Lilly Singh still can’t believe her face is on a billboard

YouTube vlogger Lilly Singh still hasn’t processed her newfound fame, let alone that her picture is plastered on billboards and buses all over the city.“It’s such an overwhelming feeling, it’s kind of hard to take in,” the 27-year-old says. “I feel like maybe two weeks from now I’ll just be sitting somewhere random and it’ll hit me.”

Singh’s YouTube channel, where she uses the alias IISuperwomanII, has almost seven million subscribers. She just finished a 30-city world tour of her live show, “A Trip to Unicorn Island,” and she still has two more shows this year. But she still manages to post a video every Monday and Thursday that aims to make her audience laugh, while still covering the serious topics.

Taking on tough subjects
Negative comments about her Indian heritage in the past make seeing herself on a billboard that much more exciting. Even Paramjeet and Manjeet, characters that Singh plays as her parents on her channel make an appearance.

“I think the most special thing about the billboard is the fact that it’s so fearlessly multicultural,” Singh says. “And I really appreciate that, I appreciate that my parent characters look very Indian. I think it’s a really good symbol for progression and forward thinking.”

Singh has been known to talk about subjects like racism and depression in her videos in a positive way. “I think when you can laugh at something and have fun watching it a message is easier to get across,” says Singh. “I tend not to make my content ‘Hey, I’m going to talk about racism or depression, now let me tell you why it’s wrong.’ I don’t think that’s as effective as intertwining messages with comedy.”

Real life, online
To come up with ideas for her videos, Singh draws experience from what’s going on in her life.“A lot of my content is genuinely things that happen throughout my day,” she says. “I take it and exaggerate it in a way that’s funny. My main goal is to make something that people can relate to. If it happened in my day, chances are it happened in someone else’s day.”

The relatable element also applies to the other huge project she has in the works – the documentary that covers her tour, “A Trip to Unicorn Island.”

“It’s not just the story of the tour, it’s the story of me being thrown in a completely uncomfortable situation of having to learn something I have no idea about,” Singh says. “It’s this really interesting story of millenials taking charge and learning new things.”

The documentary will be released sometime next year. “It’s coming out when I say it’s perfect,” jokes Singh. “But when it comes out it is going to be the biggest, baddest, most awesome thing.”

Lilly Singh’s tips for getting started on YouTube

1. Be ready to work hard

“Don’t think it’s easy, know it’s very hard. Everything I do is for my job, but I love it at the same time.”

2. Ignore the trolls

“You definitely need a thick skin. People are behind a screen and will say whatever they want to say to you.”

3. Just do it

“Starting is the hardest thing, just start. The longer you wait, the more video is competing against your content.”