The Fortnite Festival is said to have a female headliner next season. HYPEX’s leak is primarily responsible for what is now a widespread discussion among the fans. When we refer to “everyone” we are really talking about the speculations in the Fortnite community regarding the identity of the artist that have gone crazy. The original tweet stated: “FESTIVAL WILL GET FEMALE HEADLINER NEXT SEASON” along with an image, and truly, that was all it needed to light the internet up.
As soon as players started listing who it might be. The replies came in as a tumultuous mixture of hopes, dreams, and guesses. A Twitter user named Kase Teto answered “Miku being in the image makes me believe its gonna be Teto, Cuz why else would shinna use a photo of Miku?” and Kase, to be honest, that’s a whole deal. It looks like there is some connection with Hatsune Miku imagery that is generating the excitement of the Vocaloid fans. And then another one just bluntly stated: “Give me Teto or give me nothing, that’s as simple as it goes.” No doubt, the Teto crowd is VERY fervent about this.
But it is not only the anime-style characters that people are chasing after. Some want live artists as well. One comment read: “Please be Ado 🙏” with a crying emoji. Ado is the Japanese singer who sang the One Piece Film Red songs, which would be amazing for the anime gaming audience. Another one was just yelling “ADO TIME” as if it was already a done deal. And then there were the western pop fans; somebody suggested Madison Beer while another one commented: “BETTER BE OLIVIA”, probably alluding to Olivia Rodrigo. On the contrary, there was the negative viewpoint: “it’s gonna be one of them shitty artists like olivia rodrigo or some shit”, which is… quite harsh. Severe.
Some replies include even stranger conjectures. One put forward Huntrix, and I am not really sure who that is? Then there was “Pop Idol KIRYU!” which is a Yakuza reference that honestly would be amazing but seems very unlikely. And naturally, the K-pop fans showed up with “NEWJEANS IS COMING” and a gif. The range of proposals is simply staggering: from Britney Spears to SZA to Charli XCX. It’s like everyone’s personal Spotify wrapped has turned into a Fortnite wish list.
Nevertheless, the most unexpected thing is that there is some genuine… drama? I guess? In the comments. One user ~Nikusza~ and enjoyerofluz had a dispute over Kasane Teto, with one of them declaring “Porn is not the only thing I like about her, I really like her style, memes and songs” and the other conceding “oh well yeah i didn’t know who she was, cause all i’ve seen of her is porn.” So that’s… a conversation that took place. And there is also some other back and forth about a person named Gracie and Finn? Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yes, the Fortnite Festival.
The official Kasane Teto account even joined in with a reply that was interpreted as “Kasane Teto is not planning on corps de ballet, but what are you talking about? We are often approached with requests to collaborate with XX, but even if you tell us, there is nothing we can do about it, and we cannot respond.” Which indicates they are being inundated with inquiries but cannot verify anything. Typical corporate non-answer, but it is nice that they responded in the first place.
Conversely, there are people who are realistic. One comment reads “Probably not as she just got an emote in the shop” in connection with some artist, and another claims “she’s not coming. Shiina/leakers probably got it mixed up with winterfest Miku” which may be true. The reality is, leakers sometimes make mistakes or there may be confusions regarding the facts. But the simultaneous buzz from several reliable leakers suggests that there is indeed something happening.
Fortnite Festival has been slowly increasing its music game mode and the addition of a female headliner would be a big step since the artists in the past have been… well, mostly male and groups. Being the only female singer could attract a new audience. The mode already brings together players of rhythm games and Fortnite, but the introduction of a popular female artist could really expand that circle even more.
What is funny is the way the community is divided as to who they want the most. For example, the anime/Vocaloid group is screaming for Teto or Ado while the pop fans are asking for Olivia Rodrigo or Madison Beer, the K-pop fans are insisting on NewJeans… It is really impossible to please everyone.
