Title: Faye Wong: stardom in Chinese popular music

Authors: Jeroen Groenewegen

Addresses: Leiden Institute of Area Studies, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

Abstract: In 1994, ||Faye|s star persona had begun to transform the market logic||, argue Anthony Fung and Michael Curtis in |The anomalies of being Faye (Wong): gender politics in Chinese popular music| (2002, p.273). How does stardom work in the sinophone music industry? Does Faye Wong challenge market logic or reinforce it? What is the market logic of Chinese popular music? What is a pop music star? To answer these questions, I will first focus on Faye Wong|s gender politics, coolness and childlike androgyny for a discussion of her theatricality and the construction of stardom across different media and then consider how Faye Wong|s sound-image-text results from the more or less concerted efforts of a production team. Can her stardom hold these elements together?

Keywords: Faye Wong; China; popular music; stardom; theatricality; identity; assemblage; gender politics; coolness; androgyny; China; pop music; pop stars.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCCM.2009.029405

International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management, 2009 Vol.2 No.3, pp.248 - 262

Published online: 29 Nov 2009 *

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