British pop star Jessie J (real name Jessica Cornish) one week after announcing she was "cancer free" traveled thousands of miles to perform on the popular Chinese singing competition "Singer." On May 29, she performed a powerful rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and her new song "California," adapting the lyrics to Changsha. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Cornish called returning to China "nostalgic" and wrote to her 821,600 followers on Weibo: "The fact that I'm still so widely recognized and loved means more to me than people can imagine."
"I was instantly hooked on China. In life you should go where you're celebrated and I feel so celebrated there," she told The Guardian.
One fan wrote on Weibo: "In China, everyone thinks no one in the world can sing better than you."
In a country of 1.4 billion, having less than a million followers does not make you a household name. But Cornish's pivot to China, at a time when her Western career was floundering, allowed her to tap into a lucrative market, and other Western acts are trying to follow suit.
Cornish first burst onto the Chinese scene in 2018 when she won that year's series of "Singer," a show that can garner more than 20 billion views for a single episode. The potential of the Chinese market was already evident.
Hundreds of millions of digitally-savvy young music fans had created an energetic scene. The government cracked down on illegal streaming, strengthening copyright. Since 2018, China's recorded music market has climbed from seventh to fourth globally, overtaking Germany.
Chinese stars have always dominated, a trend intensified after the pandemic. Alex Taggart, founder of Isle Of, said: "Covid raised the bar for how interesting you have to be. With no foreign artists able to come in, the domestic industry raised its game."
Now international acts have to work harder to win over Chinese fans. Westlife has worked particularly hard. The Irish boyband first performed in China over 20 years ago. Shane Filan said: "We've performed in China more than 20 times, and it's become one of the most special relationships. The scale of support still amazes us."
Kian Egan added: "Chinese fans know every lyric, every harmony, sometimes better than we do."
In 2023, the band performed a song entirely in Mandarin in Wuhan. This year, they performed at China's Spring Festival Gala to an audience of over 650 million.
Charli xcx collaborated with Chinese electronic musician Howie Lee to produce a Mandarin version of her hit "Boys."
Part of the appeal of Westlife and Jessie J is their penchant for ballads. Taggart said: "Chinese listeners care about melody and pure singing ability. They love somebody with pipes."
Cornish said she enjoys how much China "respects and celebrates voices and technique."
Performing in China has challenges. Besides language barriers, showing tattoos on TV has been banned since 2018. Cornish had to plan outfits to cover her tattoos.
Several mid-tier British indie bands, including Sea Power, have found success in China after scoring a popular video game.
Although the market is harder to break into post-Covid, China hopes to attract international stars to boost its economy. In 2024, Ye (formerly Kanye West) announced a surprise show in Hainan, which sold out within minutes. However, the rapper has been criticized for racist and antisemitic comments.