Stefanie Sun wins praise for disabling donations during Douyin concert watched by 12 million

SINGAPORE - Singer Stefanie Sun, who in recent weeks was rumoured to be blacklisted by the Chinese authorities, held a successful live-stream concert last Thursday (Sept 9).

The Singaporean Mandopop star had joined social media platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, a few days before the concert.

More than 12 million people viewed the one-hour show, which also garnered 580 million likes. It had been inferred from the performance that the 43-year-old was not blacklisted in China.

Her representative also confirmed last week that the rumours were "fake news" and she was not part of a crackdown against foreign stars.

The entertainment world in China had been rocked recently by stars such as actress Vicki Zhao being blacklisted and fan accounts on Weibo being suspended for what the Chinese authorities deemed "chaotic" behaviour.

ALSO READ: Chinese netizen calls Stefanie Sun 'obscure', idol singer Xiao Zhan defends her huffily

These included rivalry between fan clubs and extravagant gifts for idols.

Netizens noticed that Sun had disabled the gift function on her live-stream, which won her praise.

The micro-donations could have been a lucrative source of income for her, given the millions of views, her large fan base and her evergreen popularity after 21 years in the music business.