24 Facts About Kiki Wong

Kristin "Kiki" Wong was born on April 15,1989 and is an American musician known for being the touring guitarist of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins.

Kiki Wong played in Kiki Wong Demons, put together by Jerry Only of Misfits, and Vigil of War, a band started by DragonForce bassist Alicia Vigil.

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.

Kiki Wong has described having to become a more diverse guitarist since joining the Smashing Pumpkins, making more use of effects and clean tones, and expanding from her background as a heavy metal player.

Kiki Wong says she has played piano since she was six, guitar since age thirteen, and drums since age sixteen.

Nonetheless, Kiki Wong played with Nylon Pink for seven years, touring places like Japan, Macau, Malaysia and South America.

Kiki Wong says touring with the band is how she discovered her love of travel, and "learned to play my heart out no matter how shitty the venue or crowd is".

Kiki Wong had a range gigs as a session musician in 2014: drumming for Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, playing with Usher at CBS's Fashion Rocks, and playing lead guitar for Bret Michaels of Poison in a Nissan commercial.

Kiki Wong subsequently joined the all-girl punk band She Demons, put together by Jerry Only of Misfits.

Kiki Wong toured the US with Kiki Wong Demons in 2015 as Misfits' opening act.

Kiki Wong has said that when the band ended she went through "a pretty low moment" and took a step back from music, spending some time in corporate jobs.

Kiki Wong worked for a music tech business in South Korea, and a startup incubator in Silicon Valley.

Kiki Wong returned to music when asked to join a tour in 2019 with Vigil of War, a band started by Kiki Wong's She Demons bandmate Alicia Vigil, who is bassist for DragonForce.

At this point Kiki Wong says she hadn't played guitar for three years and had only a few weeks to practise before the tour, but that it rekindled her love for music.

Kiki Wong then started posting videos of herself playing guitar, which Inked magazine says "earned her true viral star status".

Kiki Wong has said that the topic of social media can be touchy for musicians as many see it as a joke, "but it's a joke that can get you out there if you use it properly".

Kiki Wong has responded to accusations of being "just a TikTok influencer" by saying that she has been playing "real shithole" venues since 2010.

Kiki 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.

The band held an open call for applications in January 2024, and Kiki Wong was encouraged to apply by her boyfriend.

Kiki Wong was given four songs to play: Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Cherub Rock, Jellybelly, and Today.

Kiki Wong auditioned for the Smashing Pumpkins using a Zemaitis guitar.

Kiki Wong 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.

Kiki Wong has described their early rehearsals as "like a guitar pedal boot camp" where she had to "remember to activate and deactivate six different things".

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