Earlier this year, YouTuber Lilly Singh appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” with groundbreaking news for not only herself but the entire YouTube community. NBC has confirmed Singh as the host and executive producer for her brand-new talk show. “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” will replace Carson Daly’s show after 17 years running, proving that YouTubers are officially receiving serious celebrity status in the entertainment world.
The day after her convo with Fallon, Singh — better known as ||Superwoman|| — posted a video on her main YouTube channel to give her viewers a more personal announcement, also paying tribute to the site that made it all happen.
It’s incredible how homemade videos are finally turning ordinary people like Singh into stars. In her case, Singh was born in Scarborough, Ontario to Indian immigrants and grew up in traditional Sikh fashion. It was in this little corner of Canada that she found her Superwoman ring that she still wears every day.
“I used to call myself ‘Superwoman’ because I felt like the name gave me strength,” the vlogger-turned-talk-show-host said. “Pretending there was an ‘S’ on my chest really helped me through a lot of hard times.”
All her life, she believed that she was destined to be something great, perhaps a Power Ranger or rapper that could change the world. However, her parents convinced her to attend Toronto’s York University to study psychology, pursuing a career as a counselor.
But Singh was having trouble in school, battling depression while also considering a less-than-impactful conventional career. As a student, she created a YouTube account in 2010 to cheer herself up and inspire other people. She had total creative control over her skits and projects, and creating laughter became her therapy.
Her rise to fame was slow at the start.
“I took the stairs, not the escalator,” she claimed in an interview.
Singh combined elements of both her personal life and Punjabi heritage and turned it into hilarious content. Finally, her 2013 video “How Girls Get Ready” went viral and she was discovered.
Singh is now a multimillionaire and superstar media personality. She’s ranked as one of the top 3 highest-paid YouTubers with her main channel ||Superwoman|| (14.8 million subscribers) and her vlog channel Superwoman Vlogs (2.9 million subscribers) and continues to gain followers weekly.
With her crazy success, she has now taken on the roles of both social advocate for minority groups and published author with her book, “How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life.”
A large reason why Singh started her own channel was due to the lack of representation on the internet.
“From a business point of view, when I discovered YouTube, I saw that there were no South Asian females doing it, so I thought it was a great opportunity.”
As a Canadian Indian woman, the YouTuber realizes the significance of getting an NBC show. “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” will make history as it welcomes the first Indian woman as a host on their channel. NBC also announced in its #Pride50 that Singh will also be the first bisexual late-night television host in its history.
Singh came out last February in a Twitter post that genuinely shook the internet community. YouTubers and celebrities alike have congratulated her for “embracing her superpowers,” and NBC has rewarded her with a much-earned position among their ranks.
In response to the honor, Singh has nothing but gratitude. She shared her many thank you’s across social media, blessed by the support of her family, friends, mentors and “Super Team.” Mostly, the YouTuber is taking time to shout out all the women within the entertainment space who have paved the path for her career and this new chapter in her life. With their examples, Singh is confident in her ability to create quality content.
Similar to her YouTube channel, Singh will be in charge of the entire process. She’ll operate from scratch, writing her own comedy sketches and interviewing people with a bigger budget and staff. On her channel, she discussed the excitement of hiring her own writers’ room, figuring out camera angles and choosing her set design.
And yet, she’s mostly interested in sharing the experience with her viewers and affirming how, like superheroes, ordinary people can enter the spotlight and make a difference.
We’re living in an era where any one of us can garner fame. With the rise of social media and smartphones, everyone has a chance to record themselves and become a star. But in the last few years, these YouTube stars have crossed into the world of celebrities, appearing in ads, movies and even exclusive events.
The Met Gala, for example, has seen a few YouTubers grace its pink carpet, Singh included. They’ve also received similar attention and reactions as those in celebrity status.
“A Little Late with Lilly Singh” will grace screens in September this year, but the budding star promised that her celebrity status will not take her away from her roots. Singh will continue to post on her channels, showing the world how to not only be a star but how to be a bawse at it too.
