Known as Superwoman on her YouTube channel IISuperwomanII, which has earned over 9 million subscribers, Indo-Canadian YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, who, after making TIME’s list of the 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, has won two coveted prizes within the web/digital category: “Choice Web Star: Female” and “Choice Web Star: Comedy” during the Teen Choice Awards 2016 held July 31 in Inglewood, CA.
Singh, who performs stand-up comedy, raps, hosts events, acts, and has appeared as a motivational speaker, was in Italy and did not attend the awards ceremony, Instagrammed the speech she says she would have given. “I’ll start by saying that I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing moment in time when people are making real changes in the world by using the Internet,” she wrote. Singh added: “I’m beyond proud to be a part of #TeamInternet and if you still have doubts about our validity, please exit 2001. We are not just numbers and views, we are creators who own businesses and are here to stay.”
The confident vlogger is garnering so much love from fans, and acknowledging that TIME noted that she is rapidly becoming “one of the biggest stars on YouTube, both on and off-screen,” adding that as her “alter ego Superwoman, she is equal parts funny and motivational.”
Most people believe her sincerity and raw honesty shines through her videos and probably that’s what draws fans to her. She has amassed more than 8 million global subscribers and over 1.1 billion total views.
Earlier this year, Singh, who goes by the moniker “Superwoman,” made the Forbes’ Top-10 list of Top-Earning YouTube Stars. In September 2015, the digital creator also won “Best First-Person Series,” beating out four other video stars at VH1’s “5th Annual Streamy Awards” in Los Angeles.
“When I was younger, I always wanted to be someone in the entertainment industry. In my eighth grade slideshow, when everyone was like “show us what you want to be,” everyone [said] doctor, lawyer, [but] mine literally said rapper. I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a superstar, I wanted to be on stage, I wanted to perform, I wanted to be in movies. But as you grow up, those dreams kind of fade away and you’re hit with reality and you’re like, oh, not everyone can be Lil’ Bow Wow? Fine,” says Lilly Singh.
From creating a lipstick shade to headlining a world tour, which was subsequently made into a documentary, Singh is constantly venturing into different territories. And now she is adding book author to her glittering resume. The book, “How To Be a Bawse: A Guide To Conquering Life,” will hit stores in March 2017. “Bawse” means “someone who doesn’t just survive but conquers life, really exudes confidence, gets hurt efficiently, hustles hard and just makes stuff happen,” Singh told Jimmy Fallon, during her recent appearance on his show, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Singh wants her “creative process is a bit manic at times, to be honest. I wake up Monday and Thursday stressed because I don’t have a video. I usually — with the exception of maybe a handful of videos — wake up, write the video, shoot the video, edit the video, release the video all in the same day. I literally walk around my house thinking, “OK, what happened in my day?” Because the number one thing I want my videos to be is relatable. That is a priority above the coloring, production, angle and whatever. Half of my videos are out of focus! (laughs) I know this, but I want them to watch my video and think, “This happened to me and I can relate to this.” I’ll rack my brain thinking about what happened to me [and] can I make this into a story? If I really can’t think of something, honestly, I’ll ask my fans because they’re the ones who watch it and know best.
“I want my channel to be a place people go even if they don’t care about Lilly. I don’t want them to have to know about Lilly or care about me as a person to enjoy my content. After a long day at work, I want someone to come home, turn on my video and think, “Oh my god, how girls get ready? This is hilarious, I love this, I’m forgetting about all my problems.”