Scintillating Shirley
SOCIETY|March 2017

Society speaks to YouTube sensation, Songstress and performer Shirley Setia in an exclusive chat.

Payal Mehta
Scintillating Shirley

She is the girl with a melodious voice and eyes glittering with big dreams; not to mention a smile that one just cannot stop admiring. Twenty one-year-old Indo-Kiwi singer, Shirley Setia, first made people go crazy when she posted a video of her singing on YouTube in her late teens. A casual participation in a singing contest on the video-sharing website instantly made her famous and catapulted her career into singing. Brought up in New Zealand, the effervescent entertainer, who was interning in marketing and publicity at the Auckland Council and part-timing as a radio jockey along with her studies and music videos (whoa!), has now shifted base to the city of dreams, Mumbai, to pursue her singing career fulltime. We grab the opportunity to know more about this rising star…

How did the musical bug bite you? Did you always dream of becoming a singer? 

I’m just a normal girl, trying to follow her dreams. Rather ‘The tiny one with not so tiny dreams.’ I started off with music in 2013, when my cover of Tum Hi Ho randomly became viral on YouTube. I had never expected that to happen, and it was only after that I realised that I should try to put more content out there. I would work on videos during the weekends and at night, after high school and university. I just graduated in BCom last year from the University of Auckland.

Tell us about the T-series competition on YouTube that earned you the title of Pyjama Popstar in your home country. How did it all happen? 

Ah, so my video for Tum Hi Ho was picked up as one of the winning entries by a contest that was held by T-series. I was in my pyjamas in the video; shot the video from my laptop’s in built webcam, hence the title Pyjama Popstar.

This story is from the March 2017 edition of SOCIETY.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2017 edition of SOCIETY.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SOCIETYView All
Ending Is The New Beginning
SOCIETY

Ending Is The New Beginning

Pakistani author Sara Naveed writes on what’s considered a minority genre in her home turf. She discusses her love for writing romances…

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2017
Writing On A Wet Wall
SOCIETY

Writing On A Wet Wall

Sudha Murty Speaks about her avatar as a bestselling children's writer

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2017
Three Friends, One Love!
SOCIETY

Three Friends, One Love!

Find out how love for fashion brought three close friends to start the pret label, LoveGen…

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Summer Diet For Kids
SOCIETY

Summer Diet For Kids

WITH the arrival of the summer months and rising temperature each passing day, it really becomes a daunting task to keep a strict check on children’s health and maintain a proper check of their food intake.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2017
Real Life Heroes
SOCIETY

Real Life Heroes

Raveena Tandon Thadani and Dr Aneel Murarka unveiled the Bharat Prerna Awards magazine amidst much appreciation and applause

time-read
1 min  |
May 2017
Man Of Action
SOCIETY

Man Of Action

Magna Lounge was buzzing with excitement when the irresistibly hunky actor Vidyut Jammwal, dressed in a maroon body hugging t-shirt and black pants, dropped in to unveil the April 2017 issue of Health & Nutrition, the cover of which he had graced.

time-read
1 min  |
May 2017
Ira
SOCIETY

Ira

Theatre has never failed Bollywood in providing a continuous and talented supply of actors who have contributed adequately to make every film a delight. One such actor is Ira Dubey, who was born with theatre in her blood, but is now enjoying her stint in films too.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2017
acting matters
society

acting matters

you may remember her as the wheelchair bound character opposite amitabh bachchan in the film, te3n, but there is more to the versatile padmavati rao than just that role. find out more…

time-read
5 mins  |
october 2016
the leading lady
society

the leading lady

aishwaryaa rajnikanth dhanush has been appointed as the un women’s advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment in india. society catches up with the glamorous lady on the high profile opportunity and her other creative undertakings

time-read
7 mins  |
october 2016
mother t our lord's bride in white sari!
society

mother t our lord's bride in white sari!

even as mother teresa got canonised amidst much fanfare recently, here is an interview the selfless and humble nun gave society in december 1982

time-read
7 mins  |
october 2016