ROBERT GALLAGHER FOR FORBES
Entertainment & Sports
Brian Imanuel
(Rich Brian), 18
MUSICIAN INDONESIA
Making the leap from his parents’ living room
to the cover of the Los Angeles Times, 18-year-
old Brian Imanuel is arguably Indonesia’s best-
known export right now. Jakarta-born Imanuel,
who went by Rich Chigga before switching
to the more palatable Rich Brian, shattered
expectations when his satirical music video
“Dat $tick” went viral in 2016. “The first couple
of months were definitely overwhelming,” he
admits. With a bottomless bass voice coming
from a small frame, Imanuel surprised even hip-
hop heavyweights like Ghostface Killah with his
fluency and mature sound.
His first studio session was with Pharrell,
and the rap prodigy made the transition from
internet fame to legitimate recording artist in
only two years. His debut album, Amen, was
released in February and made him the first
Asian artist to reach No. 1 on iTunes’ Hip-Hop
Charts. Imanuel isn’t picking sides, though, when
it comes to American or Indonesian influences
on his art; he’d rather give credit to what really
built him: “It’s just mostly how I see hip-hop, and
how I see everything: through the lens of the
internet.” —Carla ThomasSeo-hyun Ahn, 14
South Korea
Actress
Shila Amzah, 27 Malaysia
Singer
Emily Browning, 29
Australia
Actress
Seong-Jin Cho, 23
South Korea
Pianist
Brandon Ellis, 24
Australia
Football player
Kwang-Song Han, 19
North Korea
Football player
Yuzuru Hanyu, 23 Japan
Figure skater
Hu Ranran, 18 China
Filmmaker
Brian Imanuel
(Rich Brian), 18
Indonesia
Musician
Jain Kim, 29
South Korea
Rock climber
Katherine Langford, 21
Australia
Actress
Smriti Mandhana, 21
India
Cricket player
Ah Moon Marip, 27
Myanmar
Singer
Hideki Matsuyama, 26
Japan
Golfer
Momina Mustehsan, 26
Pakistan
Singer
Ng On Yee, 27
Hong Kong
Snooker player
Shohei Ohtani, 23 Japan
Baseball playerSung Hyun Park, 24
South Korea
Golfer
Anushka Sharma, 29
India
Actress
P.V. Sindhu, 22 India
Badminton player
Padmanabh Singh, 20
India
Polo captain, Indian
National Polo Team
Emily Song, 27 China
Business development
executive,
Creative Artists Agency
Bangtan Sonyeondan
(BTS), age 20–25
South Korea
K-pop band
Harley Streten (DJ
Flume), 26 Australia
Record producer
Sara Takanashi, 21 Japan
Ski jumper
Nathan Walker, 24
Australia
Hockey player,
Washington Capitals
Yip Pin Xiu, 26
Singapore
Paralympic swimmer
Young You, 13
South Korea
Figure skater
Sung-bin Yun, 23
South Korea
Skeleton racer
Zhou Qi, 22 China
Basketball player
JUDGES
Chatri Sityodtong
Singapore/Thailand
Founder and Chairman,
ONE Championship
Kris Wu
China
Music producer and actorAPRIL 2018 FORBES ASIA | 27