Beckii Cruel

Rebecca Anne Flint (born 5 June 1995), better known by her stage name Beckii Cruel, is a British YouTuber, marketing entrepreneur, and former singer.

Early in her career, Flint became known for her cover dance videos on YouTube, of which her channel has reached reached 20 million upload views and over 100,000 subscribers.

On 22 July 2007, Flint began a YouTube channel under the name "xBextahx", from a nickname she had when she was younger.

On 15 April 2009, she posted a cover dance video of herself dancing to "Danjo", a song by Taro that was turned into an Internet meme in Japan.

Her video was uploaded to Nico Nico Douga, where it went viral, and she started receiving offers to perform in Japan.

In August 2009, she signed onto the talent agency Life Is So Cruel.

A Japanese producer suggested the stage name "Beckii Cruel" for her, through a combination of one of her nicknames and Life Is So Cruel.

After flying to Japan, she first performed as a dancer in the finale of Animelo Summer Live 2009.

Later, she performed with Taro at the Akihabara Entertainment Festival.

For her Japanese activities, Flint would travel to Japan during school holidays.

Initially, she was asked to dance, but she was later asked to sing in her performances as well.

Although Flint had experience in dancing, having taken ballet since she was 4 years old, she underwent vocal training and sought advice from David Holland, an agent who also worked with Samantha Barks.

In October 2009, a girl group called Cruel Angels was put together, recruiting 18-year-old French college student, known by her stage name Sarah Cruel, from Lyons, and a student from Portsmouth known by her stage name as Gemma Cruel.

Flint appeared in an online campaign for Lotte Fit's in November 2009.

On 4 November 2009, Flint herself released two songs on two different albums, titled "No, Upper Matsuri" (の、アッパー祭) and "No, Ballad Matsuri" (の、バラード祭) as part of the "No, Matsuri" (の、祭り) CD series which features other singers popular from the Japanese Nico Nico Douga community.

On 9 December, she released her first idol DVD, titled This is Beckii Cruel!.

It debuted at number 8 on Japan's DVD charts.

In 2010, one of Flint's cover dance videos went viral in Japan, and, at one point, she was the 17th most subscribed user in the country.

This led to a brief idol career in Japan, where Flint released her debut single, "Tsubasa o Kudasai", and had a girl group called Cruel Angels built around her image.

Flint later transitioned her video content to focus on fashion.

Cruel Angels were signed onto Tokuma Japan Communications, where they released their first single, "Tsubasa o Kudasai" (翼をください), on 10 February 2010.

By 2010, Flint became the 17th most subscribed user on YouTube in Japan.

On 6 January 2010, she made her first appearance on Japanese television on the variety show Jinrui Akiramekaketeita Yume.

Manga artist Hideo Nishimoto also included a cameo appearance of Flint in his manga series Mou, Shimasen Kara .

In March 2010, Flint made her runway modeling debut when she made a guest appearance at the 10th Tokyo Girls Collection.

On 29 April 2010, Flint released her first photo book, All About Beckii.

Flint also danced and modeled for promotional events and campaigns for the Japanese theatrical releases of Pretty Cure All Stars DX2: Light of Hope - Protect the Rainbow Jewel! and Wild Child.

On 12 August 2010, BBC Three premiered a documentary about Flint, titled Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14.

In September 2010, Flint stated that, while still signed with Life Is So Cruel, she was no longer affiliated with the Cruel Angels or with the Cruel Angels Project, citing a disagreement with her management on building a girl group based on her image.

In November 2010, Flint collaborated with Eigo-mimi to produce English conversation learning materials published by ASCII Media Works.

Two books, English Listening with Beckii Cruel: Conversations with Friends and English Listening with Beckii Cruel: Conversations at Work, were both released with accompanying DVDs on 24 December 2010.

On 24 October 2011, Flint released "You Can't Kiss Me", her first single in the United Kingdom, on digital platforms, which she also performed at MCM Expo on 29–30 October of the same year.

In 2012, she performed at Hyper Japan and Brighton Japan Festival and Matsuri.

On 28 April 2013, Flint was featured on Area 11's single "Shi No Barado."

In 2016, Flint began focusing on online marketing.

In March 2019, she co-founded Pepper Studio, an influencer marketing agency in London.

Flint was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, the daughter of a police inspector and a former dance instructor.

She also has an older brother named Ryan.

She moved with her family at the age of 2 to Ramsey on the Isle of Man, where she attended Ramsey Grammar School.

She became interested in anime and manga at the age of 11, when she first started reading Fruits Basket.