keshi talks life on the road and his first-ever Asia tour: "I feel like it's so long overdue."

ESTIMATED 
keshi talks life on the road and his first-ever Asia tour: "I feel like it's so long overdue."

From his bedroom in his hometown in Houston to stages all around North America and Europe, music has taken keshi far and it's about to take him even farther as he gears up to embark on his first-ever Asia tour

This November, the singer-songwriter will be heading to several cities across the region for the Asian leg of his HELL/HEAVEN tour. "I feel like it's so long overdue," said keshi at a press conference, addressing Southeast Asian media. 

"I got to have my skeletons tour [in 2019 in North America and Europe] but Asia never got a taste of that though so I feel like it's been building up and building up and building up. Finally, I get to go so I'm so excited."

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The Vietnamese-American1 act will be performing concerts in Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo, with many of the shows selling out within minutes. 

"It's very validating because I am of Asian heritage, but I was raised in the States so it has really has big importance to my identity to be able to go back perform there. I'm immensely proud and I can't wait to go," said keshi. 

The HELL/HEAVEN tour kicked off in April which saw sold-out shows all across North America and Europe. The three-month-long tour also serves as a celebration of his debut album Gabriel, which the 'SOMEBODY' hitmaker described as his greatest body of work yet as he takes a step into a new, bold direction

"[The album], as well as the tour, has really cemented my confidence. In terms of like, it doesn't feel as fleeting anymore. Like the thought that I can be an artist and it's not going to just escape out of my hands anymore, which is how I felt when I first started," he shared. 

The tour sees performances of Gabriel as well as some fan-favourite hits, all accompanied by a live band—an aspect of the tour that keshi shared was his favourite. 

"I've been working very hard on my performance, that's an aspect of artistry that I haven't really gotten my feet into quite yet. I feel like I'm learning day by day, and I just got off some really big shows so I feel like I've learned a lot. I'm excited to bring it over to Asia," said the 'GET IT' singer. 

When asked what life was like touring across two continents, keshi shared how it was surreal to meet so many people that support you every day while also still missing home. "It feels like an alternate reality," he said. 

"Day in, day out, just seeing people who are so supportive and in love with the art that you create. It feels like all at once the love is there but it is really physically exhausting because you're kind of trapped in like a vacuum on 16 wheels. What gets me through it is the people that I surround myself with on tour. It feels like a family, like you're camping with your best friends so while I ache to be back home, that family is home away from home. I'm excited to see them again."

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by keshi (@keshi)

But of course, keshi made sure that every night was a party, not only for the thousands of fans that came to see him but also for the crew that's been right there with him for those three exciting months. 

"I drink a lot of alcohol [before heading out on stage]. It was funny because I get flushed and it also causes congestion. So in the past, I've tried it and then like, I would be like, 'oh, this kind of ruins my singing' but we were probably like seven shows in the last like North American tour. I was like, whatever I'm feeling kind of sad. It's incredible how much it does loosen me up beforehand so like always with the band, we have a cheers and do a little chant beforehand, it's great," said the singer, sharing his pre-show rituals in addition to doing vocal warmups. 

 
 
 
 
 
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The Asia leg of the HELL/HEAVEN tour kicks off this November, with headlining set at Bangkok's VERY Festival

"That's actually a really, really huge milestone in my career that I'm very excited about. The thought of headlining a whole festival is daunting but very exciting at the same time. I'm very proud to be selected to be a headliner and it makes me so, so happy," shared keshi on headlining his first music festival. 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by keshi (@keshi)

In the middle of preparing for his upcoming tour, keshi is also back in the studio working on new music that he hopes to be able to take to Asia. 

"I'm in LA right now to work on some new music, so that is kind of my priority. I'm trying to get out as much new music as I can before the Asia tour starts. And while I'm there, hopefully, we'll see about performing some songs here and there," he teased. 


Listen to keshi's Gabriel here. 

1 This article previously referred to keshi as Vietnamese-Canadian. The singer-songwriter grew up in Texas and is Vietnamese-American. The information has since been amended.