88rising's 'Asia Rising Forever': Yuna, Kang Daniel and Loona's performances leave fans begging for more
88rising teamed up with Asian artists worldwide for 'Asia Rising Forever' in collaboration with the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), which centers around advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans, in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM).
The three-hour live stream included performances and appearances from over 20 acts spanning 11 countries, including 88rising artistes like Rich Brian and NIKI, Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna, Korean idols Kang Daniel and Jackson Wang as well as idol groups CLC and Loona and indie band Hyukoh, Filipino-American social media personality Bretman Rock, among many others. In addition to musical performances, the stream also featured interviews and cooking tutorials, in addition to videos of Brian collecting donations from fellow artistes for various causes, including Covid-19 relief.
88rising, formerly known as CXSHXNLY, is an American mass media company founded in 2015 by Sean Miyashiro. The company serves as both a management agency and a record label, in addition to handling video production and marketing for its artists. The company has gained traction over the years since it was formed mostly due to its commitment to uplifting Asian and Asian-American artists as well as fighting against injustices faced by these groups in America.
"Only @88rising could have me sitting on my ass for 4 hours and enjoying EVERY MOMENT #ASIARISINGFOREVER," tweeted one viewer, while another said, "This makes me realize how much I love being Asian #AsiaRisingForever."
The show featured a diverse range of artists who performed stripped-down versions of their own songs in addition to covers of songs from other artists and fans loved every minute of it. "Yuna killed it," tweeted one fan, and another said, "LUV HER PERFORMANCE, the way she covers post malone’s song."
Unfortunately, each artiste only got to perform a song or two each due time constraints. One fan stated, "I need more keshi / he only sang 2 songs, and only one for his own song. nonetheless, i’m happy!! you are amazing!! #AsiaRisingForever."
K-pop idols Kang Daniel and Jackson Wang also stopped by the show much to the delight of their fans.
Some couldn't get over the epic pajama dance battle between Daniel and Rich Brian.
With both K-pop idol group CLC and Daniel showing up in their pajamas, fans started making predictions, tweeting, "KANG DANIEL IS IN HIS PAJAMAS, I'M SEEING A PATTERN HERE. WILL I SEE LOONA IN PAJAMAS TOO? #AsiaRisingForever," and joking, "Wear pyjamas if you are an idol."
But Loona had some other ideas. "Loona with their picnic concept when the rest of the lineup was in their pjs having sleepovers THEYRE NOT LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS," tweeted one fan, while another stated, "The vibes are immaculate thank u loona."
Some fans also predicted what would come next, as they tweeted "I feel like after kang daniel, jackson wang might come next #AsiaRisingForever," and sure enough, Wang was up next.
"JACKSON!!!! I REALLY LOVE HIS VOICE," tweeted one fan and another said, "Let’s take a moment and appreciate that cute little pout in the end," which another fan stated was "Literally the happiest 2 seconds of my day."
Some fans, however, were unhappy. CLC performed the dance to one of their own songs before watching others cover their dances, while Loona danced to their songs before three members covered a song from 88rising's NIKI as opposed to singing one of their own tracks.
"Wtf why are both clc and loona basically doing dance covers instead of singing / I hate bbc and I hate cube," tweeted one disgruntled fan, adding, "Y’all rly aren’t gonna say why some members are missing either ??? Like how is that okay."
This prompted fans to share a "thread of clc's talents since they were robbed of showing them." Some also criticized the show's sponsor Panda Express for taking time away from the performing artistes, stating "THEY ARE TAKING TIME OUT OF THE LIVE STREAM TO TALK ABOUT PANDA EXPRESS AND MAKE A COOKING SHOW WHEN CLC ONLY PERFORMED ONE SONG."
One Loona fan joked, "The way loona gave that half *ss so what performance... yes girl give us nothing!! #AsiaRisingForever," while another demanded, "Girl if y’all don’t sing a song #StayHomeWithLOONA," and lucky for them, the girls did finally sing a song.
"WHEN LOONA COVERS NIKI I LOST MY BREATH AND CANT EVEN TOOK VIDEO OF IT ASDFGHJKL THANKS," tweeted one fan, but others weren't quite so enthusiastic, stating, "They’re too good for this #StayHomeWithLOONA."
Other fans were sad that some members were missing, tweeting "Kinda feels a lil bit empty without hyelipseul :[[ but loona still did great !! slay!!" Another fan tweeted, "Even without Haseul, Kim Lip and Olivia Hye, @loonatheworld still made it to the #AsiaRisingForever broadcast as the closing act."