“I gave up hope on any future tours. I threw together a resume and sent it in, thinking it probably would get lost”: Kiki Wong reveals how she nailed her Smashing Pumpkins audition ahead of 10,000 other candidates

Kiki Wong.

At the start of 2024, the Smashing Pumpkins announced they’d be holding a worldwide open audition to identify a new electric guitar player, who would be tasked with replacing the outgoing Jeff Schroeder.

After 10,000-plus applications (including one from GW’s very own Michael Astley-Brown) and a lengthy deliberation process, the alt-rock icons named Instagram shredder Kiki Wong as the successful candidate.