Trendsetter is thrilled to be working with Steve Aoki again on the release of the star-studded all Asian-American cast video for “Waste It On Me” featuring BTS. Today, the two-time Grammy-nominated DJ and Producer released his music video for hit single “Waste It On Me” featuring global megastars BTS. The track which appeared on Aoki’s newest installment of the neon future series, Neon Future III, has amassed praise domestically and internationally, debuting at #1 in more than 60 countries with 4 million streams in the first 24 hours, as well as the #1 worldwide trend on Twitter with 1k+ retweets per minute.
Watch the video here
The highly anticipated music video for “Waste It On Me” with a knockout all Asian-American cast and director, featuring stars such as Ross Butler from 13 Reasons Why, Ken Jeong from Crazy Rich Asians and The Hangover, Devon Aoki from Sin City 2, and many more – a true triumph for Asian representation in mainstream media, and a star-studded showcase of talent. The video begins with a shot of Aoki and his crew entering a nightclub with the owner played by Jamie Chung and Ben Baller, followed by Ross Butler who is on a steamy date with Devon Aoki. The viewer is then taken to a hopelessly in love Ken Jeong, whose character is a waiter at the club where he fawns over Devon, his next customer. As Jeong daydreams of winning a sing-off against Butler and sweeping Devon off her feet, in turn, the video goes back-and-forth with clips of Steve DJing and cameos of clubgoers doing karaoke Leonardo Nam, Vincent Rodriguez, Jimmy Yang, Jessica Lu, and more.
The director, Joe Hahn, who is best known as the DJ for Linkin Park, brings a modern and charismatic visual style to the overall sonic concept of the song; why waste your time on someone who doesn’t care, when you could be with someone who will offer you so much more? The music video is a comedic, light-hearted, feel-good journey that will leave you hitting replay.
“When I found out that ‘Waste It On Me’ was the number one song in the world on Apple Music I realized that this track represented more than just me and BTS,” said Aoki. “It’s bigger than music, it represents a Korean band and one Asian American DJ that can show other Asians they are also apart of the global commercial musical landscape. I feel so deeply about the Asian footprint in music culture that I wanted the music video to have an entirely Asian cast and director. The video tells the story of “Waste It On Me” in an incredibly funny, witty, and clever manner. I want to give a big shoutout to all the incredible actors and people who made this video happen: Joe Hahn, Jessica Lu, Ben Baller, Devon Aoki, Jimmy Yang, Ross Butler, Ken Jeong, Jamie Chung, Jinny Chung, Jared Eng, Steve Aoki, Tiffany Ma, and everyone else. Please watch and enjoy the music video.”
“I’m so excited to be a part of this video for my big brother Steve,” said Devon. “It was a lot of fun shooting with an all Asian cast and celebrating what it means to be Asian American. It felt really good being there together as a group, representing our backgrounds as well as what makes us unique. I love my brother and it means the world for me to stand beside him—I will always be there to support him and of course to remind him where we come from…AOKI FAM!”
“Waste It On Me,” which graced the Billboard Hot 100 chart last week, marks Aoki’s fifth time on the Top 10, and BTS’ first time on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The track garnered praise globally and amassed 20+ million streams on Spotify in less than two weeks, with coverage in various outlets such as Vulture, Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, E! Online, Billboard, MTV, ET, and many more. “Waste It On Me” is the third project BTS and Steve have collaborated on and is the second hit to be listed on the Hot 100, following the Steve Aoki remix of BTS’ “MIC Drop” featuring Desiigner.
About Steve Aoki:
Two-time Grammy-nominated producer/DJ Steve Aoki is one of today’s most successful American cross-genre artists, collectively counting 1.5 billion music streams on Spotify, with an additional 2 billion music streams on YouTube. As the founder of the trendsetting record label, events/lifestyle company, and apparel line Dim Mak Records, which he founded in 1996, Aoki has helped launch the careers of global acts like The Chainsmokers, Bloc Party, The Bloody Beetroots, The Gossip, and The Kills, among many others. Dim Mak today counts more than 1,000 official releases from the biggest acts and most buzzing newcomers across EDM, indie rock, hip-hop, and beyond over its two-decades-plus discography. As a solo artist, Aoki boasts a lauded discography that includes: Wonderland (2012), his debut solo album, which garnered him his first-ever Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album; the Neon Future series, which includes Neon Future I (2014, certified gold by the RIAA), Neon Future II (2015), Neon Future III (November 2018), and Neon Future IV (spring 2019); and the hip-hop centric Steve Aoki Presents Kolony (2017). His genre-defying collaborations also include original songs with A-listers like Lil Yachty and Migos (“Night Call” from Kolony, 2017); One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson on the global hit “Just Hold On” (2016), which debuted at #1 in more than 40 countries and has since gone gold or platinum in 18 countries; and Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz, and Elvis Crespo on the Spanish-language track “Azukita” (2018). In 2016, Aoki released the Netflix Originals documentary film I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, which earned him his second Grammy nomination for Best Music Film and globally released in more than 190 countries. Recognized by Forbes as one of the top 5 world’s highest paid DJ’s and the world’s hardest working DJ, Aoki is “one of the most in-demand entertainers in the world” (Billboard), counting more than 250 tour dates per year, with past performances at nearly every top festival around the world including Coachella, Ultra Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock Festival, Tomorrowland, Electric Daisy Carnival, and more. As a fashion designer/entrepreneur, Aoki has collaborated with major fashion and lifestyle brands like Converse and Bathing Ape and serves as a global ambassador for several international brands including ASICS and Diesel. In 2016, he also debuted his very own Dim Mak Collection streetwear line, which he later presented at New York Fashion Week in 2017. In 2012, Aoki founded THE AOKI FOUNDATION, which primarily supports organizations in the brain science and research areas and has donated more than $500,000 to date. www.steveaoki.com
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