"Taylor who?" — Internet reacts to Kanye West's performance in China boosting local tourism revenue by $52 million

Kanye West performed in Haikou, China, on September 15, 2024, for the first time in 16 years, alongside Ty Dolla $ign. As per Altitude News reporting information from the Haikou Municipal Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film and Television and Sports Bureau, Ye's performance in China generated box office sales worth 51 million yuan amounting to 7.1 million USD.

It also reportedly boosted Haikou's tourism revenue by 373 million yuan (around 52 million USD) due to the large number of attendees.

Internet users were quick to comment on Ye's achievement and took to X to express their opinions. One of the X users referred to Kanye West's longtime rivalry with Taylor Swift, comparing the Eras Tour becoming the first billion-dollar grossing tour in music history in 2023 to Ye's performance in China:

"Taylor who?"

"THATS SOME GOAT SHI RIGHT THERE" an X user tweeted.

"Kanye is the most influential rapper of all time" another X user stated.

"It's only up from here" an internet user mentioned.

"This is huge" another internet user commented.

"can't cancel greatness!" a fan tweeted.

Some internet users also commented on Ye's dressing sense and joked about China holding the rapper hostage:

"Yeah but he dressed like the hunchback of notre dame lmaoo" an X user tweeted.

"They boutta hold him hostage" another X user joked.

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Kanye West performed Everybody with his four children at China concert

Dubbed a "family affair in Haikou" by Billboard, Kanye West brought his four children North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm onto the Wuyuan River Sports Stadium stage to perform one of the tracks from his Vultures album called Everybody. Additionally, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and current wife Bianca Censori also attended Ye's concert in China.

Videos of the moment shared by fans on social media show that North West held her siblings' hands as they made their way up to the stage. Additionally, Kanye West also announced that he would be releasing a new solo album and debuted a new song at the concert called Preacher Man. Announcing the same to his fans, the he stated:

“This song is off my next project, it’s called Preacher Man.”

Moreover, it is suggested that Ye and Ty Dolla $ign are extending their stay in China given multiple fan pages like @yefanatics are circulating posts of a second show in Haikou via X. The posts suggest that Ye's second show in China is about to take place on September 21, 2024.

The same was confirmed by Haikou Tourism and Culture on September 16, 2024, the translation of which mentioned:

“The scene was much better yesterday. The audience asked for an extra session, and the leaders held a discussion overnight and then accelerated the approval.”

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In addition to Kanye West's performance in China elevating local tourism revenue, it was a surprise for fans that the rapper was allowed to perform in the country owing to his controversial past. Artists including Coldplay, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift have skipped China as a tour destination while Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have been banned due to controversial behavior.

According to The Standard, it is assumed that Ye was given strict guidelines for his performance in advance, however the same hasn't been confirmed by sources.