Come sing along

Come sing along

She’s a true-blue internet baby. Starting as a part time YouTuber, she soon went to become  an internet sensation. Shirley Setia, the young and vivacious, Indo-Kiwi singer and performer from Auckland, New Zealand, took the internet by storm when she did a cover of the Bollywood number Sanam Re. From being listed as Bollywood’s Next Big Singing Sensation by Forbes magazine, to winning the title Pyjama Popstar by The New Zealand Herald, the young artist has come a long way. She won a music contest organised by T-Series, which was conducted over YouTube and went on to mark her Bollywood singing debut with A Gentleman’s Disco Disco song.
 
The 23-year-old is coming to Pune to mesmersise the audience at the Trustfort Events’s Virsaa Fest 2018. The two-day concert will be held at Phoenix MarketCity on November 24 and 25, as a part of their 100 days of Phoenix Festival. The event is presented by Vinay Aranha in association with Vivek Bidgar. While on day one, Shirley will sing top hits like Koi Vi Nahi, Jab Koi Baat and many more covers, the second day will witness Harrdy Sandhu steal people’s heart. Here’s chatting up Shirley:
 
This is not the first time that you’ll be performing in Pune. What is your experience of performing here before and what have you planned for this performance?
I’ve always received a lot of love from Pune, and some of my biggest fans are out here. My love for the city is equal to the love that the city gives me. I’m hoping that people sing along to some melodies and get ready to shake a leg as we go through the concert. 

Tell us about your journey from a part-time YouTuber to a YouTube sensation?
It’s kind of you to consider me as a sensation, but I really feel I am far from it. The journey has been full of ups and downs, and I’m sure it will remain the same in the coming years. But I will keep pushing myself to do better and be better than what I was yesterday.

What attracted you to popular Hindi songs? Why did you first go for covers instead of releasing an original song?
There were not many people to collaborate with back home in New Zealand, and so working on originals there would have been a lot more challenging than how it has been here. I used to love putting my soul into the songs I loved, and hence I did covers. I still do renditions of songs in my live shows.

How was your experience of singing Disco Disco, your first brush with Bollywood music?
It was great! In fact I remember meeting Jacqueline Fernandez and Sidharth Malhotra mentioning that they loved the song. I am really thankful to Raj and DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D K, the musical duo) and also to Sachin-Jigar for giving me the opportunity to be a part of Disco Disco.

While creating a cover of a popular song, how do you ensure that there is some newness in the song and yet the original melody of the number is not lost?
I used to try out different arrangements while keeping the melody the same and also making it your own, and not singing it how the original song has been sung. 

How much do you credit YouTube for your success and what advice do you have for those wanting to make a career on YouTube?
I think not just YouTube but social media as a whole has been a huge reason why I moved to India. The support I received from everyone was overwhelming, and I’m grateful for that. However, when you’re on such a platform, you will also be an easy target for hateful comments, and for people wanting to make a career out of social media. Even to start off something on social media, know that you have to keep the trolls aside and focus on the positives. 

What is your take on Bollywood’s latest trend of remixes?
I think they’re a great way for my generation to relive some of the famous older tracks. 

What are your upcoming projects?
I have a new single called Naiyo Jaana, which has been written and composed by Ravi Singhal. This will be out by early December. So I am really looking forward to that.


ST READER SERVICE    
The concerts are happening on November 24 and 25 at  Liberty Square, Phoenix MarketCity, Viman Nagar, 7 pm onwards. Tickets are available on Ticketexpress, Bookmyshow, Meraevents, Eventshigh, Insider, PayTm and Townscript
 

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