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Singer Niki Zefanya. Photo by Najwa Shihab –

Top 10 Amazing Facts About Niki   

Nicole Zefanya aka 鈥淣IKI鈥� is an Indonesian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is currently based in the United States. 

NIKI first gained popularity through her YouTube covers and original songs which have now been deleted. She grew up around 90s R&B artists like Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah who influenced her music. 

Interestingly, despite growing up in Asia and not being born in America, Niki has found herself at the helm of 鈥淎sian American鈥� music and culture as the first and most prominent female face of 88rising.  

Here are the top 10 amazing facts about Niki. 

1. She is a Self-Taught Guitar Player 

Niki was born on 24th January 1999 in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she grew up and went to school. She taught herself how to play the guitar when she was only 9 years old. At 13, she began writing original music. 

She attended Sekolah Pelita Harapan Lippo Village (Sekolah Pelita Harapan), which is one of the most expensive schools in Indonesia, where she obtained a high school degree. 

She grew up very exposed to music as her mother sang church gospel music as a backup singer. Her mission is to empower Asians and African Americans through her music. 

2. Niki Started On YouTube 

Photo by Souvik Banerjee on

While she was still in school, Niki began posting both original and cover songs to YouTube under her full name in the mid-2010s, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar.  

She was famous on YouTube with these cover songs and original songs, gaining more than 40,000 subscribers.     

She maintained a YouTube channel throughout her teenage years. Here, she uploaded many original songs and covers, most of them stolen/stripped, including ballads “Polaroid Boy” and “Anaheim” in 2016 and 2017 respectively.  

Niki took down all her old music in a rebranding move when she started NIKI. These songs were, however, eventually released and on Spotify under the name Nicole Zefanya. 

3. She Moved To America When She Was 18 Years 

Niki moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2017. She joined Lipscomb University where she enrolled to study music on a scholarship. 

Making a home in the States was not smooth sailing for Niki. She did not properly settle for the first three years. 

Niki does her best to empower Asians and African Americans through her music and she is currently based in Los Angeles. She says her mission is to empower young Asian artists under-represented in the American music industry. 

She was the first Indonesian female to ever play Coachella as part of a momentous 88rising main stage takeover, her family flew out from Jakarta to see her do it and came together with her LA community to celebrate. 

4. Niki Plays Several Musical Instruments 

Photo by Soundtrap on

This artist has cultivated fans around the globe with her expressive voice, personal songwriting, and genre-blurring artistry.

She has become a vibrant symbol of, and an advocate for, a generation of Asian musical artists.

Niki is multi-talented. Apart from the guitar, this singer plays her Vocals. She also plays the Ukulele, Keyboard, and Piano. 

5. Niki is Signed With 88rings 

Since her arrival in the United States, Niki was signed under the American mass media company 88rising as an artist under their label. She joined the 88rising roster in 2017. Its role in her career was as a combined record label, video production, and management outfit. 

It was here that she issued the more stylized and heavily produced “See U Never,” which was her first song as NIKI in July 2017.  

“Vintage” and “Newsflash!” were among subsequent singles. Then came 鈥榳anna take this downtown?鈥� which was issued the following year, in addition to the single “Indigo” from the 88Rising compilation Head in the Clouds II. 

6. Her First Album Was Zephyr 

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Niki issued her more fully produced debut EP, Zephyr, in 2018. Following a second EP, she released the 2020 full-length Moonchild. The second album Nicole followed in 2022. 

A few more tracks, like “Sugarplum Energy” and “Switchblade,” appeared in advance of NIKI’s debut album, Moonchild, in 2020.  

In 2021, she contributed the song “Every Summertime” to the soundtrack to Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  

The charting singles “Oceans & Engines” and “High School in Jakarta” preceded the 2022 full-length Nicole, the singer’s second album. 

7. She Curtained Raised for Her Favourite Artist Taylor Swift  

At 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. 

Niki has also been the opening act for Rich Brian in his Australia & New Zealand Tour in 2018. Not forgetting that she also curtain-raised for Halsey in his Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour of Asia that same year. 

8. Niki is a Singer-Songwriter With Undeniable Talent 

Niki’s music was influenced by her favorite pop, folk, R&B, and indie artists, including Taylor Swift, Boyz II Men, Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Kirk Franklin, and Aaliyah. 

She grew up very exposed to music as her mother sang church gospel music as a backup singer. She has been exploring new sounds outside R&B since the release of her debut album Moonchild.  

She has also said that she listens to and is influenced by all kinds of music and cites growing up in Indonesia as influencing her worldview, and in turn, her music. 

9. She Has Done Sound Tracks for a Film  

Singer Niki Zefanya. Photo by Najwa Shihab –

Claiming her place on the charts, from Spotify on lists like Top Hits Indonesia, Trending Tracks, Teen Hits, Apple Music on Today鈥檚 Chill, and Best of the Week, Niki has steadily garnered a loyal throng of fans.

This can be seen in 851+ million Spotify streams, and over 1.6 million combined social followers. Niki was involved in five tracks for the soundtrack of the 2021 film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

With her Indonesian heritage essential to her story, she has a social responsibility to represent Asian artists, especially as a role model for girls.

For aspiring Asian and Asian American talents aiming to break cultural norms and overcome music industry under-representation, NIKI proves that the highest dreams are indeed within reach.

10. Niki鈥檚 Boyfriend is Jacob Ray 

Niki is in love with her fellow musician, Jacob Ray. They have been together for some time now. Jacob is a musician by profession and has thirty-one thousand listeners on Spotify. 

They don’t hesitate in showing their love in front of the audience. The couple has pet a dog named Lucy.