Jessie J’s Return to China After Cancer Recovery
One week after announcing she was “cancer free,” singer-songwriter Jessica Cornish, known professionally as Jessie J, traveled thousands of miles to perform for an audience exceeding one billion people.
On 29 May, Cornish delivered a powerful rendition of Frank Sinatra’s "My Way" on the stage of Singer, a widely popular Chinese singing competition comparable to The Voice. She also performed her new song, "California," modifying the lyrics briefly to replace "California" with "Changsha," the Chinese city hosting Singer.
Returning to China was a nostalgic experience for Cornish, who shared with her 821,600 followers on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform,
“The fact that I’m still so widely recognised and loved by everyone means more to me than people can imagine.”
Cornish expressed that she was “instantly hooked” on China, stating to ,
“I just think in life you should go where you’re celebrated and I feel so celebrated there.”
A fan on Weibo commented,
“In China, everyone thinks no one in the world can sing better than you.”
In a nation of 1.4 billion people, having fewer than a million followers does not necessarily make one a household name. However, Cornish’s strategic focus on China, especially as her Western career appeared to stall, has enabled her to access a lucrative market, a path other Western pop stars are increasingly pursuing.
Cornish initially entered the Chinese music scene in 2018 by participating in and winning that year’s series of Singer, a show capable of attracting over 20 billion views per episode. At that time, the potential of the Chinese market was already apparent.
Hundreds of millions of digitally savvy and culturally eager young music fans had cultivated a dynamic and rapidly expanding music scene. The Chinese government had recently intensified efforts to curb illegal music streaming, thereby strengthening copyright protections and improving earning opportunities for musicians. Since 2018, China’s recorded music market has risen from the seventh largest globally to fourth, recently surpassing Germany.
Impact of Covid-19 and Domestic Music Industry Growth
Chinese artists have traditionally dominated the market, a trend that has intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic. Alex Taggart, founder of Isle Of, an artist management and music consultancy with experience in China, explained,
“Covid raised the bar for how interesting you have to be to the Chinese music consumer in order for it to be lucrative.”
He added,
“With no foreign artists able to come into China, the domestic music industry massively raised its game. Before Covid, it was much easier to be a random western artist in China doing well.”
Currently, international acts must exert greater effort to win over Chinese fans. Among those who have worked diligently is the Irish boyband Westlife, who first performed in China over 20 years ago and have steadily built a following since.
Shane Filan, a member of Westlife, remarked,
“We’ve performed in China more than 20 times and it’s become one of the most special relationships we have anywhere in the world. The scale of the support still amazes us.”
Kian Egan, another band member, noted,
“Chinese fans know every lyric, every album track, every harmony, sometimes better than we do ourselves.”
In 2023, Westlife performed a song entirely in Mandarin at a Wuhan concert, covering "The Ordinary Road" by Mandopop star Pu Shu. For a country with strong national pride, few gestures impress Chinese fans more than learning their language. That same year, the band performed at China’s flagship Spring Festival Gala, reaching an audience of more than 650 million.
Western Artists’ Appeal and Musical Preferences in China
Before achieving widespread fame, Charli XCX impressed Chinese audiences by collaborating with Chinese electronic musician Howie Lee to produce a Mandarin version of her hit "Boys."
Part of the appeal of Westlife and Jessie J lies in their affinity for ballads, a genre highly favored in China. Taggart explained,
“The thing that Chinese music listeners really care about is, one, melody over everything, and two, they really respect pure singing ability. They love somebody with pipes. That is a big part of the reason why Chinese fans love Jessie J so much.”
Cornish shared that she appreciates performing in China because of,
“how much they respect and celebrate voices and technique … I really miss people just listening.”
Challenges and Adaptations for Performing in China
Performing in China presents challenges, including language barriers and regulatory restrictions. Since Cornish’s initial appearance on Singer, rules regarding the display of tattoos on television have tightened; tattoos were officially banned in 2018. Consequently, she carefully planned her outfits to ensure her tattoos were not visible during performances.
Several mid-tier British indie bands have also pursued the Chinese market, including the alt-rock group Sea Power, which developed a substantial following after featuring in a popular video game.
Although the Chinese market has become more difficult to penetrate post-Covid, China continues to seek international stars to stimulate its slowing economy.
Notable International Performances and Market Dynamics
In 2024, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, performed on the tropical southern Chinese island of Hainan, with tickets selling out within minutes. Despite controversy surrounding the rapper’s racist and antisemitic remarks, he was an unexpected choice for China, where performances undergo censorship and explicit content is generally discouraged.
The Hainan show reportedly generated 373 million yuan (£41.2 million) in tourism revenue, prompting other cities to express interest in hosting similar events. West also performed in Shanghai the previous year.
A music industry professional, who requested anonymity due to professional ties with China, explained,
“It’s not necessarily about explicit lyrics. Those are allowed on Chinese platforms … it would be more of a political thing. If someone was outspoken against the Chinese government, they would struggle to build a career in China.”
Prior to the Hainan show, West abruptly canceled a scheduled performance in Taiwan. His team may have taken lessons from Katy Perry’s experience; Perry was banned from China after performing in Taiwan while wearing the Taiwanese flag as a cape.
However, Chinese authorities appeared to forgive Perry last year, allowing her to perform five sold-out shows in the country. Upon returning to the Shanghai stage, Perry remarked,
“The Chinese were my best fans.”
Additional research by Yu-chen Li
