And for the first festival experience to be the main stage of Coachella, and, what happened tonight was amazing.

And I had no idea what to expect because I don’t know how many of the people in the crowd would know about me or be excited to see me at all. Looking back after the show, they shared: “It was over in a flash. Each performed an average of four songs in a medley, and the performances proceeded at a brisk pace.Īs the sun went down and the magic-hour sky displayed a mixture of blue and pink hues, Hikaru Utada appeared onstage at last and made their Coachella debut with the Kingdom Hearts theme “Simple and Clean,” which suddenly begins with the chorus. Next up were Thailand’s Milli, with a signature style of melodious rap BIBI from South Korea, whose English and Korean lyrics over catchy pop rhythms left a feel-good sensation NIKI from Indonesia, who performed her beautiful songs with a 15-member symphony orchestra and contemporary dancers and on to Rich Brian, also hailing from Indonesia. But Indonesian rapper Warren Hue kicked off the showcase with a majestic performance accompanied by a dozen dancers, hyping up the crowd closer to the stage.

I was secretly worried that the 88rising artists might feel a bit like underdogs that day, since Billie Eilish was billed as the headliner on the main stage. In fact, this year’s lineup included artists from Mongolia, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Latin America and many other countries. It was a historic moment, as a record label had never curated this stage before, and it was perhaps Goldenvoice’s respect for diversity that made it possible. The LGBTQ crowd was also prominent at the performance of another artist I saw on the first day of the festival, which to me felt like the wave of a new era signifying the younger generation’s inclusive attitude toward racial and sexual diversity.Ĩ8rising, a U.S.-based platform led by Sean Miyashiro that promotes Asian culture around the world, presented Head in the Clouds Forever on the main stage at Coachella. Having attended numerous gigs and festivals in the U.S., I can safely say that I’d never seen such a large gathering of Asian people in one place before, and it was an unfamiliar sight.

I was one of the lucky ones who got to see the show on-site, and moved forward to a position next to the runway where I could see Hikaru Utada with the naked eye.

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