Douyin live-stream concert proves Stefanie Sun not blacklisted in China

Singapore — Singaporean Mandopop star Stefanie Sun debunked rumours about being blacklisted by the Chinese authorities by having a successful live-stream concert on Sept 9.

A few days before the concert, Sun had joined social media platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The one-hour show had 12 million viewers and it also garnered 580 million likes. It had been inferred from the performance that the 43-year-old was not blacklisted in China.

Sun’s rep also confirmed the week before that the rumours were “fake news” and that Sun was not part of a crackdown against foreign stars.

The showbiz in China has been affected recently by stars such as Vicki Zhao being blacklisted and fan accounts on Weibo being suspended for what the Chinese authorities deemed “chaotic” behaviour. These included rivalry between fan clubs and extravagant gifts for idols, as reported by The Straits Times.

Sun gained praise from netizens for disabling the gift function on her live-stream. The micro-donations could have been a lucrative source of income for her, given the millions of views, her large fan base and her evergreen popularity after 21 years in the music business.

Born Jul 23, 1978, Stefanie Sun is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. In 2000, she released her debut album, Yan Zi, which won her a Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist.

In 2004, she released her eighth studio album, Stefanie, which won her another Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer. Having sold more than 30 million records, she achieved popularity in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

She attended Nanyang Primary School, St. Margaret’s Secondary School, Raffles Girls’ School, Saint Andrew’s Junior College, and Nanyang Technological University, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Marketing in 2000.

During college, she wrote her first song titled “Someone”, which appeared on her 2002 album, Start. She also attended LWS School of Music, and her vocal talent was discovered by her mentor Paul Lee, who later introduced her to Samuel Chou, the chairman of Warner Music Taiwan at the time. /TISG