“Jakarta, what’s good?” Japanese singer-songwriter Joji greeted festivalgoers who had waited for him the entire day on Dec. 3, the first day of the Head In The Clouds (HITC) Jakarta festival.

“It’s hot as [expletive], whew!”

The hot weather seemed only fitting for the HITC Jakarta’s blazing lineup on Dec. 3 and 4. Curated by New York-based American label 88rising, the two-day festival drew enthusiastic crowds to the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2 Community Park in Tangerang regency, Banten, just northwest of the PIK Mangrove Ecotourism Center in North Jakarta.

Founded with an aim to champion Asian musicians and bands, 88rising held the first HITC festival in 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

The HITC Jakarta, the festival’s first international edition, has been awaited by music enthusiasts in Indonesia and neighboring countries for at least two years. It was initially planned for March 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic happened, with a lineup of beloved artists from across Asia, including the label’s most famous names.

Most importantly, the Jakarta edition saw the return of its homegrown international stars, such as Rich Brian and Niki, who are also among the label’s most notable artists.

Meeting the fans: Japanese superduo Yoasobi perform their most popular tracks in front of Indonesian music enthusiasts on Dec. 4 at the Head in the Clouds Jakarta festival. (Instagram/Head In The Clouds) (Instagram/Head In The Clouds)

Pan-Asian stars

The HITC Jakarta’s biggest draw was, first and foremost, its star-studded lineup of headliners like Joji, Rich Brian and Niki, K-pop greats (G)I-DLE and Chungha, rappers Zico and Jackson Wang, and the most awaited J-pop act, Yoasobi.

On the festival’s opening day, Thai rapper Milli made the crowd leap to her rapid pace and intense energy as she performed hits like “Mirror Mirror” and “Mango Sticky Rice”, while South Korean singer-rapper Zico followed with dance moves as groovy as his K-hip hop songs with fan favorites “Any Song” and “New Thing”.

“The atmosphere here is no joke. Your passion and energy excite me,” Zico said as the crowd chanted his name.

The K-pop pull was so big that it didn’t let the audience rest. To a screaming audience, members of girl group (G)I-DLE showed their power and versatility onstage while performing their latest hit “Nxde”, classics “Lion” and “Latata”, and “Tomboy”, which dominates the South Korean airwaves.

On the second day, which was even hotter, South Korean singer-rapper BIBI captured the audience with her sensuality and songs like “BIBI Vengeance” and “The Weekend”. Chungha, one of South Korea’s most prominent solo acts, came through with her choreography and powerful vocals, bringing hits like “Roller Coaster” and her modern K-pop classic, “Gotta Go”.

“The crowd was so lovely, I could feel their energy and love that I could go without eating [because] I’m so full of them,” BIBI told the press backstage on Sunday.

All the above artists, without fail, danced phenomenally, while Chinese rapper-pop star Jackson Wang belted out hits like “Come Alive” and his other rock-infused R&B anthems in his emo, dripping black eye makeup, his every move detailed and timed to land in sync with each note.

Joji took to the stage on Saturday night with an eerie, moody sound under red lighting. “Let’s hit them with the classics,” he told his live band as he sang “Sanctuary”, crooning and screaming amid a visual of pouring rain.

The stage also became a platform for some artists to show their humorous side. “Let’s play some brand new songs that no one has ever heard before,” Joji told his band before breaking into the intro of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”.

“Nah, nah,” he laughed. But then he quickly switched into a serious mood to perform the somber, melancholic “Like You Do” and “Slow Dancing in the Dark”.

Highly anticipated Yoasobi greeted excited fans, bringing many to tears with their beloved, piano-filled J-pop tracks like “Yoru ni Kakeru” (Betting on the night). The crowd jumped up and down as they sang along passionately, just as they did to American-South Korean soloist eaJ’s stellar, beautiful vocals.

If there was a downside to the festival, it was that the sets of some artists overlapped on the 88rising main stage and the Double Happiness stage, leading to a weird mash-up. Jackson entered at the same time as fellow Chinese rapper Wang Ziyi’s closing, whose set was as slick as Jackson’s before he was drowned out.

The problem of clashing, simultaneous sets was also geographical. With half a kilometer to walk between the two stages over a road and a bridge, the Double Happiness stage was often left pretty deserted, especially on the festival’s first day.

Local talent: Rich Brian, one of the biggest musicians in the 88rising roster, is pictured at the Head in the Clouds festival in Jakarta on Dec. 4. (Instagram/Rich Brian) (Instagram/Rich Brian)

Musical diversity

Regardless, many artists still delivered on the Double Happiness stage: Filipino-Australian soloist Ylona Garcia served some catchy R&B bops that even equaled Niki’s hits, while New Jersey-based Spence Lee rapped over heavy hip-hop trap beats.

“88rising means a lot [to me] because it’s delivering quality music to Asian people,” Lee, who is of both Vietnamese and Chinese heritage, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

“So it’s important that we get together to project each individual’s unique voice, tell our stories, where we come from,” he added.

Notable Indonesian rapper BAP. screamed his lungs out, and local metal band Voice of Baceprot delivered with songs like “(Not) Public Property” and “God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music”, the all-female trio shredding through their guitar, bass and drum.

But perhaps the most exciting Double Happiness outing, was Japanese quartet Atarashii Gakko!, which even drowned out Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” with their opening song as they pulled in the audience with their unique dance acrobatics that only they can pull off.

Delivering pop, rock, disco and even electro bangers in songs like “Pineapple Kryptonite” and “CANDY”, the quartet performed their energetic, detailed choreography in their signature Japanese school uniforms. By the end of the set, everyone was raising their hands and bopping along to the band’s ’90s hip hop track, “NAINAINAI”.

“It was our very first performance in Indonesia. That marked another important milestone for us!” band member Suzuka told reporters on Sunday after the fun set.

Homecoming: US-based Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI sings in front of anticipating audience at the Head in the Clouds Jakarta festival on Dec. 3. (Instagram/NIKI) (Instagram/NIKI)

Homecoming celebration

“This song is very special because it brought me here to this stage,” Indonesian singer-songwriter Stephanie Poetri, who opened the first day of the festival, said before breaking into her mega hit “I Love You 3000”. She then followed with more sing-along hits like “Honeymoon” and “Bad Haircut” as the audience swayed, teary-eyed.

Stephanie also had a sweet surprise: a duet rendition with her mother, Indonesian pop star Titi DJ, of Titi’s “Sang Dewi”. Titi, singing tearily and harmoniously, told the audience that she had not seen her daughter for over two years and had not sung with her for five.

Meanwhile, 88rising’s recent signing Warren Hue opened the second day with ice-cold charisma in “THIRTYNINE”, from his rap album BOY OF THE YEAR. Crooning as melodiously as Drake and performing as meticulously as Brian, Warren showed the breadth of Indonesia’s musical talents.

Rich Brian served up a similar spectacle later that night, opening with “VIVID”on a high platform bathed in orange lighting.

“It’s been three years since I did my last show here. It feels so good to be home,” he said.

Whether the crowd-pleasing “History” or the dancy “Edamame”, Brian showed his chops as an established rapper. As a live choir came onstage to back him up in the haunting “Yellow”, it became apparent how good his production was.

Halfway through the set, Brian started talking to the audience in Indonesian, joking about their surprise that he could speak his mother tongue. The crowd cheered and then wept as he began singing “Drive Safe”.

Niki, returning home in all her glory with a guitar on the first day, donned several different costumes to match her songs, from a black outfit to a spray-painted school uniform, talking to the crowd every chance she had.

From the killer band version of “Lowkey” and her groovy Marvel soundtrack “Every Summertime”, it was apparent that Niki had enthralled the entire audience.

Her last performance in Indonesia was in 2014, opening for singer-songwriter superstar Taylor Swift in Jakarta. Now, with the catchy live band renditions of her songs, even for the originally laid-back “High School in Jakarta”, and her captivating stage presence, she filled the space Swift had left to become the star.

“I love you, Jakarta. You guys are my people,” she closed as confetti burst over the smiling audience. “Thank you so much.”

These were a few of the biggest highlights during the two days of the festival. After years of working hard to break through and gain worldwide recognition, our US-based homegrown stars had finally returned.