OneRepublic play China’s most-watched TV event

OneRepublic made history as the first American band to perform during China’s Spring Festival Gala, the country’s biggest televised event.

First aired in 1983, the long-running annual variety show is a key cultural event during the Lunar New Year and is broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV).

This year’s five-hour live programme, which took place on 29 January, drew a record-breaking 496 million livestream views, up 18% year-on-year.

Produced by China Media Group, the show includes music, dance, opera, martial arts, and comedy, shaping pop culture and national conversation around the Lunar New Year.

OneRepublic’s performance of their hit song Counting Stars in front of Wuhan’s famous Yellow Crane Tower marked a rare English-language set at the Spring Festival Gala.

“By featuring OneRepublic, the gala not only added a touch of international flair but also sent a message of China’s cultural openness,” CCTV said.

“By featuring OneRepublic, the gala not only added a touch of international flair but also sent a message of China’s cultural openness”

The rare performance comes as China makes a concerted push for international artists in the country. It was reported earlier this month that Shanghai officials held preliminary talks with Taylor Swift about a potential concert in the capital this year.

Last year, advisers to the Shanghai government referred to superstars such as Swift as “walking GDP” because of their massive economic impact, and called for restrictions on international performers to be relaxed to host more high-profile shows.

The counsellors’ office of the Shanghai municipal government said on its social media account last year that government departments should streamline approvals, visas, customs and other logistical challenges that limited the potential to attract top-tier talent.

China’s financial hub has hosted many large-scale, commercial performances in recent years, but “it lacks stars that are weighty, internationally influential or truly appealing to young people,” the counsellors’ office said in an article posted on its official WeChat account.

Spilt Works managing director Archie Hamilton spoke to IQ late last year about the future of international acts performing in China.

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