Taylor Swift To Follow NBA's Footsteps and Head to China Amid Ongoing Hong Kong Strife
Pop star Taylor Swift will perform at a concert in China on Nov. 10 for the communist nation’s annual “Singles’ Day” shopping spree.
Hosted by the e-commerce company Alibaba and designed to increase the company’s sales, the event features a “hybrid spectacle combining elements of a pop concert with a variety show,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Swift is not the first American celebrity to appear at the Chinese celebration, which is held every year in conjunction with Singles’ Day, a Chinese holiday invented in the 1990s to celebrate singlehood on Nov. 11, the “loneliest” day of the year — 11/11.
Figures as famous as actress Scarlett Johansson, singer Mariah Carey and soccer star David Beckham have been among those to appear at the event in years past.
Swift’s trip to China comes as American media outlets have criticized companies and organizations that continue to do business in the repressive country.
In early October, media attention on China’s totalitarian regime surged when Daryl Morey, a general manager in the National Basketball Association, sent and then promptly deleted a tweet supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The NBA had been increasing its attempts to break into the Chinese market and strengthen its relationship with the country.
The league’s grovelling statement apologizing for Morey’s tweet earned the scorn of a variety of media figures, as well as politicians on both sides of the aisle.
That backlash became only more intense when NBA superstar LeBron James refused to condemn China, despite his history of criticizing American political figures like President Donald Trump.
As China cracks down on Hong Kong, American individuals and companies face increasing pressure to pull out of the country.
Any potential backlash from American media, however, does not appear to have stopped Swift from making an appearance at the Chinese holiday event.
The Singles’ Day event is a vast money-making enterprise: The festivities have garnered more revenue in recent years than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Swift stands to gain recognition in China with her attendance at the extravaganza, as Forbes reported that her most recent album, “Lover,” has been the country’s “most consumed international full-length album this year.”
Axios reported that Swift is the “only major American artist mentioned in Alibaba’s press release for the event.”
A variety of Chinese artists and personalities will also be performing at the event, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The annual celebration produced $30 billion in sales in 2018.
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