The widespread questioning surrounding NIKI's orientation began in earnest during the summer of 2022, following the release of her concept-heavy album Nicole. The record reclaimed unreleased songs written during her high school years in Jakarta, documenting teenage longing, separation anxiety, and devastating breakups. While mainstream listeners focused on the narrative arc, online fan circles zoomed in on specific tracks like "Before" and "Take a Chance with Me."
Online video edits on TikTok and X paired NIKI’s melancholic ballads with sapphic romance tropes, quickly racking up millions of views. Casual observers soon mistook these user-created narratives for biographical confessionals. In pop spaces, listeners frequently claim resonant art for their own lived experiences. When an artist crafts universally relatable heartbreak anthems, fans often read their own identities into the emotional blank canvas. For a young, hyper-engaged LGBTQ+ audience, Zefanya’s sensitive lyrical phrasing felt naturally aligned with queer romantic longing.
