Taiwanese pop star Jolin Tsai has triggered mixed reactions to her concerts in mainland China, with some netizens likening her shows to cult-like experiences. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo
Beijing (SCMP): Taiwan’s Mandopop queen Jolin Tsai’s new concert tour has been branded a “cult” event online.
But the singer has hit back and received support from fans, including mainland China’s state media.
Tsai unveiled her new world tour concert, Pleasure, at the Taipei Dome from December 30 to January 1.
As footage of the breathtaking stage circulated online, a mainland Chinese influencer with 400,000 followers, @celialiang, accused Tsai’s concert of being “cultlike”.
The influencer and her supporters said it featured “dark elements from Western religions” and claimed that a 30m long mechanical serpent puppet, which she performs atop, “sucked away audiences’ luck”.
The show also sees the singer perform on the back of a flying horse figure. -- Photo: Eternal Music Production via SCMP
The woman also reportedly led hundreds of netizens to report Tsai to Chinese city governments in a bid to get her tour, scheduled for 14 mainland cities starting March, cancelled.
On January 7, the company collaborating with Tsai on her mainland concerts, Yong Dao Xing, said it would hold the influencer legally responsible for spreading false information.
According to Tsai’s team, the concert tour, themed around the Mandopop diva’s 15th studio album Pleasure, was inspired by the Dutch painting Garden of Earthly Delights, which depicts the world being created by God.
While the painting is believed by scholars to express a warning against lust, Tsai set a different tone for her album and concert: “Pleasure is not a sin, and desire deserves to be embraced.”
In her concert, Tsai reportedly embodied the persona of the “mother of pleasure”, appearing on stage with an array of hybrid animals that bring the audience to the “universe of pleasure”.
The star’s breathtaking production reportedly cost US$29 million to put on. -- Photo: Eternal Music Production/SCMP
As well as the serpent puppet, Tsai’s stage set also features other eye-catching props and performances such as a seven-storey-tall female figure and pole climbing acrobatics, an intangible cultural heritage from eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
The production reportedly cost 200 million yuan (US$29 million).
As the news of Tsai’s concert being attacked made headlines, more people showed her support.
Some said the concert was on the same level as an Olympic Games opening ceremony.
Another said: “I would rather see a cool stage set than an uncreative one.”
The concert was also reportedly praised by an outlet under the mainland state media company, China Media Group, which said it was a large-scale contemporary art piece.
Another online observer said: “It is normal that her concert does not meet everyone’s aesthetic taste. Just leave us alone and let us enjoy it.”
Tsai performing in an eye-catching outfit. Her fans say critics are trying to trample on free artistic expression. -- Photo: Eternal Music Production via SCMP
The influencer @celialiang said she would only apologise to Tsai on condition that she sing the song I Love You, China on stage to show her loyalty to Chinese culture.
Some criticised influencers like her for impeding free artistic expression.
Tsai, 45, debuted in 1999 and has been one of the most popular singers in the Chinese-speaking world in the past two decades.
She was originally known for her innocent image and then worked hard to shake that off by focusing on dance-pop music.
With six world concert tours including the latest one under her belt, Tsai has amazed audiences with challenging choreographies and theatrical stages.
She calls herself an “earth talent”, meaning a person who was not gifted but works hard to achieve success. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
