ONE WITH THE YOUTUBER – SHIRLEY SETIA
ONE WITH THE YOUTUBER – SHIRLEY SETIA
1-TELL US ABOUT HOW JOURNEY OF BECOMING A SINGER BEGAN?
“When I initially started, I never thought I wanted to be a singer. I used to dance all through my childhood and school. It kind of just happened. There was this one time I thought I should look into music. That is when I met Shreya Ghosal. Because I used to live in New Zealand, she suggested that the best thing for me is to probably upload on youtube so I can reach out to more people. The first video that I uploaded on youtube- ‘tum hi ho’, kind of went viral. It motivated me to do more of these videos. Overtime, the quality of my videos improved and I guess that is how I started.”
2-WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT SO FAR?
“I feel like a lot of little things have made a difference throughout this journey. Something that I am really happy about is my collaboration with Atif Aslam and DJ Chetas . When I started off, before that I attended an Atif Aslam concert and his stage presence made me go like- ” Oh my god, I really want to do that”. That kind of became my drive. The fact that I ended up working with him was really cool. Also, a couple of years back DJ Chetas had tweeted about one of my covers on youtube and I was literally fan-girling over that tweet! Also, working with Sachin- Jigar has been really fun. All of these have been great opportunities and little steps in the journey for me.”
3-AT 22, MOST WILL SAY YOUR JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE TO BE LIKE?
“I have no idea! I am just going with the flow. I want to do a lot of different things in life. I want to see and experiment what else I can do. I also want to see how I can improve me and my personality altogether. The slate is still blank and I am filling in the pieces slowly.”
4-TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT HOW YOUTUBE HAS HELPED YOU SHAPE YOUR CAREER?
“I started off doing covers because I didn’t have the resources in New Zealand to work on originals. When I moved to India, I realised I want to make my own stories. Making videos that have some story to it and are kind of relatable. I have started working on becoming a part of different stories. Maybe if I would’ve done the same in New Zealand without the resources, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It has been a slow and steady journey! I used to edit and shoot my own videos. So I have learnt a lot slowly. Just having curiosity and wanting to chase your dreams is what keeps you going.”
5-WHILE MOST PEOPLE JUST SEE THE ENORMOUS SUCCESS FOR A 22 YEAR OLD. WHAT ARE SOME STRUGGLES. CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO OVERCOME?
“Moving to India was really big for me. My parents are still in New Zealand. So moving away from friends and family to a place where you don’t know anyone is quite difficult. That’s been one of the biggest challenges for me. I miss home a lot sometimes! Some other ones are probably like coming across hate comments. Wondering what I have done to people who are so rude and hateful towards me! But I guess, you need to remember that you didn’t really start because of them so why stop because of them.”
6-YOU RELOCATED TO BOMBAY TO PURSUE YOUR DREAMS. HOW HAS THAT BEEN FOR YOU?
“Very interesting! I am currently setting up my house. I am buying little things to make it feel like home! Because going to New Zealand is of course very expensive and time consuming! I feel really blessed to have met some amazing people in Bombay so far. I am working with an amazing team, people who really care. These people make my journey their own journey. So I feel really lucky in that way. Team work makes dream work!”
7-WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING IN YOUR LEISURE TIME?
“Sleeping! I love sleeping. I have a little swing in my home, I love spending time there. I used to love driving in New Zealand, but I don’t think driving around will be possible in Mumbai traffic! Watching movies and hanging out with friends is also something that I like to do in my leisure time.”
8-IF NOT A SINGER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
“I don’t know! There are so many things I don’t mind doing. I love being in front of the camera. Which is why I like to be featured in my originals as well. New stories challenge me to do better. So maybe something in that line. You never know! Maybe I might become some more things in life. I guess I still have time!”
9-IN A DREAM LIFE , WHO WOULD WRITE YOUR DREAM SONG AND WHO WOULD COMPOSE IT?
“Ed Sheeran for both! And he would hopefully sing with me too.”
10-DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS !
“Confused, picky and friendly.”