"Spotlight"
Single by Xiao Zhan
LanguageStandard Chinese
Released25 April 2020
GenreR&B, pop, electronic[1][2][3]
Length3:37
LabelNSM Music
Composer(s)Rik Annema, Leroy Sanchez, Wynne Bennett
Lyricist(s)Rik Annema, Leroy Sanchez, Wynne Bennett, NANA
Producer(s)Wynne Bennett, The Anteloops
Audio sample
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Spotlight
Traditional Chinese光點
Simplified Chinese光点

"Spotlight"[note 1] is a single by the Chinese singer and actor Xiao Zhan.[1] It was released on 25 April 2020 as a digital download and was seen as Xiao Zhan's response to the boycott against him on the Chinese internet.[4][5] As a result, at the same time that "Spotlight" became an extremely successful single, it received polarized reviews online.[5] Selling more than 25 million copies in the first two days after its release, the single was one of the most streamed songs of 2020 and broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling digital track in China.

Production and release

"Spotlight" is Xiao Zhan's first R&B song.[6] Its lyrics are in Chinese and English,[7] and its production involved people from North America, Northern Europe, Spain, and the Netherlands.[1][6] In addition to performing the song, Xiao Zhan also created the cover art.[6] Xiao Zhan explained the abstract painting as follows: "Veins and arteries are connected in the heart, blue lines and red lines crisscross to form the shape of love, and light starts from love."[1]

The single did not have a publicity campaign before its release. At midnight on 25 April 2020, Xiao Zhan updated his Weibo, shared the single's cover art, and wrote: "I'll bear everything that has happened in mind. Thanks for all the well-intentioned criticism and corrections. Growing on the way."[8] Accompanying this announcement, he also changed his Weibo profile picture, which he had been using for four years, to a picture of the single's cover art.[9] Soon afterwards, Xiao Zhan's studio released the new song "Spotlight". The song became available for download on Tencent Music's services QQ Music, KuGou, and Kuwo.[4]

The song was seen as a response to the Boycott against Xiao Zhan Incident.[10][4]

Sales

Xiao Zhan in January 2020

The single was released online on 25 April 2020 and sold at a price of 3 RMB. On the day of its release, it sold 24,370,000 copies, grossing 73,130,000 RMB and surpassing Cai Xukun's album YOUNG (which was released on 26 July 2019 at a price of 5 RMB, and sold 13,350,000 copies for a total of 66,740,000 RMB).[9] On its second day it surpassed 25 million copies, a record.[11][12] The single reached the top of QQ Music's annual bestseller list, QQ Music's list of top new songs, and Tencent's "up to you" list (由你音乐榜).[1] It was reported that on 25 April, "Xiao Zhan's worldwide fan club" was the biggest buyer on QQ Music, with 9,088,000 digital album purchases.[4] On 28 April, album sales surpassed 100 million RMB.[13]

"Spotlight" became the most-downloaded song and the highest-grossing digital single in Chinese music history.[7][14] The single's sales by 26 April broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling digital track in China.[15] The Tencent Music Entertainment Awards named it the most popular digital single of 2020.[16] It was listed seventh on IFPI's international list of the 10 bestselling singles of the year[17] and on Guinness World Records' list of 2020's most streamed tracks with 1.48 billion subscription stream equivalents.[18]

Fans encouraged each other to buy multiple copies of the song as a show of support for Xiao Zhan; they saw the single as an opportunity for Xiao Zhan to improve his reputation amid the ongoing controversy.[6][19] This boosted the single's sales, with fans reportedly buying an average of close to 66 copies each.[11][6] The mass-purchasing campaign was controversial enough that Xiao Zhan's agency posted on Weibo reminding fans to focus on their other priorities in life.[6]

Reception

On 26 April 2022, it was reported that after the single's release, its rating on Douban reached 7.5 out of 10; it "received praise from critics in the music industry and got a bumper harvest in both sales and word of mouth".[1] The single's Douban rating was volatile: it rose to 10 points out of 10, then dropped to 3.2 out of 10, with reviews from 48,000 Douban users.[5] The rating later rose back to 6. At noon on 26 April, the single's rating was 5.7, with reviews from more than 75,000 users, among which 54.6% had given 5-star reviews and 30.3% had given 1-star reviews. Together, these polarized ratings represented 84.8% of the single's reviewers.[5]

Supporters say that the lyrics and Xiao Zhan's singing are excellent, and that Xiao Zhan handled the R&B riffs well. Opponents say that "Spotlight" is a typical example of an assembly-line product of the idol industry, that its melody is comfortable but has no personality, and that the lyrics are cliched.[5] According to an analysis in National Business Daily, "Most fans' line of thinking is, 'Maybe his singing isn't the best, but it does make you want to support him'."[20]

Charts

Chart performance for "Made to Love"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[21] 26
Japan Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[22] 61
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[23] 5

Year-end charts

2020 year-end chart performance for "Made To Love"
Chart (2020) Position
Worldwide (IFPI)[24] 7

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also translated "Spot Light", "Spot of Light", "Light Spot", "Light", "Guang Dian", or "Made to Love"; simplified Chinese: 光点; traditional Chinese: 光點; pinyin: Guāngdiǎn.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 任芯仪, ed. (2020-04-26). "肖战全新单曲《光点》成绩斐然 手绘封面向爱而行". 北青网 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  2. ↑ "新歌《光点》销售额破亿背后，肖战到底想表达什么？". 澎湃新闻. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "《光点》破亿的背后，肖战到底想要说些什么？". news.tom.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 刘燕秋 (2020-04-25). "肖战新歌销售额已破6000万，但他的复出之路仍不明朗". 界面新闻 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 成风 (2020-04-26). 李学莉 (ed.). "肖战《光点》销量暴涨和评分暴跌的背后，这是一场情绪化的博弈". 红星新闻 (in Simplified Chinese). 成都商报. Archived from the original on 2020-05-01. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MAHYUNI, ERNA (2 May 2020). "China's Xiao Zhan sets record with 33m downloads of digital single 'Light Spot'". Malay Mail. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Xiao Zhan earns Guinness record amid controversies". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "凡所过往皆成光点，肖战全新数专暖心上线". 北国网. 2020-04-25. Archived from the original on 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  9. 1 2 毕媛媛; 温梦华 (2020-04-26). 杜毅 (ed.). "超2500万张 新歌销量冲上乐坛历史第一 肖战粉丝"催销量"借钱也要买单引争议". 每日经济新闻 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  10. ↑ 何艳 (2020-04-26). "肖战新歌热卖7500万却惹争议，被爆大粉强销人人最少105张，工作室呼吁理性购买". 上游新闻 (in Simplified Chinese). 重庆晨报. Archived from the original on 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  11. 1 2 "China's devoted, combative celebrity fan clubs". The Economist. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Colville, Alex (20 July 2020). "The Chinese idol who sparked an online war". SupChina. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  13. ↑ 李思, ed. (2020-04-28). "华语音乐历史第一！肖战新歌《光点》销售额过亿". 网易娱乐 (in Simplified Chinese). 网易. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  14. ↑ "新歌《光点》销售额破亿背后，肖战到底想表达什么？". 澎湃新闻. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Fastest-selling digital track (China)". Guinness World Records. 2020-04-26. Archived from the original on 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  16. ↑ "TMEA音乐盛典". weibointl.api.weibo.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  17. ↑ Bayley, Jack (9 March 2021). "The Weeknd wins 2020's IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Blinding Lights". IFPI. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  18. ↑ "Biggest-selling digital single worldwide (current year)". Archived from the original on 2021-03-24. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  19. ↑ Wu, Xueyin (14 September 2021). "Fan leaders' control on Xiao Zhan's Chinese fan community". Transformative Works and Cultures. 36. doi:10.3983/twc.2021.2053. ISSN 1941-2258. S2CID 239190757. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  20. ↑ 樱花; 林化 (2020-04-29). 蒲祯 (ed.). "肖战新歌专辑创纪录 疫情下泛娱乐市场快速增长的内容需求". 每日经济新闻 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  21. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Billboard Japan Download Songs – Week of November 23, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "World Digital Song Sales: Week of November 26, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  24. ↑ Brandle, Lars (March 9, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Is IFPI's Top Digital Song For 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
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