Lilly Singh in a traditional Indian dress and jewelry -- is back!
It was just a few months ago when YouTube star Lilly Singh explained to her fans that she needed time off from vlogging and her channel for "mental health" reasons. It seems a mental health break is not necessarily a work break. Rather than disappearing from the public eye, she evidently kept herself busy.
Besides being named a late night talk show host taking the place of Carson Daley, the comedian wrote the lyrics for this fantastic video.
With the YouTube video, she wrote:
"I love Bollywood and I love rap music. So I decided to let my worlds collide by turning some of my favourite songs into rap songs! And while I was at it, I thought, why not make them little motivational anthems that speak to causes close to my heart? I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them! I can’t wait to perform these at #YTFF on Saturday in Mumbai!"
The response from her fans has been overwhelmingly favorable.
A NEW STUDY presents data confirms what Asian Americans have suspected for several years -- we watch YouTube and Netflix a lot more than most other people.
Growing up in the mid-20th century, the only way I could find Asian representation in the media was to go to movies in Japantown and Chinatown. With YouTube, and increasingly, Netflix, I can find relevant Asian topics and view Asian faces, and see the world through Asian and Asian American perspectives -- all in the comfort of my living room.
According to Horowitz Research's FOCUS Asian: The Media Landscape 2018 report, Asian TV content viewers have adopted streaming more quickly than the general market: Three-quarters (75%) of Asian TV content viewers stream at least some of their TV content from YouTube and Netflix, compared to 68% of total market.
"The Asian audience has long posed a challenge for traditional TV providers. There has always been a market for in-language and culturally relevant content, but the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Asian market has made scalability a hurdle" says Adriana Waterston, Horowitz's SVP of Insights and Strategy.
On the other hand, while there are more than 21 million Americans of Asian descent in the US according to the US Census, only 4% of television series regulars were Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, according to a 2017 study on Asian American characters on television dubbed “Tokens On The Small Screen." YouTube, specifically, plays a large role in Asian American TV viewers' TV lifestyles according to the Horowitz study:
82% of Asian streamers say that they use YouTube for TV content and they are more than twice as likely as total market streamers to say that their first go-to service to watch TV is YouTube (21% vs. 10% of total market);
Asian streamers report that when they are streaming TV content, they spend as much time watching YouTube (28% of their streaming time) as Netflix (29% of their streaming time);
The affinity for YouTube is driven largely by bilingual and Asian-language dominant viewers: among English dominant Asians, 15% report going to YouTube first; 29% of bilingual and Asian-language dominant viewers go to YouTube first, closely followed by Netflix, 28%.
Not only are Asian Americans avid online viewers, Asian Americans have played a substantial role in the growth of YouTube and hold some of the highest subscriber counts on the website – and YouTube has noticed.
For the first time ever, YouTube held a celebration in honor of AAPI Creators, where attendees gathered for dinner and awarded Jason Y. Lee of Jubilee Media, makers of the “Both Sides” series that went viral last year, his 1,000,000 follower plaque. We here at the CalAsian Chamber would like to congratulate these AAPI entrepreneurs for all their success and thank them for representing the Asian American Community.
The social media influencer is one of the most interesting results since the advent of YouTube.
Since YouTube’s inception in 2005, young AAPI content producers have been sharing video content and gaining followings in massive amounts. This sharing format elicited such large and dedicating followings have caught the attention of advertisers, sponsors, and more.
Despite the wild success of the movie Crazy Rich Asians with its all-Asian cast that brought Asian and Asian American content to mainstream audiences, YouTube continues to be the medium of choice for would-be Asian American media stars.
And the success of these AAPI social media personalities have developed a loyal following among young Asian Americans seeking images of themselves, or entertainers who look like them. Social media -- and YouTube, specifically -- has provided the creative outlet for personalities that historically, have had Hollywood's doors shut to them.
The study's conclusions should not be surprising. While shows like CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, ABC’s Fresh From The Boat and HBO’s Silicon Valley feature multiple Asian-American actors in starring roles -- and with Sandra Oh earlier this year becoming the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated for a best actress Emmy award for her role in BBC America’s Killing Eve -- Asian Americans remain woefully underrepresented on the small screen.
Netflix, on the other hand, has increased its content from Asia and produced one of the season's biggest hits, To All The Boys I Ever Loved, featuring an Asian American family and starring Lana Condor. A sequel is reportedly in the works.
Kim's Convenience, a sit-com about a Korean Canadian family quietly entered its third season without all the hoopla surrounding Fresh Off the Boat and has specials from comedians Hasan Minhaj, Jo Koy, Aditi Mittal, Ali Wong, Harith Iskander and Margaret Cho. A Ken Jeong comedy special directed by Crazy Rich Asian's Jon M. Chu is slated in 2019. Three years ago, Netflix produced the sries Marco Polo with an almost all-Asian cast but abandoned the prohibitively expensive product after its second season.
In October, with almost no promotion, the streaming service launched The Rise of Phoenixes, a long-running period drama produced in China with English subtitles that has all the court intrigue, battle scenes, production value and scheming characters that would satisfy Game of Thrones fans. Its strong female lead in a male-dominated society makes it more relevant in the U.S. market where the #MeTo movement launched the political careers of scores of women and the company hopes it appeals to Asian Americans' tilt towards progressive values.
Netflix co-produced Phoenixes with iQiyi, the Netflix of China, and a handful of other Chinese production companies. Because of Netflix’s involvement, the production value is extremely high. More importantly, it gives Netflix a foothold in China, Asia's biggest market, and access to more of China's products.
Last year, Netflix acquired the rights to two original series produced by iQiyi —Tientsin Mystic, an adventure show set in the 1930s, and crime drama Burning Ice, as well as a film trilogy Chosen, co-produced by iQiyi and Sony Pictures. Most of these programs feature a diverse cast from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and America, aiming to connect with the diverse communities of Asian America. In a clear message to Hollywood decision makers -- the producers, writers and studios -- the study clearly demonstrates that if the traditional American entertainment industry encompassed in "Hollywood," continues to cling to the old model of making "gut" decisions tand ignore data and continues to ignore content relevant to the Asian American community, the audience is not hesitant to find their entertainment alternative elsewhere.
CONRAD RICAMORA, one of the series regulars on television's How To Get Away With Murder, joined the online challenge launched by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton. The Filipino American actor challenged Lea Salonga and Ashley Park to join the challenge to sing their favorite numbers from the musical Hamilton.
Ricamora, a veteran of Broadway having appeared in Tony-award winning Here Lies Love and The King and I, posted:
Taking a timeout from my social media break to accept your challenge .@mattmcgorry!!! I just donated to support the 'Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition' - an amazing group of nonprofits working to better the lives of immigrants. Your donation of $10 at prizeo.com/Hamilton will give you a chance to win 2 tickets to the LA Opening of Hamilton with flight and hotel! I challenge @ashleyparklady @iammarkbautista and @msleasalonga and anyone who can afford it, to make a donation and sing their favorite song from Hamilton! Don't forget to hashtag #Ham4All ;)
The donations coming from the challenge benefit the Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition, a group of agencies providing legal assistance to immigrants.
YES, football fans, that was an Asian guy singing the "Star Spangled Banner" on Monday Night Football prior to the contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the St. Louis Cardinals. The iconic rock band Journey was without summer Deen Castronovo, but lead singer Arnel Pineda, lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain came through. By now, Pineda's remarkable rags-to-riches story from poverty to world-wide fame is familiar to Journey fans but others may not have heard of how he was discovered on a Youtube video sounding just like Steve Perry, who had left the band Journey to strike out on his own. The remaining band members sought him out in Manila, brought him back to San Francisco and started working with the amateur singer. Months later in 2007, Pineda made his debut as the band's new singer in front of 20,000 fans at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile. He's been with the band ever since. Pineda's first year with Journey can be seen in the excellent award-winning documentary, Don't Stop Believing.
It tells about the initial racist reaction of some fans to the fact that he's Asian and some of that showed up again in tweets after his Monday night performance. They complained that he doesn't sound like Steve Perry, but his bandmates, who's opinion matters, back up their lead singer. "He's a clutch hitter, this kid," guitarist Cain tellsRolling Stone. "He comes through."
Ed's Notes: The following is an open letter to Asian Americans from Singapore-born Beverly Murray, who now writes out of Miami. For more on her edgy insights, check out her website at http://www.backthatsassup.com. Photos and captions are my additions. DEAR Asian-Americans:
You already know the drill.
We live in a country where every time we turn on the TV, hardly anyone looks like us. No one in the movies has looked like us since we were kids. Onscreen, the ones who do look like us are either math nerds, asexual corporate drones, or prostitutes. We were stoked in the mid-90’s that finally, finally we were going to get a TV family that physically resembled ours. Of course, that show was abruptly cancelled, and we’ve had to wait another 21 years for a comparable Asian TV family.
Twenty. One. Fucking. Years. Welcome to our reality.
In a world that is becoming more interconnected by the day, where movie blockbusters and hit TV sitcoms export American soft power to the world, where diplomacy is carried out – not just within embassies – but vis-à-vis pop cultural icons and entertainers – Asian-Americans are invisible.
This phenomenon is especially disturbing when you look at the statistics: Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US. Our households outspend the average American family by 19% annually, and are more likely than the average American to spend more money on name brands – by a whopping 29%. We’re avid internet shoppers, spending almost double of what the average US population spends annually.
We need writers of all kinds such as Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Alex Tizon, author of Big, Little Man
In short, we’re the perfect consumers. You’d think it’d make sense for TV networks and media companies to devote more time to Asian perspectives – but no. Year after year, we faithfully flock to opening nights of movies that reflect someone else’s narrative. Not ours. Not even close.
Which brings me to my next point. Unless you’ve been hiding a rock for the past week, you’ve probably heard about the Emma Stone kerfuffle.
You know, Emma Stone? Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, freckles. She’s playing the lead role in Aloha, a Cameron Crowe movie. As a half-Asian woman. Named Allison Ng. Who lives in Hawaii. A state which, despite being 60% ethnically Asian/Pacific Islander, has somehow been personified in an all-white cast. The fact that my mom’s maiden name is “Ng” is just icing on this giant ironic shitcake.
(To recap: Emma Stone, half-Asian woman, movie “all about Hawaiian cultural heritage”, all-white cast.)
So who’s to blame for this? Our first instinct is point fingers at Hollywood, and sure, the outrage is entirely warranted. Hollywood bears the brunt of culpability, because their entrenched myopia and inability to embrace our narratives – as rich and diverse as they are – has directly resulted in our pathetic representation in the media. To be fair, Asian-American groups have raised a huge stink about Aloha. And box offices around the country are hearing it, loud and clear. Heading into its second week of release, Aloha has raked in a paltry $10 million – Crowe’s worst movie to date. On the other hand, Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks Aloha at an abysmal 18%, so there is a good chance that this movie has managed to royally suck all by itself.
But is that the full story? Is Big, Bad Hollywood solely responsible for this void? Does that really explain why we aren’t better represented in the media?
My Asian brothers and sisters – you diverse, multi-colored, heterogeneous, polyglot group of sexy bitches. I need you to listen up. Part of this shit is our fault.
We're not saying wear your race on your sleeve, but it would help a lot if major stars are more upfront about their mixed Asian heritage. Yes, I'm talking about you Keanu Reeves.
I’m talking to you, Asian parents. I see you with your flash cards, violin lessons, piano recitals, math drills, Kumon-everything. Quite frankly, it makes me want to scream. Not because I don’t believe in a rigorous education, or in setting high academic standards for kids. But because I’ve seen this dog-and-pony-show with my own eyes, way too many times. I know where it all leads. So many of you pay lip service to “encouraging creativity”, and sure, you’re proud of the odd watercolor painting here and there. And you’d probably come around if your child wanted to become a professional musician. But it’d better one of the traditionally prestigious orchestral positions (read: a cellist, and not, say a drummer in a punk band). You and I both know that within our communities, if little Kimmie wanted to study sculpture at a small, Midwestern, liberal arts college – 3/4 of you would freak the fuck out. We may not talk about this in public, but behind closed doors, away from “the other” Americans, many of us have acknowledged that this is an old, old record that we’ve heard in various iterations.
Justin Lin boldly went where few have gone. He is one of the few Asian Americans to break into the directorial ranks of Hollywood. He's currently helming the next movie installment of the Star Trek franchise.
I’m looking at you too, Asian kids. I’m stoked that you’re flocking to pre-med, engineering, and computer science programs. If this is truly what excites you – go for the gold. (And expect a call from me later – I hate dealing with the Apple Genius Bar). But for the rest of you who are secret artists, actors, writers, creatives. The weird ones. The black sheep of your families. The freaks who have always marched to the beat of their own drum. We need you. We need you now, more than ever. We need your names in lights, your stories on bookshelves, your art on display for all to see. Believe me, I know what kind of pressure you’re under. Most of us are from immigrant families. Some of us have known crushing poverty in our home countries. And if we haven’t, there is always that Asian perspective which holds that the needs of the group collective outweigh the desires of any one individual. We buy into the notion that the only acceptable route to the American Dream is via one of five career options. It’s a lie. And if you don’t reach back to yank out that apparatus that connects you to the Asian-American Matrix, you’ll live in crushing spiritual imprisonment, even as you peer out from your gilded cage.
Do it. Share your art. Do your thang, even if your parents tell you that entertainers have no future in States, that the safer option is to become a CPA. Do it even if you think you’ll fail spectacularly, because you don’t have the right look, the right build, the right whatfuckingever for audiences. Do it especially if it makes your soul sing, because you do the world no favors by hiding your light. It took me decades to realize this. And none too soon, because as we speak, even the publishing world is studiously whitewashing minority narratives.
Ruthie Anne Miles, Korean American actress/singer, joined a small club of Asian American performers when she won a Tony award
last week for her role in The King & I.
And if you’re not an artist? You sure as fuck are still a consumer, my Asian friend, and a discerning Grade A one at that. We don’t have to continue settling for movies and sitcoms with people who look nothing like us, whose experiences and voices are not our own. We can’t just politely ask and wait – we have to demand a seat at the table – call out networks and studios when they deploy another Tired Asian Caricature, and reward the progressive ones with our support, financial or otherwise. Support homegrown artists. It’s time for male Asian characters reclaim their swagger, lest we’re subject to another Hangover sequel with Ken Jeong’s naked ass and his inability to get laid; time for Asian women to be something other than modern day Suzy Wongs, auxiliary to whichever white heros they’re simpering over at present. Time for us to be an integral part of the zeitgeist.
Is this too much to ask? Don’t we have bigger fish to fry? Fuck that. All we have in the end are stories, stories that are ours, stories that deserve to be told in our own unique voices.
It’s what our forefathers would have wanted for us.
Originally posted at BACK THAT SASS UP on Sunday, June 07, 2015 AT 11:53 AM PDT.
YOUTUBE stars David and Andrew Fung, who I featured in several earlier postings, will get their own reality show after years of building a following on the video-sharing website. Titled What the Fung?!, the show will feature the Fung brothers dual comedic interview style, finishing each other's thoughts, educating the viewers and celebrating diversity without preaching. What the Fung?! will debut May 21 on the FYI Network. Check your local listings for times and channel. I guess the shortened reference will be WTF?!
The Fung Brothers love their food.
The Seattle brothers new show will draw on their love of food. In their YouTube channel, many of the most popular videos focus on the cuisine of different Asian cultures. "I do think it's kind of innately in Asian -- but particularly Chinese -- culture to just always talk about food constantly," David, 28, told an NBC reporter. "At least in our family, there's no ratchet drama stories. All that energy ... just goes towards talking about food in a very nerdy and enthusiastic way."
Growing up in the Seattle suburbs, David and Andrew were fascinated by hip-hop, comedy, and food. Not surprisingly, their immigrant parents wanted their children to become either doctors, lawyers, or follow in the family tradition of being an engineer. Like many Asian Americans youth, their childhood was a constant struggle between the wishes of their traditional parents and the new opportunities and discoveries offered by America's pop culture.
After graduating from college, the brothers moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in both stand-up comedy and YouTube.
Like so many minority artists without the industry contacts and not having a show business background, they found Hollywood a hard nut to crack, the brothers saw YouTube as a way to display their talent. After making a few funny rap songs about food and putting the music videos on YouTube, people started to take notice – viewers across the world appreciated the subtle blend of the equal parts: rapper, comedian, and foodie. Since then, Fung Brothers have been featured in the New York Times, NPR, the Cooking Channel and Travel Channel.
What I like about their videos is that they do social commentary disguised as comedy. You'll be laughing along and then suddenly you arrive at an "aha" moment. Watch this video below, "What Asian Girls Hate" to get an idea of what I'm trying to describe. Visit their YouTube channel to see their other videos. Have a great weekend!
