Quick Take
- Narration: JJ/KSI performs the book as himself rather than as a narrator, which is either the perfect casting or a significant limitation depending on your expectations.
- Themes: YouTube fame and its origins, group loyalty and creative collaboration, the mechanics of building an internet audience
- Mood: Chaotic, self-aware, and genuinely funny for fans
- Verdict: Exactly what it says on the tin for existing Sidemen fans; a difficult sell for anyone approaching it as a conventional audiobook.
My fifteen-year-old nephew kept referencing the Sidemen the way I used to reference Saturday Night Live when I was his age: constantly, and with the assumption that everyone within earshot already knew what he was talking about. He eventually wore me down and I listened to this recording one afternoon while doing something I have mercifully forgotten. I emerged knowing considerably more about FIFA game modes and Vegas trips than I did going in, and also genuinely entertained. It was not what I expected.
The Sidemen audiobook arrived in 2016 at a moment when YouTube group culture was beginning to feel like its own distinct entertainment genre, and the recording captures something real about what that moment felt like from the inside. The group had billions of views and millions of followers, and this was their attempt to give that audience something the videos could not.
Our Take on Sidemen: The Audiobook
This is a fan artifact first and a conventional audiobook second. The narration is handled by JJ, also known as KSI, which means the voice delivering the material is itself part of the content. It is not a professional narrator performing someone else’s prose but one of the seven subjects reading about himself and his friends. That distinction matters enormously when assessing what kind of listening experience this is. It is chaotic, enthusiastic, and in several places genuinely funny in ways that depend on shared context with the Sidemen’s YouTube output.
Reviewers who loved it emphasize what the format delivers: origin stories about how each of the seven got started, behind-the-scenes accounts of how the group formed, candid moments the videos do not show, and a disarmingly honest tour of the group’s internal dynamics including their living habits and fashion choices. One reviewer described finishing it within a matter of days despite not being sure they would get through it, which is about as positive a signal as casual reader endorsements get.
Why Listen to Sidemen: The Audiobook
If you follow the Sidemen’s YouTube channel, the question barely needs answering. This delivers context for the videos that no amount of watching can give you, specifically the account of how seven young men who started with nothing more than computer consoles, PCs and bad haircuts built one of the most-watched channels in the platform’s history. The origin story angle is genuinely interesting regardless of how deep your fandom runs, because the logistics of building that kind of collaborative creative enterprise from scratch are not often documented from the inside.
The exclusive behind-the-scenes commentary and extra material available only in this audio edition is a meaningful selling point for existing fans. The group’s chemistry, which drives the appeal of their videos, translates to audio in ways that might surprise listeners who are accustomed to more polished productions. Their guide to building a YouTube presence, including their rules for what makes content land, is more specific and grounded than most creator advice you will find elsewhere.
What to Watch For in Sidemen: The Audiobook
This is not a book for listeners who are not already invested in the Sidemen’s world. The humor depends heavily on shared reference points, and the production values are not equivalent to a traditional publishing house audiobook. At just over five hours it is relatively brief, but the material assumes audience familiarity in ways that make it less accessible to complete outsiders than a traditional celebrity memoir would be.
One reviewer noted that it really taught me something while also acknowledging the book is not very educational. That honest ambivalence captures the experience accurately. The Sidemen are not presenting this as a serious cultural document. They are giving their audience an extended, messier version of what they do on screen.
Who Should Listen to Sidemen: The Audiobook
Sidemen fans, YouTube culture enthusiasts, and anyone interested in first-person accounts of building an internet media presence from nothing. Not recommended for listeners who expect conventional memoir structure, editorial polish, or any significant distance between subject and narrator. If you have watched at least a few of their videos and found yourself curious about how it all started, this delivers exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to know who the Sidemen are before listening to this audiobook?
You do not strictly need prior knowledge, but the humor and references are deeply embedded in the group’s YouTube output. Listeners who have watched even a handful of their videos will get considerably more from the audiobook than those coming to it completely cold.
What does the audiobook cover that the YouTube channel does not?
The audiobook includes behind-the-scenes commentary not available in the videos, origin stories about how the group formed, personal admissions about their living habits and early struggles, and a guide to the YouTube mechanics that underpinned their growth. It goes further behind the curtain than the polished content on their channel.
Is this appropriate for younger listeners who follow the Sidemen?
The Sidemen’s content generally skews toward teenage and young adult audiences, and the audiobook reflects that register. It is not adult content, but it is not a children’s production either. Parental judgment for younger fans is appropriate.
How does having JJ/KSI as narrator change the listening experience compared to a professional narrator?
It makes the audiobook feel like an extended in-character performance rather than a polished production. The energy is high and the authenticity is genuine, but production quality and narrative distance are both lower than a conventionally narrated book. For fans, that is likely a feature. For general listeners, it may feel rough.
