Larri Merritt[4] (born July 22, 1998[5]), professionally known as Larray, is an American YouTuber and social media influencer. He produces comedic video content on his YouTube channel, and was part of the collaborative TikTok collective known as The Hype House. After initially gaining prominence on Vine, he started uploading videos onto YouTube after the former became defunct.[6]

Larri Merritt
Merritt in 2022
Personal information
Born
Larri Merritt

(1998-07-22) July 22, 1998 (age 26)
Compton, California, U.S.
EducationAlta Loma High School[1]
Occupations
Websitegirliesxo.shop
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2015–present
Subscribers9.31 million[2]
Total views1.2 billion[2]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2017[3]
1,000,000 subscribers2018[3]

Last updated: March 28, 2024

Career

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Before becoming a member of The Hype House in January 2020 to late 2020,[7] he had accumulated over 6 million subscribers on his personal YouTube channel,[3] in addition to approximately 12.8 million followers on his personal TikTok account.[8] He was nominated in the Breakout Creator category at the 9th Streamy Awards in December 2019.[9] His three novelty songs "First Place," "Last Place" and "Canceled" together spent 42 weeks on Billboard's Comedy Digital Tracks chart before its abolishment in January 2020, with the former gaining over 41 million views on YouTube,[10] and ranking at number 13 on the 2018 year-end chart.[11]

Merritt is openly gay.[12] In August 2022, he launched a virtual restaurant that sells mac and cheese.[13] In May 2023, Merritt released Cancelled Remix with Twaimz. On this he took shots at Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed, Adin Ross, Dream, and others. This garnered 12 million views on YouTube.

COVID-19 pandemic controversy

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On July 21, 2020, Nikita Dragun held a surprise birthday party for Merritt during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] The party included social media personalities such as James Charles, Charli D'Amelio, Dixie D'Amelio, and others.[15] At the time of the party, California's COVID-19 cases had just surpassed New York's cases.[16] There was an estimated 67 people in attendance,[17] many of whom were seen without face masks[15] despite local health recommendations.[18] Photos and videos of the event appeared on social media sites such as Instagram. These posts drew criticism from the public, including other influencers like Elijah Daniel and Tyler Oakley.[14][19] Merritt, and some of the other attendees, later apologized.[17] Residents of the Hype House later tested negative for COVID-19.[20]

Discography

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Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album
US
[21]
CAN
[22]
"Cancelled" 2020 81 96 Non-album single
"Cancelled (Remix)"
(featuring Twaimz)
2023
"—" denotes a song that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Comedy

[24]
"First Place" 2018 4 non-album singles
"Last Place"[25]
(featuring Twaimz)
8

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref(s)
2019 Streamy Awards Breakout Creator Nominated [9]
2020 Creator of the Year Nominated [26]
First Person Nominated
Lifestyle Won

References

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  1. ^ "Alta Loma High School Class of 2016". altalomahighschool.org. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "About LARRAY". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c "LARRAY: Monthly YouTube Statistics on Socialblade". Socialblade. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Weiss, Geoff (September 22, 2022). "Patreon's deals with top TikTokers fell far short of expectations, leaked documents show. Here's what it means for the company's creator strategy coming off its layoffs". Business Insider. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Babers, Christopher (November 25, 2019). "Larray Answers the Internet's Most Searched Questions". YouTube. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Raphael, Shannon (April 15, 2020). "Larray Might Be Hype House's Most Underrated Member". Distractify. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Perrett, Connor (February 2, 2020). "TikTok's Hype House is home to some of the app's biggest stars, including Charli D'Amelio. Who are the other 20 members?". Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "LARRAY: Monthly TikTok Statistics on Socialblade". Socialblade. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Willis, Jackie (December 14, 2019). "2019 YouTube Streamy Awards: The Complete Winners List". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "THE RACE (REMIX) - FIRST PLACE / LARRAY (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". YouTube. February 11, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Comedy Digital Track Sales - Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Grein, Paul (December 12, 2021). "MrBeast & Bretman Rock Win Top Awards at 2021 YouTube Streamy Awards". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Whateley, Dan. "TikTok star Larray is launching an online mac and cheese restaurant as the influencer ghost kitchen trend heats up". Business Insider. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Williams, Janice (July 28, 2020). "Influencers Face Backlash After Attending Party for TikTok Star Larray As Coronavirus Surges. Newsweek". Newsweek. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Lustig, Hanna. "Dozens of top influencers gathered for a massive Hype House birthday party despite record COVID-19 numbers in California". Insider. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  16. ^ McGreevy, Patrick (July 22, 2020). "California to obtain more mask &/or gear as it becomes state with most COVID-19 cases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Tenbarge, Kat (July 27, 2020). "Party-goers were subjected to strong online backlash, but that hasn't stopped them from continuing to go out". Insider. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  18. ^ Lloyd, Jonathan (June 19, 2020). "If You Have Questions About California's Face Mask Rules, This List Has Them Covered". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  19. ^ Henry, Ben (July 23, 2020). "Tyler Oakley Called Out James Charles, Charli D'Amelio And More For Attending An "Insane Surprise Party" During Lockdown". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  20. ^ Roantree, Megab (August 4, 2020). "Nikita Dragun Got The Hype House Tested For Coronavirus". Kiss. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  21. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 (2020-10-31)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100 (2020-10-31)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  23. ^ "American certifications – Larray". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  24. ^ Peaks on the Comedy Digital Songs Sales Chart:
  25. ^ "Last Place - Single by Larray". Apple Music. December 9, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "10th Annual Streamy Nominees & Winners".