- I knew that I was gonna be involved in music somehow,
I just didn't really know how I was gonna get there.
Living in Indonesia, being born in Jakarta,
it just seemed impossible.
I'm Niki, this is "On The Rise".
(gentle synth music)
I have been singing for as long as I can remember
because my mom sang at church.
I would say I identified as a singer-singer
probably when I was like, 18?
(slick trap beats)
When I started my career professionally, singing,
my family was, I honestly, I'm sorry mom and dad
but I kind of signed my first contract behind their backs.
In the beginning I think
it wasn't that they were unsupportive,
it was more so that they didn't understand
because obviously they came from a different generation
and it just was difficult to wrap their head around.
It just sort of took a few conversations for them
to ultimately kind of understand where I was coming from.
♪ Oh, I'm in love, I'm in love with you, boy ♪
I don't know how I managed to win that Taylor Swift contest
but I got involved because my mom had sent me a flyer
and I was like, this is a hoax,
don't believe everything you read,
and she was like, no, no, no, this is real!
Just being 15, walking out into a stage
of just like, and everybody's faces at that point
kind of like, they just kind of blur into one in a way,
and also you have like the blinding lights on you
and it just kind of, that experience solidified my love
for performing and that's when I kind of realized, like,
oh, okay, 10,000 people sounds daunting
but when you're up there and the adrenaline's rushing
and it's just like, I can do this,
and I actually like doing this,
and I like entertaining people.
♪ If I could, I'd freeze this moment ♪
♪ Make my my home ♪
♪ You're all I want to want to know ♪
How I got involved with YouTube is kind of a loaded answer
but I actually started it
after I had opened for Taylor Swift
when I was 15 years old.
I was just noticing that on my Instagram
people were curious about me and people just wanted to know
if I wrote songs and they just wanted to know about me
and what my experience was like
and so I think one of my very first YouTube videos
was just kind of like an update blog
of life after the concert and what I was up to
and then that kind of catalyzed me just feeling really
prompted to kind of share my original songs on there.
YouTube just kind of allowed for this, you know,
it just felt like a community where people
supported my endeavors and they supported my dreams
and just like, my writing and whatnot.
(upbeat synth music)
I had no plan, really, but my immediate plan
was obviously the traditional route of going to college,
getting a degree, figuring it out.
I actually released "See You Never" before I went to college
that's how I first got involved with 88rising
and the story behind "See You Never" was also pretty funny
because I literally was talking to
my producer friend who I was working on the song with
and I said, you know, how crazy would it be
if it like ended up on 88rising, hahaha.
Like that would ever happen, you know?
Pipe dream-type, you know, this type of conversation
and then it happened and I was just kinda like, what?
And yeah, that started my relationship with 88
and it just kind of snowballed into like,
hey, come out to L.A., we wanna work with you
and we wanna sign you.
I wasn't going to class and it got to a point
where I was literally between Nashville and L.A.
every single week and I just kinda decided, like,
this is not sustainable for me
and I already know that this is kind of what I want to do
in the future anyway so I just kind of went out on a limb
and did it.
It took a lot of courage.
My latest single "Switchblade" kind of talks about that
in a very metaphorical kind of way.
♪ This place, the skies are vast and no one's ♪
The release of Zephyr was honestly insane,
I had no idea in terms of how it was going to catalyze
my career from then on and how it was going to affect
my relationship with my fans,
and what kind of fans I attracted and just like,
you know, just basically built the, how it was gonna build
the foundation in which I, you know, grew my career.
The reception was overwhelming,
it was just so positive and people were so excited to see
especially within the Asian market, Asian Americans,
Asians in Asia, Asians everywhere just kind of,
I received an overwhelming amount of responses
just saying, like, hey, thanks for representing me
and like, what, you know, my face and like what I look like
and my story and that was, that was what kept me going
I think, it was just like, okay, I need to do this
for all the girls that look like me,
all the kids that look like me,
that wanna do what I wanna do.
Zephyr is actually Greek for west wind,
I wish it was intentional, I wish I could say
that I was that much of a genius but it really wasn't.
I discovered that later, it was the body of work
that kind of moved me westward
and just kind of, to the U.S. and it just established
this global audience.
(slick hip-hop beats)
I am such a huge fan
of the Kacey Musgraves "Golden Hour" album,
I just love that album.
I'd really love to work with those guys,
Daniel and Ian, that's probably a dream collaborator,
dream director, man.
You know what, I'm honestly a sucker
for Taylor Swift's videos so I would love
to work with Joseph Kahn.
His videos with Taylor are insane.
Those are probably my two like, dream collaborations.
(crowd cheering)
Welcome to Head in the Clouds II!
My name is NIKI, I've waited a really long time
to play this show.
Yo, I put this song out four days ago, you know it?
Y'all the first to hear it live!
Seeing thousands of people sing the words
that you penned back to you is the most insane feeling.
Both Head in the Clouds festivals were absolutely insane.
We started the 88rising tour with that festival
being the first stop and it was just
so incredibly career-defining for me
and just, like, to see an ocean of faces
that just kind of, like, they all looked like me, you know?
All in one place, and it was just, it was so great
to gather in the spirit of just celebrating
heritage and culture and music.
There are no words to describe it,
but that was very, very much fulfilling and solidifying.
(mellow synth music)
So, what's next is my Moonchild concept album,
it's my debut album that I've been working on
comprehensively for about a year and a half now
and I have a single coming out, it's called Selene,
I'm super excited about this whole project
because it's definitely my most wide-ranging body of work
so far and it's a cohesive concept album.
It's kind of like listening to a storybook
if you listen top to bottom.
This album was definitely my little brainchild.
I loved fairytales and I loved sci-fi and just like,
you know, it follows this titular character
of the Moonchild from top to bottom
and you witness her growth.
All of my past work has been very much focused on, you know,
young love and puppy love.
This album is very much centered around self-discovery
and just my personal journey growing as an artist
and as a human being.
(delicate piano music)
In terms of making it, I dunno, I feel like
I will forever strive to get to the next level.
Every time that I release something, the goal is to out-do
what I've done before.
I have fans that have like, stuck with me
since the YouTube days that I still, I'm like,
oh my gosh, I'll see their handle or their name
and be like, I know you!
You commented on that video like in 2015!
It's insane and then to see them like, graduate school
and it's just, yeah, it's very,
it's been a very rewarding experience for me
and all I want to do is just motivate Asian faces everywhere
that you can pursue your dreams, whatever they look like.
(chill synth music)