Last year, while promoting her second album HEAVYWEIGHT, 23-year-old MILLI took her preparation far beyond the recording studio. She moved into a Muay Thai camp in Pattaya, Thailand, training alongside professional fighters before deciding to step into the ring herself.

The physical and mental demands were intense. In the lead-up to the bout, MILLI says she had nightmares every night, throwing punches and kicks in her sleep because her body was pushed to its limits. She didn't win her debut fight, but the experience reinforced a mindset that defines everything she does: if she's going to commit to something, she's going to give it everything she has.

That relentless drive is exactly why MILLI claims the No. 1 spot in the 2026 LiFTED 50.

Over the past year, she has stacked up one achievement after another. HEAVYWEIGHT earned Album of the Year at the TOTY Music Awards 2026, while she also collected Artist of the Year, Best Female Solo Artist, and Best Hip Hop/Rap/R&B Song at the SOT Awards.

As impressive as those accolades are, her biggest accomplishment came outside Thailand.

MILLI became one of the final four contestants on Show Me the Money, Korea's premier Hip Hop competition. While international guests often make brief appearances or are eliminated early, MILLI battled through round after round against some of Korea's best rappers.

"I’m from Thailand, and I had one opportunity to show them who MILLI is and what my sound is," she said. "Every round I did my best. No pullback. I put everything I had into every round."

That mentality—the willingness to keep fighting, whether in a boxing ring, on a Rap stage, or in front of millions of viewers—is what separates MILLI from everyone else. It's why she stands alone at the top of the 2026 LiFTED 50.

Check out LiFTED's interview with MILLI below.

Ahhhhhh. Don’t just say it, though. Don’t play with me. This is crazy because it’s MC. That means I’m not just rapping. It means that I’m giving something from my music to the people. That really means a lot to me.

I’m born and raised in Thailand, so it’s not the original Hip Hop that people listen to from the beginning, but I’m glad I’m accepted. Thank you for being so open minded and loving my music. Thank you for giving me the number one spot. DAMMMMMMN, girl.

Show Me the Money is my favorite thing that happened to my life lately. It’s been like six or seven months that I had such a great time. I met a lot of new friends and family and learned a new industry. You can’t deny that Korea has the strongest entertainment scene in Asia, so I learned a lot from them. I finally found myself from the show and I like Hip Hop for life.

Actually for Coachella, the whole thing is 88rising, so I’m just a part of the show. One of the jigsaw pieces. I have my own time singing and rapping on the stage. For Lollapallooza, I’m jamming for KNOCK2, just one song and eight bars. That’s it. These two festivals give out totally different vibes. For me as MILLI the singer, I love Coachella because I got to perform. But as a normal girl who loves music, I love Lollalollapalooza. I got to discover new artists and I got to dance a lot.

I felt so overwhelmed before I went into the ring. I told myself this was crazy. I couldn’t sleep properly two months before the fight. Every time I closed my eyes, my body would kick or punch and I would have nightmares because my body was working too hard. I gained more respect for myself. That surprised me. Now I know, if I want to do anything, I can do it and I will do it well.

I lived with the professional Muay Thai boxers in Pattaya, so thank you to them. Everyone was so kind and gave me blessings. I’m happy I experienced this because you only live once so do whatever you want to do.

I talk with YOUNGOHM a lot. We are kind of close. We just talk about what we are doing. When I was on Show Me the Money in Korea, YOUNGOHM would encourage me to just do what I do and show them who I really was and have no regrets. He’s a really nice guy and he knows what he wants to do–bring Thai music to the world. He’s a hometown hero.

DABOYWAY is a legend already. I have to say thank you to him because If he didn’t start doing Hip Hop, people wouldn’t have open minds.

This song was really hard. We tried to figure out how to blend the roots of the culture and a traditional song into Hip Hop and make it modern. My producer SpatChies and the executive producer 1-Flow and I were being so crazy in the studio. We were like scientists. We kept experimenting with new things until we found this one. It was crazy. When we did the demo, we were like, “Oh my god. We did it.” I had never heard something like this before. I’d love to do more of this.

For the music video, I got all my influencer friends to help. I just wanted to make it fun and relatable. That day was so hot it felt like the world was burning.

I’m glad they liked my MSG! I know that what I did on the show was pretty risky and crazy because it was totally different from what they heard before with K-Hip Hop. But yeah, I’m from Thailand, and I had one opportunity to show them who MILLI is and what my sound is. Every round I did my best. No pullback. I put everything I had into every round. It wasn’t about a competition with other contestants in the show. Instead I have to compete with myself from yesterday. So it’s really hard, but I feel grateful and honored to be on the show because I know myself a lot more now.

Right now, I’m so terrified about my Asia tour. All the artists in Thailand have big, hit songs, and one show to focus on. I have a lot of hit songs, too, but I’ve never had my own concert. So I’m doing a totally different thing. Why don’t we do nine places in Asia? Nine shows in a row waiting for me. I’m terrified about this, but also excited as hell because this is the chance I can meet my people and my fans who send love to me. This is the time I can give the love, power, and good energy back to them.

You can’t expect anything because I don’t know what’s going to happen. But one thing you can expect is that every millisecond I’m going to make it worth the money. Every dime spent on tickets, I’m going to make it worth it. You’re not going to feel regret that you have come to see me. We’re going to have such a great time together. Happy, crying, and being emotionally damaged together.

Young ladies out there listen to me. I can be a good example. Also a bad one so take the good part from me. If you want to do music or whatever you want to do, start doing it. If you keep imagining about that, it’s happening in your brain, not in real life. I’m not that grown. I’m not that mature. I’m 23 about to turn 24. I don’t know how to deal with depression, the struggle, or the obstacles. I’m trying to but I want to let you know if you are crying, I’m your friend crying with you. We’re gonna cry together. We gonna keep moving together. We can be weak but we’re not gonna stop.