Keenan Cahill, Popular YouTube Lip-Syncer, Dies at 27

Keenan Cahill, a prominent YouTube producer known for his lip-sync videos with celebrities such as 50 Cent, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and others, died on December 29 after undergoing open-heart surgery on December 15. He was 27.

“Keenan is an inspiration, and let us remember all the content he created, artists he collaborated with, music he produced, and the love he had for everyone who supported him over the years,” his official Facebook account said on Friday, adding that his family has set up a GoFundMe account to help cover funeral expenses.

Cahill suffered from Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, which can result in heart problems and physical disabilities similar to dwarfism. He was diagnosed with the hereditary condition at the age of one and underwent a bone marrow transplant in 1997, as well as various additional surgeries throughout the years.

Cahill’s videos have received over 500 million views on his YouTube account, which has about 721,000 subscribers. In August 2010, he posted his debut lip-sync video to Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” which has received 58 million views. A year later, the pop diva met Cahill in person and they collaborated on a video.

Cahill’s most popular video was with 50 Cent, in which they lip-synced “Down on Me,” which had 60 million views in total. He has also worked with Jason Derulo, David Guetta, LMFAO, Lil Jon, Sean Kingston, Pauly D, and Andy Grammer. His videos were among the first, widely shared hits on YouTube, long before apps like Instagram, Vine, and TikTok made viral videos a common feature of social media. In the 2010s, he also published two EPs and four singles on iTunes.