According to insiders, China’s ministry of culture cancelled shows scheduled for September 14 and 17 because they had discovered images of the exiled Tibetan spirtual leader hidden in the backdrop of a video used during a Bon Jovi Taiwan concert in 2010. And similar to the situation behind the recent cancellation of a Shanghai performance by Maroon 5, a member of Bon Jovi was discovered to have made a supportive tweet about the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is a vilified figure in China accused of advocating for Tibet separatism and extremist actions. This upcoming fall marks a politically sensitive time as China celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

We all suspected he was going down in blaze of glory, but it appeared frontman Jon Bon Jovi was first going to woo China on a bed of roses. Bon Jovi had been promoting the concerts in an online video featuring him singing the Chinese love ballad The Moon Represents My Heart, as made famous by Taiwanese crooner Teresa Teng.

The band also has two upcoming performances in Macao scheduled for September 25 and 26. We’re not sure of the fate of these two shows, but seeing as it’s my life and knowing that we weren’t born to follow, hopefully the personal freedom of seeing a rock show will still carry through in these cases. But if the worst comes to pass and the likes of Bon Jovi aren’t wanted in China – either dead or alive – well then, who says you can’t go home?

And if you’re tired of the Bon Jovi puns, you’ll want to skip all these comments from Twitter today:

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US pop star Taylor Swift is reaching out to her Chinese fans by opening an online store that will exclusively sell her own personal line of clothing in China.

E-commerce retailer Jingdong has secured the exclusive rights to sell Swift’s clothing line in Chinese markets, and will open its digital shop doors on August 8.

If you’re wondering what the Taylor Swift-branded clothing line looks like, here’s a quick peek for you:

If these happen to look like shirts you’d buy at rock concert, you should keep in mind that the clothes are being marketed as “authentic merchandise” and that the opening of the online store coincides with Swift’s upcoming Shanghai performances from November 10 to 12 for her “1989” world tour.

All the same, these clothes may be the only way Swift’s fans may be able to appreciate the pop star’s visit to China since tickets are in such high demand. Swift set a record with her previous China tour by selling 18,000 tickets a minute.

And similar to the way Katy Perry has been dubbed “Fruit Sister” in China, Swift’s Chinese fans have come up with a strange nickname for her: Meimei (霉霉). However, the nickname isn’t as flattering when trying to explain what it means. Although the origin of the name is unknown, thousands of Swift fans use this nickname that sounds like “beauty” or “sister”, but has a literal meaning of “moldy” or “unlucky”.

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South Korean pop star PSY was involved in a traffic accident yesterday when the Rolls Royce he was riding in collided with a bus in Hangzhou. The “Gangnam Style” singer had just been picked up from Xiaoshan Airport and was being taken to a hotel when the accident happened at 3:40pm. The red Rolls Royce carrying PSY crashed into a public bus as it turned westbound at the intersection of Yan’an Road and Qingchun Road.

Fortunately no one was hurt. A Porsche took him the rest of the way to the hotel.

PSY, who is called “Uncle Bird” by his Chinese fans, had come to Hangzhou to perform at the opening of a local club.

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The 31-year old will play in seven Chinese cities as part of the “Bang the World” tour, which kicks off in Shanghai on July 27.

The post Chinese Superstar Singer Setting Out on “Bang the World” Tour appeared first on The Nanfang.

Katy Perry, an American pop superstar, is making her way to China.

Perry, who performed recently at the Superbowl halftime show, is set to take the stage in Guangzhou on April 18 as part of several Asian stops on her Prismatic World Tour. The stop at the Guangzhou International Sports Arena kicks-off the China leg of her tour, with stops at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on April 21 and 22, Taipei on April 28 and Macao on May 1 and 2. That second show was added in Shanghai just yesterday after the first show sold out immediately.

The singer of the hit singles Firework and I Kissed a Girl is also set to perform in other Asian cities including Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila, and Bangkok up until May.

Perry performed in Beijing last year with an orchestra that included traditional Chinese instruments. She’s been nicknamed “Sister Fruit” by her Chinese fans due to her colorful costumes.

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Hazza in the music video for his original song “Let Go,” via Google Images

Hazza, 23, became an online celebrity in 2010 for singing covers of Mandarin pop songs while still a student back in his native Australia. He was subsequently offered a job in television in Guangzhou where he still lives, currently presenting the chat show Face Time.

Singing in Chinese

Hazza first became interested in China when he travelled to Beijing on a school trip in grade 7, but it wasn’t until he heard one of Jay Chou’s songs that he started to become fascinated by Chinese culture. “I bought Jay Chou’s ‘November Chopin’ at a dingy CD store in Chinatown back in Brisbane – best $15 I ever spent. I have listened to that album hundreds of times, the CD is all scratched up now,” Hazza told The Nanfang.

Singing in Chinese became a big part of his life while studying the language at university and it is what gave him his first taste of celebrity, making his current career possible: “Now looking back, learning Chinese songs wasn’t the best way of learning Mandarin (probably evidenced by my exam marks) but I guess I wouldn’t be doing what I am now if I hadn’t taken this approach,” said Hazza.

Serendipitously, the earliest videos of him singing in Chinese coincided with the rise of Sina Weibo in 2010. “At first I just uploaded a few videos to share with some of my Chinese friends from university, and all of a sudden they were re-tweeted a few hundred times. I guess this encouraged me to keep going,” he said.

Passion for Mandopop

Even though he acknowledges that a few million hits to his videos might not count for much in a country of over a billion people, he is proud that his videos have received a combined total of more than 12 million hits, half the population of Australia. His most popular video with several million hits has been his cover of Jay Chou’s “Nocturne,” the song which happens to be the one that got him interested in Mandopop all those years ago.

“Obviously I love (Mandopop), otherwise I wouldn’t be trying to make it! Some people think that Chinese songs are too ‘soppy,’ and sometimes I would have to agree, but there’s something about the sound that I really like and that attracts me,” he said, echoing some points made by The Nanfang last month.

He also writes his own songs in Chinese. “I released a single, ‘Let Go,’ that was on the ‘Guangzhou New Music Charts’ last year, and am currently working on my next single – it will be released in a couple of months. I hope that I have stayed true to the genre whilst adding my own individual touches at the same time,” Hazza told The Nanfang. Here is the video of Hazza’s original song “Let Go”:

Television work in Guangzhou

His online celebrity helped him land an interview for a job with Guangdong Television where he has been employed as a television presenter since early 2012. The job enables him to meet all kinds of interesting people while travelling around the country.

“Of course I enjoy interviewing models, despite the fact that they make me a little nervous. But by far, my favourite episode was when I interviewed my Chinese teacher from Australia who was here for a holiday,” he said, describing the moment as “surreal”. Other highlights of his time working for Guangdong Television include going backstage at a Wilber Pan concert and being put up in hotels that are way beyond the price range of most expats.

Despite having a relatively glamorous job, Hazza does not get out much in Guangzhou. “When I’m not at work, I’m at home sleeping (that’s my number one hobby) or learning new songs,” he said, adding “I would LOVE to meet some Australians who are in Guangzhou though, because I really miss my friends from home sometimes.”

As for the future, Hazza is happy to keep doing what he’s doing with his singing and his media work. “To be honest, I know I still have a LOT to learn when it comes to hosting and singing but I do put 100% into what I do because I know the chances that I have got are very hard to come by.”

The post PRD People: Guangzhou-based singer and TV personality Hazza appeared first on The Nanfang.