Lilly Singh

Lilly Singh

Singh at VidCon 2014
Personal information
Born Lilly Saini Singh
(1988-09-26) September 26, 1988[1]
Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • YouTuber
  • Actress
  • Author
  • Motivational Speaker
  • Rapper
  • Vlogger
Website www.lillysingh.com
YouTube information
Pseudonym Superwoman
Channel IISuperwomanII
Years active 2010-present
Genre
Subscribers 10.2 million
Total views 1.53 billion
Network Studio 71
Subscriber and view counts updated as of October 25th, 2016.

Lilly Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTube personality, vlogger, comedian, actress and rapper. She is better known by her YouTube username IISuperwomanII. Since beginning her channel in October 2010, her videos have received over 1.5 billion views, and her channel has accumulated over 10.0 million subscribers.[2] In 2016, she was ranked 8th on the Forbes list of the world's highest paid YouTube stars, earning a reported $3 million in 2015.[3] Singh was featured in YouTube Rewind 2014 and led YouTube Rewind 2015.[4][5] She has received an MTV Fandom Award, three Streamy Awards and two Teen Choice Awards to date in her career. In 2016 Singh came out with a red lip stick, named "Bawse" and released her first feature film, titled A Trip to Unicorn Island. In mid-2017 she will also release her first book, How to be a Bawse. Lilly reached 10 million YouTube subscribers in October 2016, making her one of the most successful female YouTube personalities of all time.

Early life

Singh was born and raised in Scarborough, Toronto. Her parents, Malwinder and Sukhwinder Singh,[6] are originally from Punjab, India and she was raised in the Sikh tradition. She has an elder sister named Tina, who also has a YouTube channel.[7] As a child, Singh has said she was a tomboy.[8] She attended Mary Shadd Public School during her elementary years and in 2006, she graduated from Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute.[9] In 2010, she graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. Singh developed a strong connection with her Punjabi heritage during visits to India.[10] She struggled with depression, and began making YouTube videos as a way of dealing with her feelings.[11] As a young adult, she lived in Markham, Ontario and in 2015, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she currently resides, to further her career.[12]

Career

YouTube

In October 2010, Singh started a YouTube channel under the pseudonym "IISuperwomanII". She has explained that the name Superwoman was prompted by an S-shaped ring from her childhood. Punjabi culture is frequently portrayed in her videos, which also contain satirical takes on everyday life and people's favorite complaints.[13] Her most popular video is How Girls Get Ready and her most popular series features her fictional parents, Paramjeet and Manjeet, both played by Singh herself, reacting to trending and controversial videos.[13][14][15] She also documents meeting celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Shay Mitchell, Selena Gomez, Alessia Cara, Debby Ryan, Arjun Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Varun Dhawan and Kareena Kapoor, The Rock, Karan Brar, Drake, Zendaya, Winnie Harlow, Sabrina Carpenter, Victoria Justice, and Colleen Ballinger among others.[16] Singh also includes an "Ask Superwoman Live" segment on her main channel on the 14th day of every month. During this 1 hour+ live segment, she has her fans ask her questions through social media platforms. In July 2016, Singh announced the YouTube channel of Dwayne Johnson, her childhood idol, and collaborated with him for a video. During the same month, she launched a talk-show series titled #GirlLove, in which Singh interviews celebrities and inspirational personalities to diminish hatred in the female population. On September 25 (the night before of her birthday) Lilly received her Diamond playbutton although she didn't hit the 10 million subscribers milestone at that time. On October 25, a month after she received the Diamond playbutton, she reached the 10 million subscribers milestone.

Vlog Channel

In December 2011, Singh created a second channel called SuperwomanVlogs, where she chronicles her daily activities and includes behind the scenes footage from her videos. She used it as a second channel to upload videos until August 2014, when she began uploading daily vlogs. Singh has been uploading daily vlogs ever since. As of November 2016 SuperwomanVlogs has 1.6 million subscribers and 180 million views.

Music

In August 2013, Singh featured alongside Jassi Sidhu in his Punjabi song Hipshaker. Singh rapped in the song Mauj Ki Malharein, which played in the Bollywood drama Gulaab Gang in August 2014.[17] In July of the same year, she released a song titled #LEH in a collaboration with her friend, author and rapper Kanwer Singh, who is known by the pseudonym "Humble The Poet".[18] She recorded and released another music video in February 2015 titled The Clean Up Anthem in collaboration with Sick Kick music.[19] In April 2015, Singh released a song about her hometown Toronto in collaboration with Humble the Poet titled #IVIVI (roman numerals for 416, Toronto's area code).[20] On August 8, 2016, Singh released a visual music piece on YouTube, titled "Voices". The piece includes five songs portraying the "voices in her head". The piece has a genre of Pop/Modern Hip Hop. The songs included are a mix showing signs of boasting, fear of loneliness, lust, goofiness, and positive propaganda promoting peace. Singh's musical talent has been commended by critics.

Acting

Prior to her 2014 debut in the film industry with a small role inspired by her YouTube persona in the Indo-Canadian production Dr. Cabbie, Singh made appearances as a background dancer in the movies Speedy Singhs and Thank You in 2011.[21] In 2016, she voiced miniature unicorns named Bubbles and Misty in the animated film Ice Age: Collision Course and played a cameo role in the movie Bad Moms.

Live performances

Lilly Singh (IISuperwomanII) performs at the Warfield in San Francisco during her world tour, "A Trip To Unicorn Island".

In March 2015, Singh began a world tour called "A Trip to Unicorn Island", adapting her YouTube content and including singing, dancing, music performances, comedy, and her parent characters.[22] Her tour covered India, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, Dubai, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. Singh’s vlog channel shows the planning of the tour, including dietary changes and rehearsing with her team. She documented the tour in her first feature movie, A Trip to Unicorn Island, which also describes how YouTube fame is affecting her life. The movie was released on February 10, 2016 on YouTube Red.[23] She describes the film as being very "raw and genuine".[24] She decided to partner with YouTube because of her and her fan’s loyalty to the platform. The documentary references her happy place and her travels around 31 cities and was one of the first movies to be featured on the YouTube Red platform. The $9.99-per-month service includes ad-free and offline YouTube content, helping her fans to tap into her more personal life.[25] She premiered her film at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles where guests from the entire YouTube community attended such as Colleen Ballinger, Alyson Stoner, Bethany Mota, Joey Graceffa and many more.[26] She also released her own app named "Unicorn Island".[27] This app was created to engage with her fans more by setting up meet and greets, with posts about her life and exclusive information for her viewers.[28] In May 2016, Lilly introduced her new lipstick in collaboration with Smashbox Cosmetics named BAWSE.[29][30] Singh appeared on the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 22, 2016, where she was challenged to play a game of Fast Family Feud.[31][32] She also made appearances on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on February 4,[33] and The Today Show on February 5, 2016. n July 22, 2016, during her second appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she announced her first book. Titled How To Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life, the guide book is set to be released on March 28, 2017.[34]

Accolades

In 2014, her channel ranked at #39 on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels.[35] The same year, she was nominated for a Shorty Award and a Streamy Award. In September 2015, People included Singh on their annual "Ones to Watch" list.[36] She received her first MTV Fandom Award and, was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards, and won her first Streamy Award later that year. In October, she ranked 8th on Forbes' list of World's Top Earning YouTube Stars of 2015.[3] She was also featured in Fast Company Magazine as the 100 Most Creative People In Business.[37] Variety magazine recognized her as one of their 10 Comics to Watch for 2016, and she was honored at the Just For Laughs Film Festival in Montreal. In July, she won two Teen Choice Awards from her three nominations.

Social Work

In 2016 Singh partnered with MEtoWe to promote the product #GirlLove Rafiki Bracelet. The purchasing of these bracelets gives funds to girls in Kenya in order to give them an education. Singh's first goal was to sell 5,000 bracelets. Once Singh passed that goal she made a new goal of 10,000 bracelets and she surpassed that goal by selling over 14,000 bracelets.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2011 Speedy Singhs Bhangra dancer (unaccredited role) Background dancer in wedding scene
2011 Thank You Bhangra dancer Background dancer in song "Viah Di Raat"
2014 Gulaab Gang Herself Playback singer and cameo in song "Mauj Ki Malharein"
2014 Dr. Cabbie Inspired by her real life character
2015 A Trip to Unicorn Island Documentary
2016 Ice Age: Collision Course Bubbles/Misty Voice Role
2016 Bad Moms Cathy Cameo

Awards

Year Award Show Category Result Ref.
2014 Shorty Awards YouTube Star Nominated [38]
Streamy Awards Best Original Soundtrack (for #LEH; shared with Humble The Poet) Nominated
2015 MTV Fandom Awards Social Superstar of the Year Won [39]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Web Star: Comedy Nominated [40]
Choice Youtuber
Streamy Awards First Person Won [41][42]
2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice Web Star: Comedy Won [43][44]
Choice Web Star: Female
Choice Youtuber Nominated [45]
Streamy Awards Feature (A Trip to Unicorn Island) Won [46][47]
Entertainer of the Year Nominated
Social Good Campaign (Girl Love Challenge) Won
2017 People's Choice Awards Favorite YouTube Star Pending [48]

References

  1. "Why Birthdays Are Stressful!".
  2. Ismail, Ferris (August 10, 2015). "Meet Superwoman Lilly Singh, biggest YouTube star of Indian origin". American Bazar. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Berg, Madeline (October 15, 2015). "The World's Highest-Paid YouTube Stars 2015". Forbes. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  4. Mangala Dilip (10 December 2014). "Watch YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014 Video Looks Back on Viral Trends, People, Music of Last Year". International Business Times. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. Casey Lewis (10 December 2015). "YouTube's 2015 Year in Rewind Video Will Make the Last 365 Days Flash Before Your Eyes". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. http://www.toronto24hours.ca/2016/02/18/lilly-singh-is-truly-superwoman
  7. "Neurotic Mom Diaries". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  8. "How three local comics found global fame". The Globe and Mail. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  9. Persaud, Devin. "My Roots- Outstanding Student of the Season" (PDF). My Roots. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. Talwar, lolzersVidushi (25 June 2012). "The chic Sikh chick". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  11. "Lilly Singh: How battling Depression Turned YouTuber Lilly Singh Into a Superstar". People.com. Time Inc. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  12. "Lilly Singh's First-Ever Apartment Puts Your Place To Shame". MTV News. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  13. 1 2 Borges, Andre (28 February 2014). "YouTube star Lilly Singh aka 'Superwoman' - The Tina Fey of Punjabis". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  14. Patel, Arti (22 November 2013). "Lilly Singh Superwoman: YouTube Comedians Take on White People and Indian Music Is Hilarious". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  15. Cormack, Lucy (30 May 2014). "Lilly Singh is YouTube's Superwoman". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  16. D'souza, Sherick (1 June 2014). "5 Popular YouTube channels you must subscribe to". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  17. "Mauj Ki Malharein (Gulaab Gang)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  18. "#LEH - Superwoman & Humble The Poet video out now". The Times of India. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  19. "Lily Singh a.k.a Superwoman's New Anthem Will Make you Want to Clean Your Room". Brown Girl Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  20. "Superwoman And Humble The Poet Show Toronto Pride In #IVIVI Music Video". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  21. Khan, Maz. "INTERVIEW: IISUPERWOMANII". MTV. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  22. "Superwoman Lilly Singh readies her first world tour". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  23. "Lilly Singh: A Trip to Unicorn Isl and teaser released - EW.com". ew.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  24. "Lilly Singh admits the hardest part of filming 'A Trip to Unicorn Island'". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  25. Lenker, Margaret. "YouTube Fans See a Different Side of Lilly Singh in YouTube Red's 'A Trip to Unicorn Island'". Variety. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  26. "A Trip to Unicorn Island Premiere". www.tclchinesetheatres.com. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  27. "Victorious, Lilly "IISuperwomanII" Singh Debut Official App 'Unicorn Island'". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  28. Bree Brouwer (18 May 2015). "Victorious, Lilly "IISuperwomanII" Singh Debut Official App 'Unicorn Island'". tubefilter.com. Tubefilter, Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  29. Rachel Brown (13 May 2016). "Smashbox Links With Lilly Singh on Lipstick Shade". WWD.com. Fairchild Publishing, LLC. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  30. http://www.smashbox.com/lillysingh/index.tmpl
  31. "See Lilly Singh crush Jimmy Fallon in "Fast Family Feud"". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  32. "Lilly Singh dominated Jimmy Fallon with good answers in Fast 'Family Feud'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  33. Nick Romano (23 January 2016). "See Lilly Singh crush Jimmy Fallon in 'Fast Family Feud' on The Tonight Show". Entertainment. Entertainment Weekly Inc. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  34. Rae Votta (27 July 2016). "Lilly Singh to debut first book 'How to Be a Bawse' in 2017". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  35. "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 50-26!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  36. "Their Stars Are Rising: Meet PEOPLE's 2015 Ones to Watch!". People.com. Time Inc. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  37. Nicole Laporte (16 May 2016). "Lilly Singh's Road Map For Building A Brand Beyond YouTube". fastcompany.com. Fast Company & Inc.
  38. "Lilly Singh was nominated for a Shorty Award". Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  39. Nizami, Ainee (16 September 2014). "Superwoman Diaries: Lilly Singh Gives Us a Sneak-Peek into #TeamSuper". iDiva. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  40. "Lilly Singh nominated for US award". Gulfnews.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  41. Hurwitz, Daniel. "And the 2015 Streamy Awards nominees are ...". USA Today. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  42. "Streamys 5th annual nominees winners". Streamys. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  43. Jessica Goodman (1 August 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016: See the full list of winners". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly Inc. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  44. "Winners of "Teen Choice 2016" Announced". Teen Choice. FOX Network. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  45. "Vote now for wave 3 teen choice nominees!". Teen Choice. FOX Network. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  46. "Nominees Announced for 6th Annual Streamy Awards". streamys.org. Streamys. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  47. "6th Annual Winners & Nominees". streamys.org. Streamys. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  48. "People's Choice Awards 2017: Full List of Nominees". peoplechoice.com. One Three Digital, LLC. Retrieved November 15, 2016.

External links

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