From a hijab-wearing Indonesian metal band to singers, actors and athletes: Meet Asia’s rising stars who are shattering stereotypes and making waves.

After a decade together, the all-female, hijab-wearing Indonesian metal band Voice of Baceprot (VoB) last year released its first album, Retas, then quit its record label to go independent. The gutsy decision matches its reputation for challenging stereotypes in the Muslim-majority country.

Band members Firda Marsya Kurnia, 23, Widi Rahmawati, 22, and Euis Siti Aisyah, 23 are some of the trailblazing artists and athletes who made this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Entertainment & Sports list.

The trio were introduced to metal in their early teens by a teacher who taught them how to play instruments and helped set up their band. They have since gone from covering hits by groups such as Metallica for school events to creating their own music and touring internationally. In June they will attend Glastonbury, the first Indonesian musicians to perform at the U.K. festival in its 54-year history.

With lyrics that address issues such as gender inequality and climate change, U.K.-based magazine Metal Hammer has called Voice of Baceprot “the metal band the world needs right now.” One of their singles, “God, Allow Me (Please) to Make Music,” has over 5 million views on YouTube.

All three come from modest backgrounds in rural West Java (baceprot means “noisy” in their native Sundanese). They say their parents weren’t supportive at the start and their performances were sometimes sabotaged by haters. They also have experienced threats in a country where it is unusual for women to perform metal, but they don’t plan to stop. “We want to keep setting an example, especially for the young girls, that we have a brighter future,” says Kurnia.

Another girl band defying stereotypes and following a unique path is Japan’s Atarashii Gakko! The four-member group has intrigued audiences around the world with their cheeky sailor costumes, sassy dances and bold message of nonconformity. Since forming in 2015, the group joined label 88rising, hopped on the international music festival circuit — including Coachella in 2024 — and started appearing on U.S. shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live! Their idiosyncratic performances aren’t mere weirdness: the group’s philosophy is to challenge the norms set for Japanese youth and encourage individuality and freedom.

Over in Bollywood, Dinara Punchihewa burst on the competitive entertainment scene in 2018 by writing, acting and directing her own short film Maala, which was screened at international film festivals and caught the attention of Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage, who cast her in Gaadi – Children of the Sun (2019). Since then, she has been in four other films. Punchihewa, a graduate of Queen Mary University of London, went on to found Punchi Actors, a nonprofit that introduces children from low-income families to theater and acting.

Setting records

Inspiring female athletes on this year’s Entertainment & Sports list are also reaching milestones and earning international recognition, empowering their fans on the way.

Park Hye-jeong is lifting South Korea’s stature in the sport of women’s weightlifting. At the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, in February, Park won gold in the women’s +87kg, which is the heaviest women’s weight class. In 2023, Park won gold at the International Weightlifting Federation World Weightlifting Championships in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh and the Asian Games in the southeastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Park is the first Korean to win gold in the heaviest women’s weight class at the Asian Games since weightlifting legend Jang Mi-ran in 2010.

Last year, Yin Ruoning became the No. 1 player in women’s golf, the second Chinese to clinch that crown after Feng Shanshan in the 2017-18 season. Yin achieved three consecutive top-three finishes in LPGA events in the U.S., the last of which was a third-place finish in Ohio in September. She also played for China last year at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, where the country won bronze for a women’s team event

In 2022, Malaysian squash player Sivasangari Subramaniam was in a car accident that left her with facial fractures and a C1 vertebrae injury. Seven months later, Subramaniam won two gold medals at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, and in April 2024, won the Professional Squash Association (PSA) GillenMarkets London Classic tournament in London. She beat three of the top five players in the world, claiming the win after an 81-minute final match. Currently ranked No. 13 in the world, Subramaniam has set her sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.