Chinese singer-actor Xiao Zhan, a huge fan of Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun, defended her on Weibo after a netizen called her "obscure".

One of the most successful musical exports from Singapore, Sun, 42, has been keeping a low profile since getting married in 2011 and having two kids.

Despite having been in the industry for more than 20 years and selling more than 30 million records, she is apparently not well known to a younger generation in China.

A Chinese netizen had written a post about discovering her music on social media and titled it: "Recommending an obscure Singaporean Chinese female singer - Stefanie Sun".

The netizen went on to praise her "unique voice" and even listed her songs Green Light, Encounter and 180 Degrees as new favourites.

However, the post still provoked the ire of her legions of fans in China, including Xiao, 29, one of the country's bestselling singers, who had performed many of Sun's hits in the past.

"Outrageous," he commented on Wednesday (April 28), adding a sticker of a dog going: "Say what again?"

The star, who made his debut in boyband X Nine in 2016, has also appeared in wildly popular dramas such as The Untamed (2019) and The Wolf (2020).

Eagle-eyed fans who scrutinised Sun's Weibo profile found that she has 25 million followers but follows only 91 accounts - one of which is Xiao's. It appears that his defence of Sun did not go unnoticed by his idol.

She also posted on Wednesday: "This obscure singer thanks everyone for the attention. New song coming very soon. Please watch out for it."