"My mom was a singer at church … she’d always play Aaliyah, TLC and Boyz II Men. Her gospel band would gather at our house … That’s how I got into it," she told Bandwagon Asia in 2017. Surrounded by soulful harmonies and church rehearsals, young NIKI soaked it all in, unknowingly training her ear for the stage that would one day be hers. "That’s when I discovered that if I could make this a career, that’d be great."■ ■But the spark that turned love into obsession came from a TV screen. At just 11, NIKI saw Taylor Swift’s documentary and felt the universe tilt. "The first time I realised I could do this for a living was when I saw a documentary on Taylor Swift … I got a guitar after that and just started playing and singing to it," she recalled in Bandwagon Asia. Years later, she still remembered that moment vividly: "At age 11, watching a Taylor Swift documentary became a core memory … After that, I could never shut up," she laughed in an interview with The Straits Times. It didn’t take long for her bedroom dreams to spill out into the real world. At 15, she nervously entered a contest to open for Taylor Swift’s Jakarta show. "I almost did it as a joke … ‘This is totally a hoax, Taylor would never do this,’" she told NME. But the joke turned into a life-changing stage moment. "I was a really shy kid … but then I got off stage and was like: ‘… that was actually super fucking fun!’ That’s when I discovered that if I could make this a career, that’d be great." Even today, she remembers how terrifying and electrifying that night felt. "I definitely blacked out … I was deathly afraid … But the experience solidified my love for performing live," she told People in 2024. What was once a shy girl’s dare had grown into the foundation of her passion: the thrill of connecting with an audience. "My love for music is the driving force as to why I’m doing this. Everything else is secondary."■ ■Growing up in Indonesia made that passion bloom even further. "I started singing at a really young age … I would lead the chapel band. I was the frontman of chapel band," she told V Magazine. In another interview with The Laterals, she credited her country’s spirit: "Growing up in Jakarta, a super musical country … that was the first sort seed planted, just a love for singing … It was the national appreciation for music that solidified my love for it." But here’s the thing: passion is easy to ignite. The real magic is keeping the fire alive. For NIKI, it’s all about love and language. "My love for music is the driving force as to why I’m doing this. Everything else is secondary," she said in Hypebae’s BAEwatch feature. She doesn’t let herself be boxed in by rules when creating. "There are no rules," she told fans during a Reddit AMA in 2023. "Sometimes I start with chords, sometimes with a lyric – it’s that unpredictability that makes songwriting exhilarating." For her, the process itself is fuel. "If you are seriously passionate about something, work hard towards it and go for it."■ ■Beyond melodies, she’s obsessed with words. "I’ve always been a lover of language … little I love more than painting pictures with words. So I read a lot … I also love poetry," she admitted on Reddit. It’s this devotion to storytelling – whether through sound or sentence – that keeps her music pulsing with raw emotion. And when asked what advice she’d give to young dreamers, she stripped it down to the essence: "If you are seriously passionate about something, work hard towards it and go for it," she told Hypebae. From a church choir in Jakarta to sold-out venues across the world, NIKI’s story is proof that passion doesn’t just happen – it’s nurtured, tested and carried forward every day. She found her fire young, and by constantly feeding it with love, words and fearless creativity, she’s keeping it burning bright. Video: NIKI - Oceans & Engines (Official Music Video) 
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