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MYSTERIOUS: Kiki wong - What They Never Told You

“One day, my mom went to Costco and was like, ‘They’ve got these guitars on sale. Let’s get it for your dad’”: Kiki Wong on how a cheap Yamaha and a Metallica classic changed her musical trajectory

Wong went from playing piano and classical music – to shredding, metal and Metallica

Guitar World

“It’s one thing to be a visionary, but it’s another thing to have the gift to pull off the vision”: Why Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins collaborated with Yungblud

The alt-rock legend has become the latest big name to link up with Yungblud

Guitar World

“I sold my first guitar to my drummer. He paid me $50, put SpongeBob stickers on it, then lit it on fire”: Kiki Wong reveals her Smashing Pumpkins live rig, gear regrets and how a Line 6 amp made her the player she is today

Kiki Wong might be the only guitar player alive today who can recall from memory Ibanez S series model numbers. Here's what the S40DXQM means to her...

Guitar World

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Alien-shred, Brit-rock royalty, one blues icon and a hardcore superstar: here are Guitar World's Guitarists of the Year 2025

All the players who rocked our world, in the year of Oasis reunions, Black Sabbath farewells, and guitarists keeping their shoulder to the evolutionary wheel of guitar playing

Guitar World

“We drove two hours down to meet the seller, who ended up being someone who worked on production for Slash”: Kiki Wong recalls her biggest amp bargain – when she found a vintage Marshall on Craigslist

At the time, Wong was touring with punk-rock supergroup She Demons and was in desperate need of an amp...

Guitar World

“People talk a lot of poo about my tone. But it’s what I love and have loved since I was a kid”: Kiki Wong’s go-to amp at home is a budget combo everyone loves to hate

The cheap modelling amp is mocked by many, but it indirectly helped Wong get the biggest gig of her career

Guitar World

“Turned each band member’s concept into reality”: The Smashing Pumpkins designed some wild Yamaha guitars to celebrate their first gigs in Japan in 12 years – and they were played live

The guitars designed by Billy Corgan, Kiki Wong, James Iha and Jack Bates are now on display

Guitar World

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“Isaw Kiki’s name, I stopped and thought, ‘Wait… I think I follow her on Instagram.’ …I was like, ‘Oh, that’s that person I really like’”: Billy Corgan and Kiki Wong on the guitar chemistry behind Smashing Pumpkins’ new era

How bonding over Dimebag Darrell and dressing like “Rob Halford's cousin” helped turn Wong into a Pumpkin overnight

Guitar World

“I was throwing the guitar at the amp over and over”: Billy Corgan wanted to make a statement on this Smashing Pumpkins song – so he trashed his guitar rig

Corgan tried some unorthodox recording methods while trying to nail the feel of this particular guitar solo

Guitar World

“She's got that thing that I could never do – I have to cheat”: Billy Corgan reveals the technique Kiki Wong can do on guitar that’s beyond him

Wong was handpicked by Corgan and co. from over 10,000 applicants to join the Smashing Pumpkins, and it's safe to say she's been a powerhouse addition to the lineup

Guitar World

The all-new October 2025 Guitar World – where Smashing Pumpkins and Sex Pistols mingle openly with Carlos Santana and Khruangbin

Featuring new interviews with Billy Corgan, Kiki Wong, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Zakk Wylde, the Beach Boys' Al Jardine, Inhaler's Josh Jenkinson and dynamic duos from Khruangbin, Momma, the Voidz and Phoneboy

Guitar World

“Distortion, distortion, gain and more gain were my digs before I joined the Smashing Pumpkins. But they’ve introduced me to a whole new world of pedals”: Kiki Wong on her life-changing audition, and what she's learned from Billy Corgan and James Iha

Wong enjoyed a high-profile on social media and maybe that would have been enough. But when Billy Corgan called an open audition, she beat 9,999 others to live out her grunge dreams as guitar player for the Smashing Pumpkins

Guitar World

“It’s really quite genius, but also hard to learn – it sounds insane, but sometimes the easiest songs still get me nervous”: Kiki Wong reveals the Smashing Pumpkins song she had the most trouble with

After beating 10,000 other candidates to the gig, the guitarist set about navigating Billy Corgan’s “distinct playing style,” with one song proving more challenging than the rest

Guitar World

Stevie Ray Vaughan, Simple Minds, Megadeth, the Cult and the class of 1985 – only in the new Guitar World

Also starring Jimmie Vaughan, GA-20, Kiki Wong, Dead Kennedys, the Smithereens' Jim Babjak, Cracker's Johnny Hickman, King Diamond, Third Man Hardware, Sue Foley's new GW column, Money for Nothing and more

Guitar World

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BANG Premier

Billy Cogan to mark Smashing Pumpkins anniversaries with solo shows

Billy Corgan is going on tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins‘ ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ - but without the rest of the band.

Guitar World

Billy Corgan announces new solo project featuring Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong, and U.S. tour celebrating classic Pumpkins eras

The tour, titled A Return to Zero, promises to be a career celebration – with a setlist that draws from seminal Pumpkins albums – and kicks off this summer

Guitar World

“People might look and think I’m just this TikTok personality. They don’t know that I’ve been playing since 2010”: Kiki Wong recalls her early guitar career – and the “crazy” bootleg tours with three people sleeping in the back of a truck

Wong says she has failed more times than she succeeded throughout her career, so much so that there was a point in her life where she didn't touch her guitars for three years

Guitar World

“I never thought little ol’ 15-year-old me playing metal guitar in the bedroom would amount to this moment”: After 10,000 applicants, Kiki Wong landed the Smashing Pumpkins guitarist gig

2024 Year in Review: Billy Corgan and co hosted the biggest guitarist search of the year – and there could only be one winner

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Guitar World

“This band has allowed me to diversify my playing 10-fold. I would consider myself a one-trick pony prior to joining”: Kiki Wong on how playing with Smashing Pumpkins has made her a better guitar player

From bedroom riffing with a Line 6 Spider to playing through tube amps in stadiums, Wong says her time in the band has opened her eyes to a whole new world of tone

Guitar World

“I only picked up guitar in the first place to impress my father. I didn’t have a true desire to play that great players like Joe Bonamassa did”: Billy Corgan opens up on his guitar insecurities and being cast as the Smashing Pumpkins’ “big, bad Dracula”

On Aghori Mhori Mei, the Smashing Pumpkins recapture the vibe, feel and tones of their classic early ’90s LPs. Corgan explains how, why – and what took them so long

Guitar World

“There hasn’t been one moment I regretted my decision. It’s allowed me to be creative in ways I would never have imagined if I’d stayed”: Jeff Schroeder takes us inside his first music since leaving the Smashing Pumpkins – and admits it’s a big departure

Since parting ways with the alt-rock institution, Schroeder has set about reinventing himself. He shares his thoughts on his replacement, deep-diving into Jimi Hendrix’s gear, and why he had to go back to go forward with his musical career

Guitar World

“Someone pinch me… actually don’t, because I want to keep living this dream”: Kiki Wong brings a metal edge to her debut Smashing Pumpkins performance after beating 10,000 guitarists to the gig

In her first show with the alt-rock icons, the Instagram favorite delivers on her quest to bring out the Pumpkins’ heavy side

Louder

Into The Pumpkins-Verse! Your guide to The Smashing Pumpkins' ever-evolving line-up from their inception to the present day

Introducing the hardy souls who did a stint in Billy Corgan's crew

Guitar World

“I wondered if she would fit in, because I knew her as more of a metal guitarist… She just felt like a real breath of fresh air”: Billy Corgan reveals how many guitarists the Smashing Pumpkins auditioned in person – and how they knew Kiki Wong was the one

The band have also finished a guitar record that will make “the old-school fans happy”

Guitar World

“I may not be the absolute best player out there – in fact, I know I’m not! But what I have is an undying love for guitar and heavy metal”: Kiki Wong landed the gig of a lifetime with the Smashing Pumpkins – and she knows she has big shoes to fill

The 35-year-old Instagram shredder was chosen from 10,000 applicants after she’d almost given up on her dream. She opens up on the interview and audition process, bonding with Billy Corgan over Dimebag Darrell, and why getting the guitarist spot was as joyful as giving birth

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