China Cultural Exports Series - The first Chinese pop star?

From Mickey Mouse to McDonald's to Madonna to Prison Break, the US leads in the industry of culture exports. Meanwhile to most people, China is about Ang Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi. Its scope is narrow (movies) and China definitely still some way to go before it can match the US in terms of revenue (over 11 percent of U.S. GDP comes from the creative industries). China is rich in history and cultures, yet not packaged in a way that is really marketable globally. This is the first of a series of observations which try to uncover what China is already exporting and other potential exports.

The Chinese music scene is filled with lots of stars, but almost all is unheard of in the west. We have Jay Chou, Eason Chan, Han Hong, to name a few. But their brand of Chinese pop and mainstream music is only for the local and regional taste. China's national broadcaster, CCTV has long been holding its prestigious annual singing contest, in different categories like pop, classical and folk. The winners of each category will typically be groomed to become top singers. Personally, I find the folk category extremely refreshing, with singers (farmers and nomads) from some of the 55 minority groups in China. One singer, Sa Dingding, a mongolian nomad, seemed to have crossed the chasm and is being groomed for international fame. If she would to succeed, she would be the first Chinese pop music export in the equivalent of Enya. [ev type="youtube" data="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn0S053Ho4g&eurl=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/04/made-in-china-the-singer-poised-to-sweep-the-globe/"][/ev]