5 NIKI Songs to Play on Repeat Before Her Sold-Out Manila Solo Debut

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She’s not lowkey anymore. NIKI is making her way back to the country to hold her already-sold-out solo debut concert on September 13, 2023, Wednesday.

The Manila leg of her NICOLE World Tour will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena. The tour will also see her performing across North America and Europe, with Bangko, Singapore, and Jakarta as her other stops in Asia.

CAT’S OUTTA THE BAG I GUESS but we’re goin back on tour all over the world this year !!! north america, asia & headlining australia & europe for the first time 🥹🥹 i cannot wait to see ur lovely faces again 🤍 tickets onsale may 18, 10am local pic.twitter.com/97n9h43KBi

— NIKI (@nikizefanya) May 15, 2023

The Los Angeles-based act was in the country in December 2022 for Head in the Clouds Manila, where she performed alongside other 88rising acts Joji, Rich Brian, and Ylona Garcia.

Heart-on-the-sleeve anthems

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Nicole Zefanya in real life is the Indonesian musician behind “Every Summertime,” “lowkey,” and other tracks that candidly explore modern love in its bright, raw, and heartbreaking glory.

“It makes me feel alive to be in touch with my emotions. The best way I know how to externalize all of it is through writing and music,” shared NIKI in a Grammy feature, talking about how her feelings are inevitably stamped onto the songs she makes.

Ahead of her much-anticipated Manila concert, here are five anthems to play if you want to be immersed in the essence of her music.

lowkey

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Silky and sultry, “lowkey” is NIKI’s take on a secret romance.

The song, which comes from her 2019 EP, “wanna take this downtown?,” paints a wee-hour-of-the-morning clandestine meeting with a lover. And while the narrator wants to hide their relationship from the world, she isn’t afraid to be boldly herself when she’s with her object of affection (Take a shot, take a chance, take my hand, boy/ Tension so intense like an asteroid).

“I just wanted to write a song that really encapsulated youth, and celebrated the electricity of a budding romance, but coupled it with having to keep it under wraps,” stated the hitmaker in a Genius video.

Every Summertime

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“Every Summertime” is a sunny love song that lets listeners feel the eternal warmth of summer. It follows the story of two people and how their feelings for each other blossomed and endured season after season.

NIKI’s voice is ethereal, and it’s further elevated by the track’s fittingly retro sound. The groovy R&B, pop, and soul elements will lilt you back in time, letting you reminisce all those sweet moments you shared with a loved one.

In a press release, NIKI revealed that she and her collaborator Jacob Ray consider it “one of our favorite songs of our careers.” The song was originally released as the lead single of the original soundtrack of the Marvel film, “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings.”

High School in Jakarta

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Teenage love is complex, utterly dramatic, and as NIKI described it, an “elaborate saga.”

In this unmistakably youthful song, the narrator unabashedly recalls the highs and lows of this romantic experience. But apart from tackling that familiar jealousy and bouts of insecurity, the track also touches on youngsters’ love-hate relationship with their parents — and how this shared emotion can become a driving force that brings two people even closer to each other.

This phase in one’s life is complicated. But as the song shows, it can still be deemed beautiful when viewed in hindsight. Coupled with an upbeat pop sound, lines like “Although you bring me to tears/ I’m glad that we gave it a go” are there to prove it.

“High School in Jakarta” is lifted off her sophomore album, “Nicole,” which was released in August last year. The record includes other classics-in-the-making and several fan favorites, such as “Backburner,” “Before,” and “Oceans and Engines.”

Lose

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Unlike most of NIKI’s popular songs, “Lose” is a piano-driven ballad, effectively putting her vulnerable vocals in the spotlight.

This hit single from her 2020 debut album “Moonchild” finds the 24-year-old singer-songwriter contemplating the intricacies of love. A grown-up pain is evident in both her singing and lyrics. And it’s this kind of hurting, brought forth by past experiences, that hinders her from genuinely pursuing new love.

“Fickle as you are/ That’s exactly why I keep on running back/ ‘Cause I’m brittle at the parts/ Where I wish I was strong,” she admits in one part of the song. But, ultimately, her skeptical view of love wins her over, and she decides to let the person go.

Vintage

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The debut single of NIKI’s debut EP, “Zephyr,” reminisces a past relationship.

Embodying the kind of vibrance that the word “vintage” evokes, the artist looks back on the colorful experience that she shared with a former flame. She casually sings straightforward lyrics over a melody that dances along shimmering R&B elements and classic hip-hop beats.

This track was first released in 2018. And though the R&B sound suits her well, she has since evolved from the “R&B Princess” title attached to her name.

In an NME feature that discusses her debut full-length album, she explained: “With this album, I decided very early on that I was gonna abandon any and all genres tethered to me and my identity. Genre completely just defeats the purpose of calling yourself an artist.”

NICOLE World Tour is happening on September 13, 2023, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena. Stream NIKI’s catalog, including her sophomore record “Nicole” and her recently released live album “Live At The Wiltern,” on Spotify and Apple Music.

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Written by Emmy Borromeo

Editing by Pauline Bolaños

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