One of our favorite types of web video is the "random person asks a celebrity to a dance via YouTube" — and this week, we got a sweet new edition. Tanner White, a U.S. Marine, posted a video on September 1 to formally ask openly gay country musician Steve Grand to be his date to the Marine Corps Ball, which will be held in Wilmington, NC this November. The video, which shows a visibly nervous but resolute White, racked up over 80,000 views in four days.
Tanner didn't have to wait by the (metaphorical) phone for long. Grand posted a video titled simply "Sgt. White, I accept" yesterday, just two days later. In the video, the singer thanks White for his service and lets him know he's "look[ing] forward to a really fun evening with you in November."
Tanner has been posting videos to his channel, "Your Positive Gay Marine," since June 2013. His back catalog of over 20 videos covers topics such as "HIV myths" and "HIV education in the military." His most recent video, posted on September 3, thanks those who got the word out about his message to Grand and helped him score his celeb date for this year's ball.