Lilly Singh launches NBC talk show - but it's on YouTube first

Singh often collaborates with celebrities in her YouTube videos

YouTuber Lilly Singh has launched her TV talk show, becoming the only female late-night host on the main networks.

Aptly, Singh, also known as Superwoman, premiered A Little Late With Lilly Singh on YouTube before it was on NBC.

She opened the show with a sketch and rap: "Hello my name is Lilly and I ain't a white man/My skin has some colour and it ain't a spray tan.

"I know you're only used to Jimmys up in the spotlight/But I'm gonna throw some melanin up in your late-night."

The routine began with her walking into a meeting filled with white men. The Canadian also referred to her love life: "I'm about spice up your life/So if you want to be my lover/I put B in LGBT/I'll take Sansa and her brother."

Singh's comedy sketches have attracted 14.5 million subscribers to her YouTube channel.

"I get it… I'm not your traditional talk show host," she said. "The media has mentioned that I am a bisexual woman of colour so much that I feel like should just change my name to Bisexual Woman of Colour."

'A breath of fresh air'

Singh has replaced Carson Daly in NBC's evening line-up, and her first guests were The Office stars Mindy Kaling and Rainn Wilson.

In Deadline, Dino Ray-Ramos's review described Singh's debut as "funny, light, yet thoughtful". He wrote: "Singh comes in hot for her very first episode in the best way possible with jokes, light-hearted fun and authenticity."

CNN's Brian Lowry wrote: "Wilson's shtick fell mostly flat, while Singh's interview with Kaling suffered because the host kept looking directly into the camera to deliver lines, which broke the sense that the two were engaging in a dialogue.

"Singh nevertheless feels like a breath of fresh air in a late-night landscape largely characterised by its sameness... A Little Late should have what it appears to need most - namely, a little time to settle on the right balance of elements."