(Global Times) Chinese-Canadian singer and actor Kris Wu has became the center of controversy lately - not for the content of his music, but because his new album Antares elbowed out a number of US pop stars, including Ariana Grande, to top the US iTunes charts.
Released on November 2, Antares immediately topped the US iTunes album chart. Wu also dominated the US iTunes top 10 songs chart with seven songs from Antares. Three of these songs took the top three spots ahead of Grande's newly debuted song "Thank U, Next" at No.4, leading to a heated debate between the two idols' fans on social media platforms.
While Wu, a former member of the South Korean boy band EXO, is a highly popular idol in China, he is relatively unknown to many music lovers in North America. After Wu's songs kept Grande from the top spot, many of her fans flooded Twitter to ask "Kris Wu, Kris Who?" and question the legitimacy of his quick iTunes success by suggesting it was achieved through the use of automated bots.
On Wednesday, rumors began circulating in China that Wu's album and songs were being removed from the iTunes charts due to fraudulent practices. This was immediately denied by the singer's Chinese agent Universal Music China in a statement that same day which said Wu's iTunes chart figures were "genuine and effective."
Also on Wednesday, Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, who had previously questioned Wu's rankings, posted a statement on Instagram explaining that he and Wu had spoken. In the post, he explained that Wu's Antares sales were the result of Chinese fans flooding the US iTunes store to purchase the album, the release of which had been delayed in China to November 6 to coincide with the singer's birthday.
The fact that sales for Wu's album and songs dropped significantly in the US iTunes store after the album went on sale in China lends credence to Braun's explanation that the US sales were backed by eager Chinese fans who wanted to get their hands on Wu's album early.
"My fans are real people, not robots... because people have never seen a Chinese singer on top of the chart doesn't mean it won't happen," Wu said while attending a panel in San Francisco hosted by California radio station Hot 103.5 FM on Friday.
Wu's response immediately climbed to the top of the most-searched topics on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Saturday. Posts about it were reposted and liked by many Wu fans who felt their idol was being wronged.
"To those who think he [Kris Wu] has no strengths and are blind to his efforts, and to those who haven't even listened to his songs and are pointing fingers at him - you're being shameful by just following the crowd," wrote Sina Weibo user Xuanxuan-Norah.
Some netizens surmised that the backlash against Wu's US iTunes success might boil down to a lack of understanding in the US about Chinese fan culture.
In a highly organized fan club in China, shuabang (Lit: swiping charts) - in which fans buy multiple copies of albums or songs to push up sales numbers - is just one of a number of daily tasks that fan clubs carry out to show their devotion and support for their idols, media reported.
"This whole thing about Kris Wu showcases the conflict between Eastern and Western fan culture… the Chinese fan economy is about turning fan power into money and being a fan in China you have to bring capital to support your idols," wrote Weibo user Qishi Shijiuniber.
Some, however, pointed out how this practice may harm a star's reputation.
"As a fan, I think shuabang can be really harmful to the idol because non-fans will assume a song is not good if they think it only topped the charts due to the efforts of fans," wrote Weibo user Xiaodianxian Benxian.
Source: Global Times