“Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. OMG shoes.” Thus proclaimed Kelly, one of YouTube’s breakthrough comedy characters, back in 2006… and the internet was forever changed. Now nearly a quarter of a century later, actor / writer / comic / filmmaker / musician Liam Kyle Sullivan is bringing Kelly to Brooklyn, and telling Thotyssey and an upcoming live audience about how this all came to be (and where Kelly’s footwear might be taking her next).
Thotyssey: Liam, hello! Thanks so much for chatting today! I was wondering what city you’re currently located in, and basically how’ve you been enjoying April so far.
Liam Kyle Sullivan: I’m in L.A., it’s going great!
I was recently watching some clips on YouTube from the past two years of you singing your immortal anthem “Shoes” live in front of ecstatic audiences who knew every word! The platform of social media fame was different circa 2006 when you originally released the hit “Shoes” video, but I kind of think that you performing it live as Kelly has been a relatively new phenomenon?
Actually, I performed the song live first back in 2005, at a few comedy shows here in L.A. So I’m really going back to my roots.
Does it feel like it’s been the nearly 20 years it’s actually been since “Shoes” blew up on YouTube, or does it feel like yesterday?
Sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes it feels like another life ago. I remember very vividly needing some transitions for the video, so I grabbed my camera and went out and shot some cool graffiti in the neighborhood, last minute. Details like that feel like yesterday.
Today when you’re not performing, you work as an editor for various TV and film projects. Did you obtain those skills while creating those early YouTube videos, or did you already have a skillset going into them?
I learned mostly by doing it. I had been editing my sketches for about a year on iMovie before realizing I needed more professional software. So I took a one-hour class at the Apple store in Final Cut Pro editing, and then just lumbered my way through my edits, going slow, making mistakes, solving problems. It was fun. I edited “Shoes” with Final Cut 7.
By the way, were you always a funny and / or creative kid growing up in Boston, by the way?
Always. I was a total goofball.
Where were you in life when you created Kelly? Were trying to make it in comedy, acting, writing, filmmaking, etc.?
I was trying to be an actor, honestly, and I did okay for about five years. But when I started creating my own work, I really felt more confidence and more enjoyment in acting. I was trying to make a name for myself. I considered myself a comedic character actor.
One of many things that we all loved about the “Shoes” video was that we didn’t quite know where it was going to go when we first clicked on it. It started as a little family comedy skit where you were playing Kelly, her twin brother and their father, and another actress was playing your mother. There was some funny and surreal dialog for a few minutes, and Kelly leaves in a huff to “get what she wants” and suddenly it becomes a music video depicting Kelly’s adventures in shoe gathering–complete with a robot, a fire hoop dancer and a dinosaur! How did that all come about… was it always meant to be Kelly and “Shoes” and a song, or did the skit come first?
The character came first, then years later, the song, and then the video. The skit was actually an afterthought, but I’m so glad I made that because I think it helps set up where our protagonist is coming from, what’s the environment she lives in, like an origin story in a way.
Who were all those people in the video: Mom, the dancers, etc.?
Mom is Pam Cook. She is a phenomenal actress; she was in a sketch group Another Showcase Showdown (I was in it, too). They were all friends, comedians, and actors that I knew and had worked with on various projects and shows at the time. We filmed all over Los Angeles, Melrose Avenue being the exterior for all the shoe shopping.
In 2008 you appeared as Kelly in Weezer’s “Pork & Beans” music video alongside other viral superstars like Chris Crocker, Tay “Chocolate Rain” Zonday, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007 Caitlin Upton and Gary Brolsma aka “The Numa Numa Guy.” That video was a big hit for MTV! It was one of the first times a group of viral video stars and meme sensations were celebrated on TV like that. That video was filmed in a way that most of you weren’t in scenes together, but did you get to meet any of those other early viral video stars then or later?
I’m still in contact with Tay and Judson Laipply (“The Evolution of Dance“)! Yes, it was so awesome to meet everyone and talk about our similar experiences.
It must’ve been frustrating at the time that everyone in the world was watching “Shoes,” but you probably weren’t being properly compensated for it in those early days–even as you continued to put funny and interesting content out there. You must look at the social media stars of today, who use this existing pay structure these platforms have, and be like “bitch, you have it easy!”
No, I know it’s not easy to crank out material consistently–it’s very difficult! And it’s great that there is a platform for performers to showcase themselves.
Have you ever seen or heard a drag queen do “Shoes” or another Kelly song in a show?
Oh, yes. There are some real bangers out there! Check out Akashah’s remix, or Raja. And I love when people dress up as Kelly for Halloween, too!
Kelly showed up during lockdown in 2020 to show us her new passion was “Masks,” and she’s made a few online appearances since. As you continue to make hit live appearances as Kelly, do you think there will be a continued on screen presence for her? If there is a Kelly movie or streaming series, I will be first in line!
I mean, I would love that! I think mainstream media, at least in 2006 – 2010 years, wasn’t ready for Kelly? Maybe it’s different now? I don’t know.
On Friday, April 25 (10pm), you’ll be at 99 Scott in Brooklyn for “Fame Kills,” a party where you’ll be performing “Shoes” and the entire accompanying album of songs you released in 2006 (also called Shoes) as Kelly alongside The Carry Nation and other amazing DJs like Goth Jafar, Miss Parker, Star Amerasu, Kalifa, Trick, Von (ft. Bloody Mary), Drumloop, Samuel Fish and Shiver. Hostess Linux will be there, too! How amazing will this be!?
Totally amazing. I love doing shows like this! Even though I need a nap beforehand, lol.
Then Saturday (4:30pm) you’ll be appearing as Liam at Brooklyn’s Union Hall to present “Wearing Kelly’s Shoes,” where you will discuss “how going viral changed [your] life!” That’s going to be juicy and insightful, and could be a really useful forum for future viral stars.
It’s a personal story of how I was auditioning around town as an actor, writing and performing comedy sketches, and then when YouTube was invented and my videos went viral, I became a new kind of famous on a brand new media platform. Understanding how it all happened and what it all meant took years to really process. I talk about how playing Kelly brought me confidence and joy, but also frustration.
Is there anything else coming up for you?
I’m going to continue doing my live solo show as much as I can… hopefully in other cities too!
Finally, besides all this… you’ve made appearances on extremely beloved TV shows as well! What was more amazing, working on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or “Gilmore Girls!?
Buffy! I got to stand right next to Sarah Michelle Gellar while waiting for my cue. I played it cool, but I was totally geeking out inside. And it was one of my first jobs in Hollywood.
Amazing! Thanks, Liam!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Liam Kyle Sullivan’s upcoming appearances, and follow him on Facebook, Blusky, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkTree and his website.
Thotyssey 