Asia News: China Seeks Post-Kanye Boom; j-hope’s Solo World Tour; Drug Testing At Malaysia Shows?
CHINA

China Wants To Follow Up On Kanye Success
Following last year’s successful presentation of two shows by Kanye West on the resort island of Hainan off the Chinese coast, the island’s provincial capital of Haikou is reportedly trying to lure two more hip-hop superstars to perform there. According to the South China Morning Post, the city wants to turn the resort into a major music haven that will attract even more mainland and other tourists.
Haikou’s chief of tourism and culture told a meeting of local government officials on Jan. 10 that he sees the island as being “among the world’s unique performing arts cities with a highly open and inclusive attitude.” He pointed out that 95% of the people who attended West’s shows were from outside the province, boosting consumption by as much as $99.5 million.
Last September, West sold out two concerts at the Wuyuan River Stadium, bringing in more than $7 million for each one, and now China wants to get into the business of attracting major talent. West, who performs as Ye, is represented by 33 & West talent agency.
Hainan has its eye on inviting Cardi B and Travis Scott, because the former is expected to release an album in 2025 and Scott just recently finished a major world tour that grossed more than $200 million, so both artists have been in the news, attracting local hip-hop fans’ attention. Either artist could likely sell out Hainan’s 40,000-seat arena. As of yet, authorities say they have not confirmed either artist for concerts, but apparently they are in touch or soon will be.
In addition, Reuters reports that Shanghai authorities have had “preliminary talks” with people who work with Taylor Swift about the possibility of her holding a concert in the Chinese city. Swift did not perform in China during her just-concluded “Eras Tour,” though she is extremely popular in the country. The deputy director of Shanghai’s culture and tourism bureau has said her team met with Swift’s team in Shanghai. He told local media that he is optimistic that a concert could take place sometime this year.
KOREA
BTS’ J-Hope Plans Solo World Tour After Military Discharge
j-Hope, a member of the K-pop powerhouse boy band BTS, was discharged from his mandatory 18-month military service in South Korea in October, and on Jan. 10 he announced via the online fan platform operated by BTS’s management company, Hybe, that he would embark on his first solo concert tour starting Feb. 28 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul for three nights. From there, the tour would travel to Brooklyn, Chicago, Mexico City, San Antonio, Oakland, Los Angeles, Manila, Saitama in Japan, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Macau and Taipei. The tour ends with two nights in Osaka, May 31 and June 1.
The announcement said that the dates for North America could be changed later “due to the large-scale wildfires in California and their resulting impact on the region.” In 2022, j-Hope was the first Korean performer to headline the Lollapalooza festival.
According to K-pop fansite Sportskeeda, j-Hope also responded to fan messages from countries he will not visit, saying that once all the members of BTS are finished with their military service obligations, they will perform in their countries.
MALAYSIA
Local Government Moots Drug Tests For Showgoers
Following the drug-related deaths of four concertgoers at a New Year’s Eve countdown show at the Sunway Lagoon in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, local authorities have announced they may implement urine drug tests among entrants to concerts. Malaysian news site The Star quoted the Selangor tourism chairman as saying that the matter was being discussed seriously.
“It is not practical to test everyone attending a concert or make it mandatory for everyone to undergo testing,” the official said. “Security teams will need to be more alert now so that they can detect unusual behavior or demeanor among those attending concerts. And if the suspicion is proven after testing, then people must be barred from the event.”
Some other media had already reported that the state government was looking for new methods to prevent drug use at concerts, including increased scanning methods for prohibited substances.
The Malaysian concert industry quickly expressed its disapproval. One concert organizer, Shiraz Projects, told The Star that such a proposal was “unrealistic” and would take too much time. The company said a more practical solution would be for the Malaysian government to determine how drugs entered the country and step up screening at the border. Another company, Livescape Group, echoed Shiraz’s sentiments, wondering who would pay for the on-site screenings — the police or the organizers. As it stood, current mandatory security checks already took too long, and the company called for “alternative measures such as drug education and penalties.”
HONG KONG
New Venue Boosts Concert Hopes
With the opening of the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Sports Park this spring, the government of Hong Kong is ramping up its hopes for more concert revenues in the near future.
The city’s secretary for culture, sports and tourism, Rosanna Law, recently said on a TV program that the opening of the new stadium will free up other large-scale sporting venues so that they can accommodate more concerts.
According to RTHK.com, Law said, “In the past, some people would say the Hong Kong Coliseum should give sporting events priority, but now we have Kai Tak and other new facilities. Can we think of different positioning on venues, such as some place are mainly for sports events while some for entertainment?” In 2024, 60% of the events held at the Hong Kong Coliseum were concerts and 20% were sporting events.
Law later said that she was in contact with more than 200 sports and non-sports promotional bodies, organizations and agencies who had expressed interest in renting the Kai Tak Sports Park.
At a legislative council meeting on Jan. 8, Law pointed out that in 2023 and 2024 there were an average of 350 large-scale pop concerts in the city each year that attracted about 4.2 million people, including 1.5 million tourists, adding more than $300 million to Hong Kong’s economy.
“With the completion of the KTSP, more large-scale and economically beneficial concerts can be held in Hong Kong,” she said.
