTube group and channel BAMMO.[1] Diva also appeared that year as Bruce Lee in episode 25, “Clint Eastwood vs. Bruce Lee”, of the web series Epic Rap Battles of History.[4] In 2014, Diva was listed on New Media RockstarsTop 100 Channels, ranked at #77.[5] In February 2016, Diva’s trap remix of the 1989 film “Special Friends: Starring You On Kazoo” went viral.[6][7]

Diva has produced official music videos for 3OH!3,[8] Kill the Noise,[7] Peter Pepper,[9] The M Machine,[10] Mindless Self Indulgence,[11]and Savant.[12] Most of his music is on SoundCloud.

2016 election videos

In June 2016, Diva’s video Japanese Donald Trump Commercialトランプ2016 gained international attention, with some 8 million views on Facebook and almost 300,000 views on YouTube in its first 24 hours. The video masquerades as a Japanese commercial that seemingly promotes the presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Slate described the work as “a dizzying, sorbet-hued phantasmagoria that gestures toward the coming end times.”[13]

Diva’s intent was to “seem obnoxiously pro-Trump” while doing the opposite, with the production quality so good that viewers would ask: “Why would a Japanese ad agency make this?” Indeed, many early online comments mistook the video for a genuine ad, despite Trump’s being (briefly) depicted as giving a Nazi salute amid swastikas and ultimately transforming into an earth-destroying robot. The video was shot over a month and a half with virtually no budget and stars the cosplayer and wig stylist known as Sushi Monster.[13][14]Diva talked about the video when interviewed with KABC-TV.[15]

On August 11, 2016, Diva released a video poking fun of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the Super Deluxechannel. The video depicted a fictionalized Clinton attempting to connect with the millennial generation by various internet memes such as Dat Boi, Damn Daniel, and Nyan Cat, as well as performing The Dab and telling her supporters to “Pokémon Go to the polls”.[16][17]The video was said to be paid for by “Hillary for America“, although that wasn’t the case.[18][19] In an interview with Creativity, Diva explained that the purpose of his video was to show that “Hillary is just kind of a dorky mom, and it’s so hilariously cringey when she tries to appeal to a younger audience,”.[20]