It’s a sunny day in Miami at the 2017 Ultra Music Festival, and a sweaty mass of neon-bearing concertgoers waits at the influential EDM event’s main stage. Hailing from China, Kromi was a long way from home. Nonetheless, the former pop singer-songwriter stood among the herd, itching to see the legendary DJ Tiësto perform.
During that epic set, her long-awaited excitement turned into desire. Kromi tells SPIN that she leaned over to the friend she was with and decidedly informed: “I want to do this. I want to make this music. I want that guy [Tiësto] to know me.”
Just a year later, that fantasy manifested itself on the Las Vegas strip. Kromi regularly performed at Sin City’s most popular clubs and opened for electronic music heavyweights among the likes of Zedd and the Chainsmokers.
In 2019, just two years after looking up at Tiësto, Kromi became the first Asian female DJ to have her own Vegas residency at the XS nightclub. She used her experience as a pop singer-songwriter in China to hone her live performance and to create a strong connection with audiences.
When she wasn’t hitting late-night crowds with her blistering basslines and club-shaking drops, Kromi was in the studio crafting singles and releasing them on streaming services. Some of her early tracks, like “Daddy’s Girl” and “Golden Girl,” showcased versatility in her emerging style and the forward-sounding nature of her songs.
In 2020, two years deep in the club circuit, Kromi began garnering worldwide recognition. Alongside headlining an extensive tour of China, she was deemed the country’s No. 1 DJane by DJaneTop, a female DJ news website. Additionally, she placed No. 4 in Asia and was ranked No. 45 overall.
As Kromi established herself as a club fixture in the U.S. and China, her singles caught on with the public. In particular, “F Boy” went viral on TikTok, and was played in over 8 million videos. Her latest singles, the pulsating “We Getting Low, released in October, and January’s “Baby We Go Fast” are already among her most-streamed tracks. Clocking in at 150 bpm, “Let’s Go Fast” is an undeniable dance floor anthem. The track brings the full impact of Big Room, with soaring vocals, epic leads and machine gun risers.
Fueled by the confidence and happiness that first drew her to dance music at that Tiësto gig, Kromi continues to experiment and grow artistically. As her music continues to catch on, Kromi continues to resonate within the always-evolving DJ landscape.
