11 celebrities who used social media to launch their careers

• Before there was social media, lots of actors and artists moved to Hollywood to get their big break.
• Today, social media has completely changed the game and has allowed "regular" people to gain fame essentially from the comfort of their bedroom.
• From Halsey to Justin Bieber to Kate Upton, each has used social media in their favor to get to where they are today.

Social media has the ability to change our lives. It allows us to easily connect with friends and family as well as share our lives on a global scale. And for some, it has opened the door for fame.

With YouTube stars like Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes getting their big breaks online, more and more celebrities are using social media as a platform to share their talent and get discovered. Here's a list of 10 stars who got their start on social media.

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Halsey's life changed dramatically in just one night after she posted her song "Ghost" to SoundCloud.

After making a music industry connection at a Holiday Inn party, Halsey was able to get access to a studio to record her first song — "Ghost." She posted it to her SoundCloud account once it was finished. Within an hour, she said she logged onto her Twitter account only to discover her account was blowing up. The next morning she had multiple record labels begging to sign her, according to Rolling Stone.

Since then, Halsey's music career has also blown up. She has earned her way onto the Billboard Hot 100 and the US Billboard 200 multiple times. In 2018, she reached the number-one spot with her single "Without Me."

Shawn Mendes made six-second cover videos that earned him a huge following on Vine.

Shawn Mendes started making six-second videos on Vine of cover songs. Although six seconds is not a long time to show off your chops, Mendes figured out how to make it work for him, and his number of followers soon skyrocketed.

By the time he had 300,000 followers, multiple record labels were reaching out to the then 15-year-old including Island Records, Atlantic Records, Sony Records, and Warner Bros, according to Billboard. Mendes has gone on to release three studio albums and is set to perform at the Grammy Awards this year.

Justin Bieber is possibly YouTube's greatest success story.

Perhaps one of YouTube's most well-known success stories is that of Justin Bieber. Since 2007, he began uploading videos of himself covering artists such as Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown. Thanks to a celebrity-boost from Usher, thanks to manager Scooter Braun, he was signed to Island Def Jam Music Group.

Bieber currently holds the top spot for most subscribers for musicians on YouTube. Beyond his YouTube success, he has sold an estimated 140 million albums worldwide.