Niki

**Nicole Zefanya** (born 24 January 1999), known as **Niki** (stylized in all caps), is an Indonesian singer and songwriter. She is based in the United States and is signed with the music label 88rising. She released her first album, *Moonchild*, in 2020. It was named one of the best Asian albums of the year by *NME*. Her second album, *Nicole*, came out in 2022, followed by *Buzz* in 2024. Niki has performed in 17 countries, including arena shows in the Philippines, Canada, England, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Niki is known for her songwriting and music. She is one of the most popular female artists from Indonesia. In 2020, she was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.

## Early life 
Niki was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. At 9 years old, Nicole Zefanya taught herself how to play the guitar. At 13, she started writing original music. She went to Pelita Harapan School in Jakarta.

At age 15, Niki won a contest to open for Taylor Swift at *The Red Tour* in Jakarta. As a teenager, she had a YouTube channel where she uploaded original songs and covers.

## Career 
When Niki Zefanya was 15, she was the opening act for Taylor Swift's *The Red Tour* in Jakarta after winning a competition arranged by Swift and the ice-cream brand Walls, called Ride to Fame.

In 2017, Niki moved to Nashville, Tennessee, USA, to study music at Lipscomb University. That same year, she released her first songs under the name NIKI with 88rising.

In 2018, she was featured on 88rising’s album *Head in the Clouds*. She released her second EP, *Wanna Take This Downtown?*, in 2019.

In December 2020, Niki Zefanya dropped "Hallway Weather", a holiday single reminiscent of her folk/indie roots. She says the song is in "the style of music & songwriting she remembers feeling most like herself. It is genuine & it is true."

### 2020–2021 
In 2020, Niki released her first full album, *Moonchild*. She promoted the album with a livestream concert, *Moonchild Experience*, in 2021.

In 2021, Niki released "Every Summertime", a song for the Marvel movie *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings*. She contributed four songs to the film’s soundtrack.

### 2022–2023 
In April 2022, Niki performed at Coachella, making her the first Indonesian artist to do so. She released her second album, *Nicole*, in August 2022. The album included popular songs such as "Before", "Oceans and Engines", and "High School in Jakarta". *Nicole* received good reviews from music critics.

Along with the album, Niki released a short film, ''But I'm Letting Go*, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video. She then started *The Nicole Tour*, performing in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

In 2023, she released her first live album, *Niki: Live at The Wiltern*, and performed at major festivals like Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. She also performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.

### 2024–present 
In January 2024, Niki released "24", a song about her experiences in her early 20s. In May, she released "Too Much of a Good Thing", the first single from her third album, *Buzz*. Other songs from the album include "Blue Moon" and "Tsunami". The album was released on 9 August 2024, accompanied by *The Buzz* *Around The World Tour* (2024–2025).

## Discography 
### Studio albums 
* *Moonchild* (2020)
* *Nicole* (2022)
* *Buzz* (2024)

## Tours 
### Headlining tours 
* *Nicole World Tour* (2022–2023)
* *Buzz World Tour* (2024–2025)

### Opening act 
* *Taylor Swift’s The Red Tour* (Jakarta only) (2014)
* *Rich Brian’s Australia & New Zealand Tour* (2018)
* *Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour'' (Asia dates) (2018)

## References