Jon Cozart

{{Infobox comedian

| image = Jon Cozart 2016 (xvKLpbXo4L4).jpg

| caption = In a 2016 Vlogbrothers video

| birth_name = Jonathan Charles Cozart

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|4|26}}

| birth_place = Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.

| education = University of Texas at Austin

| years_active = 2010–present

| genre = {{Hlist|Comedy music|parody music|satire}}

| module = {{infobox YouTube personality

| embed = yes

| channel_handle = Paint

| network = Sarah Weichel Management

| subscribers = 4.54 million

| views = 569.5 million

| silver_button = yes

| silver_year =

| gold_button = yes

| gold_year =

| associated_acts = {{Flatlist|

}}

| stats_update = November 26, 2024

}}

Jonathan Charles Cozart (born April 26, 1992), also known by his online alias Paint, is an American YouTube personality, musician, and comedian. As of November 2024, his main YouTube channel has 4.54 million subscribers.

Personal life

Cozart was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and raised in Houston, Texas, from the age of six.{{cite news|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/viral-disney-parody-texas-college-student-finds-singing-inspiration-by-tweaking-disney-princess-tales/2013/03/15/5b39449c-8d8c-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_blog.html|title = Student finds viral fandom by satirizing Disney princess tales with 'After Ever After'|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = March 15, 2013|author = Cavna, Michael|author-link = Michael Cavna|accessdate = December 11, 2017|archive-date = December 12, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171212031837/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/viral-disney-parody-texas-college-student-finds-singing-inspiration-by-tweaking-disney-princess-tales/2013/03/15/5b39449c-8d8c-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_blog.html|url-status = live}} After graduating from Cypress Creek High School in 2011,{{cite magazine|url = http://www.cyfairmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Prodigy-For-Parodies.pdf|last1 = Jensen|first1 = Clare|last2 = Buckner|first2 = Kennan|title = Prodigy for Parodies|date = August 2013|magazine = Cy-Fair Magazine|page = 40|accessdate = December 11, 2017|archive-date = December 12, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171212032002/http://www.cyfairmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Prodigy-For-Parodies.pdf|url-status = live}} he moved to Austin, Texas and studied film at University of Texas. Cozart took piano lessons as a child.

Cozart is bisexual, and came out publicly in June 2017.{{Cite web|title=Twitter|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/joncozart/status/875439588277313536|access-date=July 27, 2020|website=mobile.twitter.com|archive-date=March 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302023902/https://abs.twimg.com/responsive-web/client-web/ondemand.Dropdown.59a74ea5.js|url-status=live}}

In late January 2022, he announced on Instagram that he has been in a relationship with Sarah Sharpe since early 2021.{{Cite web|title=Jon Cozart on Instagram: "😻 happy one year anniversary to my gf of 12 months!! A few things about her: she's a great cover when u need to..."|url= https://www.instagram.com/joncozart/ |access-date=January 30, 2022}}

Career

= YouTube career =

His YouTube channel "Paint", an account gifted to him by his brother,{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-ever-after-13-questions-with-youtube-sensation-jon-cozart|title='After Ever After': 13 Questions With YouTube Sensation Jon Cozart|website=The Daily Beast|date=March 18, 2013 |access-date=October 3, 2017|archive-date=September 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923202159/http://www.thedailybeast.com/after-ever-after-13-questions-with-youtube-sensation-jon-cozart|url-status=live|last1=Klassen |first1=Anna }} was created on December 27, 2005, and has over 4.63 million subscribers as of May 2023. Cozart's career in video started in middle school as a way to avoid writing papers, offering to make videos instead, and he continued this through high school.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jon-cozart-sxsw-interview-one-man-show/|title=A cappella darling Jon Cozart is making the jump from YouTube to the stage|website=The Daily Dot|access-date=October 2, 2017|date=March 19, 2015|archive-date=November 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109081323/https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/jon-cozart-sxsw-interview-one-man-show/|url-status=live}}

On July 17, 2011, Cozart uploaded "Harry Potter in 99 Seconds", which quickly became a viral video, with 61 million views as of November 2022.

Cozart grew his audience on YouTube with his Disney parody videos, which place Disney Princesses into modern circumstances through a cappella layering of his own voice to supply the music. "After Ever After" was uploaded in 2013, and has amassed 94 million views as of November 2022. "After Ever After 2" was released in 2014 and "After Ever After 3" was released in 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/Paint |title=Paint - YouTube |website=YouTube |access-date=December 19, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220161437/https://www.youtube.com/user/Paint |url-status=live }} He then went on hiatus after November of that year, but returned in October 2020 with the video "If Trump Was In Hamilton."

= Live shows =

In 2015, Cozart performed his own one-man show, "Laughter Ever After", at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His live performance of musical comedy was well-reviewed by attendees, stating, "Jon Cozart delights with his witty, heartfelt music."{{Cite web|url=http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/jon-cozart-laughter-ever-after/707304|title=Jon Cozart – Laughter Ever After|website=BroadwayBaby|access-date=October 2, 2017|archive-date=November 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109191356/http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/jon-cozart-laughter-ever-after/707304|url-status=live}}

Cozart joined fellow YouTube musicians Dodie Clark, Tessa Violet, and Rusty Clanton in 2016 for selected shows of the small and intimate Transatlantic Tour along the east coast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.livenation.com/events/551878-may-4-2016-transatlantic-tour-featuring-dodie-clark-tessa-violet-rusty-clanton-jon-cozart|title=Transatlantic Tour featuring Dodie Clark , Tessa Violet, Rusty Clanton, Jon Cozart|website=Live Nation|access-date=October 2, 2017|archive-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908020641/https://www.livenation.com/events/551878-may-4-2016-transatlantic-tour-featuring-dodie-clark-tessa-violet-rusty-clanton-jon-cozart|url-status=live}}

= Other work =

Cozart hosted the 7th Streamy Awards on September 26, 2017. His hosting turn was described as "vicious" by Newsweek, and the show included a musical number in which Cozart compared nominee Jake Paul to then-U.S. President Donald Trump.{{cite news|last1=Gaudette|first1=Emily|title=2017 Streamys End with Vicious Song About Donald Trump, YouTube Star Jake Paul|url=http://www.newsweek.com/streamys-jake-paul-jon-cozart-donald-trump-song-672304|work=Newsweek|accessdate=January 10, 2018|date=September 27, 2017|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165128/http://www.newsweek.com/streamys-jake-paul-jon-cozart-donald-trump-song-672304|url-status=live}} Cozart described his approach as satirizing the perceived "hypocrisy of the new media industry."{{cite news|last1=Nguyen|first1=Terry|title=Streamy Awards: Diversity, Politics Are Hot Topics as YouTube Stars Walk the Red Carpet|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streamy-award-stars-celebrate-creativity-diversity-digital-content-1043528|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 27, 2017|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111164951/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streamy-award-stars-celebrate-creativity-diversity-digital-content-1043528|url-status=live}}

Cozart played the role of Donny Meadows in the 2020 web series Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye, and the role of the bard Diedrich Knickerbocker in Shipwrecked Comedy's 2022 web series Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story.{{Cite web |title=Wayward Guide |url=https://www.tincanbros.com/wayward-guide |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210302015730/https://www.tincanbros.com/wayward-guide |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |access-date=2021-03-02 |website=Tin Can Brothers |language=en-US }}

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Award

!Nominee

!Result

2016

|Streamy Awards – Collaboration

|Jon Cozart and Various Creators for "YouTube Culture: A Song"

|{{Nominated}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/6th-annual-nominees//|title=6th Annual Winners & Nominees|website=Streamy Awards|access-date=October 5, 2017|archive-date=October 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001231234/https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/6th-annual-nominees/|url-status=live}}

2017

|Streamy Awards – Collaboration

|Jon Cozart and Thomas Sanders for "RIP Vine: A Song"

|{{Nominated}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/7th-annual-nominees/|title=7th Annual Nominees|website=Streamy Awards|access-date=October 5, 2017|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111115558/https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/7th-annual-nominees/|url-status=live}}