On social media

PHOTO: GEM0816/INSTAGRAM

G.E.M. ON THE RISE: It did not take light years but only fewer than three for Hong Kong singer G.E.M. to overtake Taiwan superstar Jay Chou. Her song, Light Years Away, the Chinese theme song for 2016 film Passengers that stars Jennifer Lawrence, has soared past the 200-million mark to become the most-viewed Chinese-language music video on YouTube.

Chou's Love Confession, released in 2016, has clocked more than 197 million views.

G.E.M., 28, thanked her fans for the breakthrough, posting on Facebook: "I was just looking back at the photos and videos I took while making the video, and I still remember everything well. I never thought that this song would break 200 million views. Thanks for (your help in) writing history with me."

Her backers include the folk at America's Silicon Valley who tapped her to sing Light Years Away at an event for scientists in California last year, making her the first Asian artist to perform at The Breakthrough Prize.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 14, 2019, with the headline On social media. Subscribe