Kanye West’s show in Haikou a bright spark for gloomy Chinese economy

SINGAPORE – On Sept 15, American rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) opened his first show in China in 16 years by shouting “I love you Haikou”, in more than the usual greeting to fans gathered in the southern port city.

It could well be a show of heartfelt appreciation to the government of Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, which had gone out of its way to make the show possible.

The show, which raked in 51 million yuan (S$9.3 million) in ticket sales for Ye and 370 million yuan in tourism revenue for Haikou, was such a resounding success that the organisers decided to add another show on Sept 28 at the same venue.

The 24-time Grammy award winner is one of the biggest American celebrities to perform in China in recent years, as China and the US lock horns over various global issues.

The success of Ye’s show is a bright spark in the gloomy Chinese economy, at a time when consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending.

It was a textbook case of how all sides can profit when foreign celebrities and the Chinese government put aside politics to do business, with Chinese consumers better off for it.

The 40,000 fans roared in appreciation when Ye stood in the middle of a moonlit stage, which had been turned into a field of golden grass, while a vulture-shaped drone circled above. More cheers followed when the four children he had with former wife Kim Kardashian joined him onstage.

The 47-year-old rapper and fashion icon did not even have to sing throughout the entire concert. The show was billed as a “listening experience” – an event in which the audience paid 680 yuan to 2,000 yuan per ticket to listen, and sometimes sing along, to pre-recorded music in the presence of the artiste. Ye would interact with his fans and sing some parts of the songs.

Nevertheless, tickets sold out within minutes. The brisk sales can be explained partly by the rarity of gigs by international superstars of Ye’s calibre in China.

China, under President Xi Jinping, has tightened regulation of live performances, and the space for artistic expression has become more conservative.

Foreign artistes have to submit set lists, scripts or lyrics for lengthy and onerous vetting before being allowed to perform.

Even performances that had been approved can be canned at the last minute without explanation, as in the case of a zen music concert in Guangzhou by a Buddhist monk from Japan in May 2023.

Haikou cultural and tourism bureau chief Wang Ke told local media that the city had spent a lot of administrative resources to secure the permit for Ye’s show. It also helped the organisers get the green light for all the necessary applications and arrangements, from getting visas and Customs clearance, to free shuttle services.

The government also resisted giving in to residents who left comments on the city government website objecting to the show because of the “adverse social influence” it would have on Chinese youth.

Nine days before the show, Super Typhoon Yagi tore through Wuyuanhe Stadium, the venue, and ripped off its membrane roof. The city government mobilised available construction resources to get it fixed in time.

The efforts paid off. Around 97 per cent of concertgoers were from outside Hainan, bumping up occupancy in the city’s hotels by 40 per cent and spending at the island’s duty-free shops by about 5 per cent, Haikou government figures showed.

The local government is capitalising on what Chinese economists have termed the “walking GDP (gross domestic product)” of live performances that can attract consumers from other parts of the country and from overseas.

According to figures by the China Association of Performing Arts, ticket sales from performances in 2023 were 31.5 billion yuan, a whopping fourfold increase from the year before.

During the Covid-19 years of 2020 to 2022, the number of live performances was greatly reduced. 

Hainan’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and Hainan organises music festivals and concerts regularly, featuring mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars.

When Taiwanese singer Jay Chou held a four-day concert in Haikou in 2023, it drew 623,000 people and raked in 1.45 billion yuan in ticket sales.

Ye is the first international A-list star to perform in Hainan. Like Haikou, he put politics aside to make the show profitable.

Ye is no stranger to controversy back home. His wealth has shrunk after companies like Adidas and Gap dropped their collaborations with him following offensive behaviour, including anti-Semitic comments. His disparaging comments about slavery and women have also offended US audiences.

But he was on his best behaviour in China. Ye, a Donald Trump supporter who has previously said he wanted to run for president, did not make any untoward political comments, choosing instead to highlight his ties to China.

Ye posted on Instagram an old photo of himself as a chubby 10-year-old when he spent some time with his mother in Nanjing, where she lectured as a Fulbright scholar. Chinese fans were tickled by other old photos of him in China, including one of him and his mother in Beijing opera costumes.

China had previously curbed the earning power of foreign entertainment and sports celebrities to punish them for having said or done things it deemed politically offensive to Beijing, such as meeting the Dalai Lama.

Chinese firms suspended cooperation with US National Basketball Association team Houston Rockets after one executive posted a photo supporting the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Chinese fans have also been known to be upset if celebrities are perceived to have slighted them.

When footballer Lionel Messi missed a game in Beijing-controlled Hong Kong in February but played a few days later in Tokyo, Chinese fans flamed him for not giving them enough importance. 

Ye avoided this landmine by lavishing attention on his Chinese audience.  

The field stage setting, together with the song Moon included on the playlist, was aptly seasonal, as the concert took place on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival public holiday, when people traditionally gather to admire the full moon after harvesting.

Chinese fans said on social media they felt pampered when Ye extended the show by one hour and skipped the songs that the audience did not warm to, going through as many as 70 songs in one night. They were also thrilled he chose to premiere the song Preacher Man at the show.

Against a background of foreign capital leaving China, Ye’s show is a good reminder that there is money to be made in the country, especially when there is a supportive local government.