Shirley Setia

Last updated

Shirley Setia
Shirley Setia snapped at Miss Diva 2020 Mumbai Preliminary Event.jpg
Setia in 2020
Born
Daman, India
NationalityNew Zealand
Occupations
  • Singer
  • YouTuber
  • actress
Musical career
Origin Auckland, New Zealand
Genres Pop
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • ukulele
Years active2012–present
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Subscribers3.8 million
Views403 million
Last updated: 5 September 2025 [1]

Shirley Setia is a New Zealand singer and actress known for her work in the Indian film and music industries. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Born in Daman, India, in the former union territory of Daman and Diu, [5] she immigrated with her family to Auckland and gained attention as a YouTube musician by uploading covers of Hindi film songs while studying at the University of Auckland. [6] Setia was subsequently featured in Forbes magazine, which referred to her as "Bollywood's Next Big Singing Sensation".

Setia made her acting debut with the 2020 Hindi film Maska , which was released on Netflix. She made her big-screen debut with Nikamma in 2022 and also starred in the Telugu film Krishna Vrinda Vihari , which was released on 23 September 2022.

Early life

Setia was born in Daman, India and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. [7] A graduate student from the University of Auckland and marketing and publicity intern at Auckland Council, Setia took part in a contest conducted by T-Series. [8] Her YouTube entry was recorded in her bedroom while she was wearing pyjamas, [8] which earned her the nickname "Pyjama popstar" by the New Zealand Herald . [3] Setia was eventually declared the winner. [8] [9]

Career

Singing career

After working in a weekly radio show and taking part in local competitions in Auckland, Setia performed in her first concerts in Mumbai and Hyderabad in India in 2016. [10] Forbes magazine's Rob Cain wrote a feature on her and her future goals, in which he stated that "Bollywood's Next Big Singing Sensation Just Might Be This Tiny Kiwi". [10] She was also acknowledged as India's YouTube sensation by the Hindustan Times [11] and as one of New Zealand's biggest international artists by TVNZ. [12]

As of September 2023, she has 3.86 million subscribers on YouTube with 381 million views. [13] She was invited by YouTube as a 'YouTube Creator' to perform live in YouTube FanFest held in Mumbai in 2016 and 2017. [14]

Acting career

Setia made her acting debut with the 2020 film Maska which was released on Netflix. Her next film was Nikamma released in June 2022, a remake of the 2017 Telugu film Middle Class Abbayi . [15] [16] [17] She made her Telugu film debut with Krishna Vrinda Vihari which released in September 2022. [18]

Discography

YearFilm/AlbumSongMusic directorCo-singer
2014Non-album single"Thode Se Hum"Shirley Setia and Abhas JoshiAbhas Joshi
20154 Steps Forward"Naye Love Ki Subah"ParichayParichay and Gunsmith
2016Non-album single"Koi Shor"Ravi SinghalRavi Singhal
Passengers "Aadat"Sukumar Dutta Raftaar and Jubin Nautiyal
2017 A Gentleman "Disco Disco" Sachin–Jigar Benny Dayal
Best of Luck Laalu"Luv u Luv u" Kirtidan Gadhvi
T-Series Mixtape "Tu Jo Mila-Raabta" Abhijit Vaghani Jubin Nautiyal
Non-album single"Tu Mil Gaya"Haroon-Gavin
2018"Jab Koi Baat" (Recreated)DJ Chetas Atif Aslam
"Koi Vi Nahi" Rajat Nagpal Gurnazar Chattha
5 Weddings "Na Chah Ke Bhi" Vishal Mishra
Non-album single"Naiyo Jaana"Ravi Singhal
2019 Aladdin "A Whole New World" Kurt Hugo Schneider
T-Series Electrofolk "Bhumro"Aditya DevAditya Dev and Parry G
Non-album single"Biba" Marshmello and Pritam Pardeep Singh Sran and Dev Negi
T-Series Mixtape Season-2"Ik Vaari Aa/Naadan Parindey/Tum Ho Toh" Abhijit Vaghani Abhijit Vaghani and Jubin Nautiyal
2020Maska"I Wanna Hang With You"Mikey McClealyIP Singh
Non-album single"Dil Ko Tumse Pyaar Hua" (Recreated) Abhijit Vaghani
"Naa Tum Jaano Na Hum" (Recreated)
" Chura Liya Hain Tumne Jo Dil Ko" (Recreated)
2021"Tere Naal Rehniya"Gaurav Dev and Kartik DevGurnazar Chattha
2022 Nikamma "Tere Bin Kya (Reprise)"Gourov Dasgupta Mame Khan
2023 Chhatriwali "Main Teri Hi Rahoon" Akhil Sachdeva Akhil Sachdeva

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleLanguageNotesRef.
2020 Maska Persis MistryHindi [19]
2022 Nikamma Natasha "Nikki" Singh [20]
Krishna Vrinda Vihari Vrinda MishraTeluguNominated–SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Telugu [21]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2018LockdownHerselfCameo appearance [22] [23] [24]
2025Sena - The Guardians of the NationBhavya (Kartik's friend)Cameo appearance [25]

References

  1. ↑ "Shirley Setia - YouTube" . Retrieved 8 September 2024– via YouTube.
  2. ↑ Edens, John (31 March 2016). "The Bollywood Kiwi songstress and YouTube star taking India by storm". Stuff. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 Theunissen, Matthew (4 May 2014). "Pyjama pop song a big hit". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Saklani, Vaibhav (28 March 2014). "SHIRLEY SETIA: A MELODIOUS VOICE, AND THE FACE OF A RISING STAR". Indian Weekender. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "Shirley Setia: My real journey has just started". INDIA New England News. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  6. ↑ Ghosh, Shrabona (13 January 2023). "Shirley Setia: The Melody Maker". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Personal Agenda with Shirley Setia: "To be a success on social media, you need to be yourself, be consistent and be real"". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Joseph, Raveena (5 January 2018). "Meet Youtube sensation Shirley Setia". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "Shirley Setia turns nostalgic as her debut film 'Maska' clocks 2 years". The Times of India. 27 March 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  10. 1 2 Cain, Rob (19 March 2016). "Bollywood's Next Big Singing Sensation Just Might Be This Tiny Kiwi". Forbes. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "This girl from NZ is the new YouTube sensation for her Bollywood covers". Hindustan Times. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Shirley Setia: From singing alone in a grass field to performing for thousands of fans in India". TVNZ. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Shirley Setia" . Retrieved 17 January 2021– via YouTube.
  14. ↑ Cranenburgh, Craig (23 March 2017). "FanFestLIFE BB Ki Vines, VidyaVox, Technical Guruji among those recognised at YouTube FanFest". Mybigplunge.com.
  15. ↑ "All you need to know about 'Nikamma' debutant Shirley Setia". The Times of India. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. ↑ PTI (21 March 2020). "I'm starting from scratch: YouTube sensation Shirley Setia on acting debut". Business Standard India. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "REVEALED: Abhimanyu Dassani's character in Nikamma has an Ajay Devgn connection". Bollywood Hungama. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  18. ↑ ANI (7 March 2022). "Naga Shaurya, Shirley Setia's 'Krishna Vrinda Vihari' to release on April 22". ThePrint. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. ↑ Chatterjee, Saibal (27 March 2020). "Maska Movie Review: Manisha Koirala Is Endearing But The Netflix Film Lacks The Glow Of A Well-Baked Loaf Of Bread". NDTV.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  20. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (22 July 2019). "Abhimanyu Dassani to star opposite Youtube sensation Shirley Setia in Sabbir Khan's action film Nikamma | Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama . Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  21. ↑ "Naga Shaurya-Shirley Setia film goes on floors". Cinema Express . 9 December 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Zee Media Bureau (17 August 2018). "ZEE5 launches Lockdown with Badshah, Kailash Kher, Raftaar, Jonita Gandhi and many more". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  23. ↑ Sana Farzeen (28 August 2018). "Badshah on turning producer with web show Lockdown: It's a stressful job". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  24. ↑ R.M. VIJAYAKAR (24 August 2018). "ZEE5's Maiden Offering in the Music Space, 'Lockdown,' Premieres: Watch Trailer". Indiawest.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  25. ↑ "Trailer of Amazon MX Player's Sena—The Guardians of the Nation unveiled; series to premiere on this date". Cinema Express. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
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