Shirley Setia
Verified Macro Creator — Music, Film & LifestyleSinger, actor and YouTuber; co-founder, Island Beauty
An Auckland student uploading Hindi covers from her bedroom won a T-Series contest and got a nickname she never shook off. Shirley Setia now has 7.4M on Instagram, 3.78M on YouTube and three films.
About Shirley Setia
Shirley Setia was a marketing intern at Auckland Council when she entered a singing contest run by an Indian record label. She won it. The New Zealand Herald, reporting on the student who recorded Hindi film covers at home, called her a "Pyjama popstar", and the name followed her across an ocean. She was born in Daman, in what was then the union territory of Daman and Diu, and moved with her family to Auckland, where she grew up and studied at the University of Auckland. The covers she uploaded from her bedroom found an audience in India long before she did — Forbes eventually tipped her as one of Bollywood's next big singing voices, Hindustan Times called her an Indian YouTube sensation, and TVNZ listed her among New Zealand's biggest international artists. By 2016 she was performing her first concerts in Mumbai and Hyderabad, and YouTube had invited her to its FanFest in Mumbai as a creator — in 2016 and again in 2017. The playback work followed quickly: 'Disco Disco' from A Gentleman with Benny Dayal in 2017, a T-Series Mixtape pairing with Jubin Nautiyal, then 'Jab Koi Baat' opposite Atif Aslam in 2018 — the recreation that gave her a genuine chart hit. 'Biba' with Marshmello and Pritam followed in 2019, alongside a Hindi 'A Whole New World' with Kurt Hugo Schneider for Aladdin, and 'Na Chah Ke Bhi' from 5 Weddings. The acting came later and, unusually for a YouTube musician, it stuck. She played Persis Mistry in Maska, the 2020 Netflix film that was her acting debut. Nikamma put her on a cinema screen for the first time in 2022, and Krishna Vrinda Vihari, released that September, made her a Telugu lead as Vrinda Mishra — a performance that earned her a SIIMA nomination for Best Female Debut. In 2025 she appeared in the series Sena – The Guardians of the Nation. Her own channel has quietly become a second act. @shirleysetia carries 3.78 million subscribers across 192 videos and a description that fits her whole career — 'Tiny one, with not so tiny dreams'. The uploads now run more to travel and lifestyle than to covers, and to the skincare line she co-founded, Island Beauty, which she introduces there and lists in her Instagram bio. That Instagram account has 7.4 million followers across 1,424 posts, which makes her, on paper, one of the most-followed New Zealanders on the platform — and one who did all of it in a second country's film industry. Note: no reliably sourced date of birth is available — English Wikipedia records her birth year as 1995 but carries no full date — so that field is left blank here rather than filled from unverified celebrity-biography sites. Sources: English Wikipedia (biography, discography, filmography, accessed August 2026); her verified Instagram and YouTube profiles (counts read on 15 August 2026); official label and studio channels for the linked videos. Photos: Bollywood Hungama and other Wikimedia Commons contributors, under CC BY 3.0, CC BY 4.0 and CC BY-SA 4.0 licences.
Career Journey
The pyjama popstar of Auckland
While studying at the University of Auckland and interning in marketing at Auckland Council, she uploaded Hindi film covers to YouTube and entered a contest run by T-Series — which she won. The New Zealand Herald's nickname for her, 'Pyjama popstar', stuck.
First concerts in India, and playback work
She performed her first concerts in Mumbai and Hyderabad, was invited by YouTube to perform at FanFest in Mumbai in both 2016 and 2017, and moved into playback singing with 'Disco Disco' from A Gentleman and a T-Series Mixtape pairing with Jubin Nautiyal.
Jab Koi Baat, Biba and a global collaboration
'Jab Koi Baat' with Atif Aslam gave her a chart hit, followed by 'Biba' with Marshmello and Pritam, a Hindi version of 'A Whole New World' with Kurt Hugo Schneider for Aladdin, and 'Na Chah Ke Bhi' from 5 Weddings.
Netflix, cinema, and a Telugu lead
Maska on Netflix was her acting debut as Persis Mistry. Nikamma took her to cinemas in 2022, and Krishna Vrinda Vihari made her a Telugu lead the same year, earning a SIIMA nomination for Best Female Debut. The series Sena – The Guardians of the Nation followed in 2025.
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FAQs
Who is Shirley Setia?
Shirley Setia is a New Zealand singer, actor and YouTuber of Indian origin. Born in Daman and raised in Auckland, she won a T-Series singing contest while studying at the University of Auckland, became a Hindi playback singer, and later acted in Maska, Nikamma and Krishna Vrinda Vihari.
What is Shirley Setia best known for?
Her Hindi film covers on YouTube, which built an Indian audience from Auckland, and playback songs including 'Jab Koi Baat' with Atif Aslam, 'Disco Disco' and 'Biba' with Marshmello and Pritam. On screen she is known for Netflix's Maska and her Telugu lead in Krishna Vrinda Vihari.
How can brands work with Shirley Setia?
Through her verified Instagram account @shirleysetia or her YouTube channel, where her travel, beauty and music content sits. Her bio links to linktr.ee/shirleysetia and to Island Beauty, the skincare label she co-founded. No management email is publicly listed.
Latest News
She appeared in the 2025 series Sena – The Guardians of the Nation, and has co-founded the skincare label Island Beauty, which she introduces on her own YouTube channel and lists in her Instagram bio.
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