Whether to kill time during a lagging workday or to watch a spoof of a favorite music video, many of us have logged a great deal of time on YouTube this year.

As the video site substitutes for channels like MTV and BET that largely have traded in music videos for original programming and reality shows à la "Jersey Shore" (“Don’t applaud -- they are the reason they don’t play your videos,” comedian Chelsea Handler teased the audience at this year’s Video Music Awards), the site also has become the go-to destination for A&R suits looking to launch the next big pop star du jour.

With the year coming to a close, YouTube is rolling out a special channel, Rewind, which will give folks the chance to relive the videos, people and events that defined the site this year. And at this point, it's little surprise that some of the biggest stars of YouTube were discovered right there.