Music is universal no matter what country you come from, no matter what language you speak. This years’ Coachella Valley Festival 2022 prominently featured Asian artists who passionately showed their love for performing through singing and dancing. The annual music festival has been able to return for this year after having a hiatus because of the ongoing pandemic.
California has hosted the yearly music festival known as Coachella since October 1999 at the Empire Polo Club. Both established and emerging artists are featured at Coachella. Some of the famous artists who have headlined the music festival include Madonna, Jay-Z and Paul McCartney. This year’s headlining artists are Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd.
Emerging artist BIBI performed her song Kazino at the festival who is a part of the music company 88Rising. She is an R&B singer who has made milestones in her life such as the release of her second EP “Life is a Bi…” in April and even having the opportunity to contribute to the soundtrack of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi. Famous brands like Levi’s and Puma have also chosen her as an ambassador. She is a recent addition to the lineup of artists under 88Rising.
BIBI
Photo Courtesy of Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong
Yoonmirae shared the stage with BIBI. She is an American-born Korean rapper and singer. Being a former member of the hip-hop group Uptown, she made her debut as a solo artist in 2001 with her album entitled “As Time Goes By.”
Yoonmirae
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia
Probably one of the most talked about performances at Coachella 2022 was about K-pop star CL who surprised everybody with members of her former group 2NE1 at the end of her solo performance. They sang one of the hit songs of 2NEI entitled “I am the Best.” 2015 was the year 2NE1 last performed together. They released their final track entitled “Goodbye” in 2017. Nonetheless, millions of fans were emotional as the group performed together once again.
2NE1
Photo Courtesy of NME
Known for voicing themes from Kingdom Hearts by video game fans, Hikaru Utada also gave a show at Coachella. Born in New York City as an only child to Japanese parents, Utada rose to be an influential artist of Japan. Her mother is a singer while her father is a record producer which led to her musical influence. Utada opened her performance by singing the first theme from Kingdom Hearts entitled “Simple and Clean”.
Hikaru Utada
Photo Courtesy of Polygon
Furthermore, it was Jackson Wang’s first time performing for the Coachella stage. He is a rapper from K-pop group GOT7 and a part of PANTHEPACK which is a Chinese band. He sang his songs such as 100 Ways and Blow. Indonesians Niki and Rich Brian who are also part of 88Rising gave their all out performances.
Jackson Wang
Photo Courtesy of Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Niki
Photo Courtesy of NME
Rich Brian
Photo Courtesy of Independent Observer
It is without a doubt that Asians also have what it takes to take center stage in a large musical festival such as Coachella.
References:
Billboard
Britannica
KPOP Fandom
South China Morning Post
Teen Vogue
Variety
Written by Jan Marbella
Jan Marbella is a Digital Marketing Intern of PS Media Enterprise and a 4th year Bachelor of Arts in Communication student of De La Salle University Dasmariñas.
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