I'm just rolling with the punches: Lilly Singh

Indian-Canian star Lilly Singh says her journey from being a YouTube sensation to becoming first woman to host a late night TV show in US has been a "complete shock" but it has also given her a bigger platform to tell auntic stories about her upbringing and culture.

Lilly mits hosting a late night show is quite a shift for her, something she is learning about along way.

"Everything in my life and career has been a complete shock to me. I'm just rolling with punches. If things I do build a community, I'll consider it a success," she says about her new gig, "A Little Late with Lilly Singh".

offer for NBC show, which airs in India exclusively on Star World, came as a surprise to star, who says she was initially "confused" as she didn't believe that network wanted her as a host.

"But I was also nervous and excited because it was unlike anything I h done before. It was really big in terms of schedule and how much time it would take from my life," she told PTI in an interview.

Lilly, who me a flying visit to India to promote show last week, says her fans in country rallied behind her like never before.

"I was blown away by how positive everyone's response was in India. I have never felt this amount of support with anything else I've done before in my career. India was overwhelmingly supportive and positive. I felt like everybody was rallying behind me."

late night TV show scene has tritionally been a boy's club but Lilly has alrey declared that she will be a disrupter.

She is taking "bisexual woman of colour" tag given to her by media in her stride by joking about being one with "melanin" when people are used to seeing Jimmys, a reference to popular show hosts -- Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

"I kw you're used to only Jimmys in your spotlight/ but I'm gonna throw some melanin in your late night," she h declared in her rap in first episode.

Lilly, who gained international fame through her online alter-ego 'Superwoman', wants show, especially her mologues, to represent different shes of her personality.

"I want my mologues to t just be a template re. I want m to be an auntic point of view, from my experiences to my upbringing and culture. I want people to actually get to kw me personally so it was important to do what I was doing on YouTube and to build that community that's talking about real, auntic stories," she says.

"Or night show hosts have been great, funny and amazing but you don't really get to kw m auntically and genuinely. That's one thing I want to approach differently."

As a host, Lilly says she never thinks in terms of but being first woman, it helps her bring a fresh perspective to table.

"I'm a woman so my stories, my jokes and my mologues are influenced by that fact. re are few women doing this hence you get a fresh perspective but it's t a part of my nda. It's more about who I'm."

It is t always easy to open up about one's sexuality but Lilly decided to go public because she believes in walking talk.

"I'm all for encouraging people to be unapologetically, auntically mselves. I'm a believer of practising what you preach. I've reservations or inhibitions about being who I am. I was a little late with realising who actually I am. If people like it, it's encouraging, if y don't, it is still okay," she says.

Her parents, she says, have always been proud of her even though y may t completely understand her job.

"But it is surreal for my family and friends and even for me," she says, ding though it has been a month alrey as a host, feeling is yet to sink in.

Her hope, for time being, is to get season two order with a bigger budget.

"I want people who can have good conversation because ultimately that's only thing I want with my guests. I don't care who y are if y are down to talk about things and get deep and tell stories y haven't told before," she says.

As far as her YouTube channel is concerned, Lilly says her time has been consumed by show for w but it is t something that will keep her away.

"I am busy with my late night show so I haven't been able to uplo on a regimented schedule. I don't think show has negatively affected my brand because my brand functions best when I'm happy and I'm in a really good spot right w. By December, I will probably uplo more videos.