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Kiki Wong
Wong in 2024
Background information
Birth name	Kristin Wong
Born	(1989-04-15) April 15, 1989 (age 35)
Genres	Alternative rock heavy metal
Occupation	Guitarist
Member of	The Smashing Pumpkins
Formerly of	Nylon Pink
Website	www.kikiwongo.com

Kristin "Kiki" Wong (born April 15, 1989) is an American musician known for being the touring guitarist of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. In the 2010s she performed with artists such as Taylor Swift and Usher, and was a member of girl band Nylon Pink. While in Nylon Pink she started a popular travel blog with one of her bandmates, which ultimately led to her accumulating over a million TikTok followers. In 2024, Wong was selected from 10,000 applicants to join the Smashing Pumpkins as their live guitarist, with Billy Corgan later commenting that he was already a fan before her application.

Career

Wong says she has played piano since she was six, guitar since age thirteen, and drums since age sixteen. Her first professional music gig was as a member of girl band Nylon Pink. After graduating from college, she quit a job working at UCLA Medical Center with Alzheimer's, stroke, and dementia patients when the band was offered a tour of China. This tour was ultimately cancelled, so Wong took what she describes as "all kinds of other odd jobs in between to make ends meet".

Wong's other music work includes drumming for Taylor Swift at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, playing with Usher at CBS's Fashion Rocks Fall 2014, and playing lead guitar for Bret Michaels of Poison in a Nissan commercial.

In 2016, Wong started a travel blog with Kaila Yu, singer of Nylon Pink. Within six months it had 100,000 visitors a month and Wong was making appearances on TV news to discuss her travel experiences. The pair also self-published a book, 30-Day Travel Challenge: How To Make Your Travel Dreams A Reality. When the COVID-19 pandemic stopped plans for travel to Estonia, Thailand and South Africa, Wong and Yu instead started posting on TikTok. Wong then started posting videos of herself playing guitar, which Inked magazine says "earned her true viral star status". As of 2023, Wong had 655,000 Instagram followers and 1.3 million TikTok followers.

Wong was chosen from 10,000 applicants to play with the Smashing Pumpkins after former member Jeff Schroeder announced he was leaving the band in 2023. Wong auditioned in person in March 2024, was announced as the band's new guitarist in April, and played her first show with the Smashing Pumpkins in June, a tour date with Weezer. Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan has said he was a fan of Wong before she applied to join the band.

Equipment and playing style

Before joining Smashing Pumpkins, Wong told Guitar Girl Magazine that she'd played Ibanez and Schecter guitars for years "because of the heavy metal tones and body shapes". At this time, she didn't use many effects pedals, instead dialling in her tone through her Marshall JCM 2000 amp.

During Wong's first tour with Smashing Pumpkins, she got a sponsorship deal with PRS Guitars after having been given a contact at the company by Herman Li from DragonForce. She told Spin that on joining the Smashing Pumpkins, it was initially difficult to transition from her background of playing "really crunchy metal" towards playing with "vibey" clean tones. She said that learning to play with the band was "like a guitar pedal boot camp" where she had to "remember to activate and deactivate six different things". While Wong has described herself as previously being a one trick pony, she says she now has a more diverse playing style, and has been exposed to new sounds and effects through her work with the Smashing Pumpkins.

Personal life

Wong graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in biological science on a pre-medical track.

Wong is Korean and Chinese American. She has a son, Jet, who was born in 2023.

Publications

• Wong, Kiki; Yu, Kaila (2019). 30-Day Travel Challenge: How To Make Your Travel Dreams A Reality. Kindle Direct Publishing. ISBN 9781733767606.

References

1. ^ "Kristin (Kiki) Wong". LinkedIn. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
2. ""I haven't felt joy like that since my baby was born!": Kiki Wong on landing the gig with The Smashing Pumpkins". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Known for posting her 'Shrednanigans' on Instagram, the metal guitarist has shared her immense shredding skill online for years – and Billy Corgan has been a longtime fan.
3. Wong, Kiki (April 15, 2023). "It's my birthday! 🎂🎸 Here's to another year of existence. It's been one whirlwind of a journey the last few years. From living in a 400 sq ft studio apartment grinding out guitar videos every day for two years straight to building a whole new life and family with my love @neil_diemond and baby Jet, I can't describe how grateful I am for every step of the journey, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most importantly, I am grateful for each and every one of you supporting and watching my videos. For those who have been here from the beginning Nylon Pink days, fans and supports of She Demons and @vigilofwar , those who followed my travel and food adventures with @kailayu and those who stumbled upon my guitar videos in your feeds, thank you for taking the time to appreciate the music and metuhlll. So here's to 34! And hopefully many more!" – via Instagram.
4. Daly, Andrew (May 21, 2024). ""I may not be the absolute best player out there – in fact, I know I'm not! But what I have is an undying love for guitar and heavy metal": Kiki Wong landed the gig of a lifetime with the Smashing Pumpkins – and she knows she has big shoes to fill". guitarworld. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
5. ^ "Meet the Smashing Pumpkins new guitarist, Kiki Wong, chosen out of 10,000 applicants". NBC News. May 2, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
6. ^ Daly, Andrew (November 17, 2023). ""I find honing my tone to be the perpetual chasing of my tail – once I feel I've gotten close, I hear something new, and it's back to the drawing board": Even with massive TikTok and Instagram followings, Kiki Wong is still trying to find the perfect tone". guitarworld. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
7. ^ "LADY KILLER: Kiki Wongo, Live it unconventionally". Metal Hammer (in Italian). July 18, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
8. ^ Pilley, Max (June 14, 2024). "New Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong speaks out after first shows with band". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Kiki Wong is a Los Angeles rock guitarist who plays in Vigil of War. Among her claims to fame is playing drums for Taylor Swift's performance of 'Shake It Off' at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
9. Strauss, Matthew (April 26, 2024). "The Smashing Pumpkins, After Public Casting Call, Announce Kiki Wong as New Touring Guitarist". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Wong has performed with Taylor Swift at the 2014 VMA's, Usher at CBS's Fashion Rocks Fall 2014 and was the lead guitarist for Bret Michaels in a commercial for Nissan.
10. Preston, Devon (October 27, 2021). "Fender Bender". Inked. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
11. Duran, Anagricel (April 26, 2024). "Smashing Pumpkins reveal new guitarist after receiving over 10,000 public applications". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Wong will join the band – comprised of Corgan, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, plus touring members Jack Bates (bass) and Katie Cole (guitar, keys, vocals) – in the UK and Europe at the beginning of June where they will make their debut as a new lineup
12. "Tone Talk with Kiki Wong". Guitar Girl Magazine. March 29, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
13. "Kiki Wong is Bringing PRS Guitars to the Forefront with Smashing Pumpkins". Spin. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
14. ""People think 'She's just a TikTok influencer', but I've been doing music since 2010, playing real s***holes": Kiki Wong on landing her Smashing Pumpkins gig". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved December 6, 2024.

External links

• Kiki Wong at IMDb

• Living people
• The Smashing Pumpkins members
• American rock guitarists
• American women musicians of Chinese descent
• American musicians of Korean descent
• American heavy metal guitarists
• 21st-century American women guitarists
• 1989 births
• University of California, Irvine alumni