HER videos are simple and, to her surprise, extremely popular.

She does a short introduction, picks up her guitar, then begins strumming and singing.

Homegrown musician Ng Ling Kai never expected her home-made video to attract more than 1 million views on YouTube.

The video, which features her singing an original composition titled Larkin Step, made waves online after it was featured on the front page of the video-sharing site last month.

Miss Ng, 21, was selected to be featured on YouTube by the site's guest music editor, who had chanced upon the video.

She said: 'A friend of his had shown him my video, and he liked it, so he decided to feature it.'

Within days, her video had racked up a million hits.

Fan mail also began pouring in.

She said: 'Initially, I was receiving about 100 e-mails from fans every day.

'I did try replying to all of them, but it got difficult to keep up after a while.'

The third-year Nanyang Technological University communication studies undergraduate said she has also been approached by producers who want to help launch her music career.

But she has her reservations.

She said: 'I don't want to be in a situation where I am forced to fit a certain mould.

'If I do make an album, I want it to be something I am proud of.'

Miss Ng, the eldest of three children, taught herself to play the guitar when she was 17.

'I've always listened to music obsessively, so I thought I'd try performing,' said the Victoria Junior College alumnus.

She began posting videos of herself singing on YouTube, so her friends could give her constructive criticism.

'I made them to share with my friends, not really for public consumption,' she said.

As her online popularity escalated, she began receiving hundreds of comments daily on her video.

More than 10 other YouTube musicians have since made cover versions of Larkin Step.

But Miss Ng's YouTube journey hasn't entirely been a bed of roses. With fame came some pain.

Less than a week after the video was featured last month, her YouTube account was hacked.

She recalled: 'I didn't even know it had been hacked. It was an online friend who told me about it.'

The hacker logged into her account, changed her password and edited the titles of all her posted videos.

The video titles were replaced with an AOL Instant Messenger address.

Said Miss Ng: 'I wasn't really angry. In fact, my online friends were more angry than I was.'

She immediately e-mailed YouTube, which had the hacked account suspended.

It is yet to be reinstated.

Because of the hacking incident, Miss Ng says she can longer track how many hits she is getting on the video.

She then recorded a video message to her fans, explaining that her account had been hacked into.

Hacking hasn't been the only downside to online fame. Miss Ng said she has also met her fair share of online detractors.

She said: 'There are people who make racist comments, and some who say the chords of my song are too simple.

'I try not to get too offended, but I don't like it when people pass snap judgment, or write you off after they've seen you only once.'

Other YouTube stars

MISS Ng joins a growing list of amateur performers who gain instant fame simply by posting videos online.

These 'viral' videos have thrust virtual unknowns into the limelight - both on and offline.

Esmee Denters, a 19-year-old student from the Netherlands, made YouTube history by becoming the first artiste signed by the Tennman Records label, headed by singer Justin Timberlake.

Using her sister's webcam, Denters started posting videos of herself singing covers of popular music in 2006.

She soon became the top-subscribed musician on YouTube, and was signed by Tennman in June last year.

Another YouTube phenomenon is comedian Ryan Higa, 17, a high school student from Hawaii.

About two years ago, he started posting videos of himself and his friends lip-synching to pop songs, accompanying them with exaggerated actions.

More recently, he started posting videos of himself ranting about several of his pet peeves - including one about people with body odour.

His no-frills videos, recorded on a webcam, have made him the fourth most-subscribed comedian on YouTube.

In an e-mail interview with The New Paper, Higa said he has received several offers to appear on TV in Hawaii since his videos became popular.

RECOGNISED

He said: 'I am pretty surprised because I would never expect to have people recognise me in public places like some kind of celebrity.'

His videos, most of which are less than five minutes long, usually take him about eight hours to make, including filming and editing.

He said he first started posting funny videos to 'entertain his friends'.

Now, he has even set up a MySpace page for his fans.

He said: 'I'm not thinking about becoming a full time comedian yet, but I guess anything can happen.'