--- ---  # Online hits propel foreign artists to stardom in China  _Swim Deep performs at Strawberry Music Festival in 2019 in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. HASONG / FOR CHINA DAILY_ By WANG XIN Chris James, a 30-year-old German singer-songwriter, had no idea a song he wrote quickly in his Berlin bedroom had captivated millions of music fans in China, and would ultimately change his life. Busy preparing for his new Chinese tour in August, James clearly remembers the magical — or even “confusing” — start of the story. It was about four years ago, when he opened up the official music video of his song _Not Angry_ at home and noticed a few comments in Chinese under it. Those comments increased day by day, and piqued his interest in what was going on. He ran them through a translator, tracked them to a Chinese app and found out his song, which starts with a catchy humming section, had garnered millions of views. On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the hit song has now been used and shared over 5 billion times. “I was sitting in my bedroom, scrolling on the screen and it was really hard to process. I saw people singing it in schools and malls … This little melody that I made had traveled so far,” recalled James. In recent years, an increasing number of overseas musicians have flooded China’s music market. The Global Music Report 2026 released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry showed that last year, Asia saw strong growth of 10.9% in recorded music revenues, and maintained its position as the largest region for physical revenues in 2025, accounting for 45.1%. Notably, China has overtaken Germany to become the fourth largest global market, with remarkable revenue growth of 20.1%, the fastest-growing market in the top 20, said the report. Social media platforms like RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, are also actively facilitating foreign artists searching for new horizons. Jiang Jiayao, content operations manager of RedNote’s music team, said the team provides guidance and support to the artists on how to make their music reach the local community. The team has made connections with artists worldwide, helping over 100 of them tap into the Chinese market and supporting hundreds of shows in China. They come from countries as varied as the U.S., Brazil, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Japan and South Korea, and feature diverse music genres such as rock, pop, indie and jazz. In 2023, James played his first China show in Beijing, followed by six other cities. A year later, his Chinese tour covered eight cities, and last year, he performed in 10 cities. James is getting ready to meet his army of Chinese fan crowds again on a new tour. He has over 3 million fans on Chinese social media platforms. “They are very into music, with a very strong passion and a lot of attention to lyrics, details and the depth of songs. They are also very interactive and can sing every song together with me. They are loud, in the best way possible,” said James with a smile. Babychair, a three-piece band based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, made its China debut at a music festival in Shanghai three years ago. The band, which creates retro, dreamlike pieces with experimental music elements, saw its popularity take off in China after joining hands with the talent agency 1500 Sound Academy. “Our tour in China really opened our eyes and gave us new inspirations. We are always meeting new people and exploring new things, opportunities and possibilities,” said Aaron, the drummer. Over the past three years, they have come to value the Chinese musicians and artists they have met along the way. “We share the same struggles and same happiness. They are very friendly, open, easy to communicate with and down to earth,” said Aaron. For British indie band Swim Deep, who completed their fourth tour last year, one of the most rewarding aspects of performing in China is feeling valued. Formed in 2011, the Birmingham band has played over eight shows since 2014 and sold out many of them, playing to hundreds and sometimes thousands of fans. One of Swim Deep’s most memorable China shows was the 2019 Strawberry Music Festival in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Keyboard player James Balmont said audience numbers in China often far surpass what they draw in the United Kingdom. The biggest UK festival crowd they have played for was 500, while in Guangzhou, they performed to around 10,000 people on the main stage. Balmont also appreciated the Chinese staff’s extra efforts and the respect they showed, which made the band feel valued. Sam Tucker, manager of Swim Deep, said: “I think the future of the Chinese music market is very bright. The way the Chinese live market has embraced international artists and tours enables so much potential future growth. As culture becomes less specific to one country or city, it feels like the Chinese music market can only continue to grow and develop.” [](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) ## China Daily Website - Connecting China Connecting the World Since its launch in 1981, China Daily has grown to become the nation’s leading English-language newspaper. With a combined print, online and mobile readership of more than 470 million, it serves a vital role in telling the world about China, providing valuable insight into the world’s second-largest economy. [LEARN MORE](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) China Daily - TIME - Partner Content - Online hits propel foreign artists to stardom in China ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/online-hits-propel-foreign-artists-to-stardom-in-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/online-hits-propel-foreign-artists-to-stardom-in-china/"},"headline":"Online hits propel foreign artists to stardom in China","datePublished":"2026-07-29T20:53:49.484Z","dateModified":"2026-07-29T20:53:29.975Z","description":"Online hits propel foreign artists to stardom in China","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/online-hits-propel-foreign-artists-to-stardom-in-china/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/online-hits-propel-foreign-artists-to-stardom-in-china/","name":"Online hits propel foreign artists to stardom in China"}}]}] ```