Female rock stars are becoming increasingly popular in China

By Anonymous

At a music festival in the Chinese city of Shijiazhuang in mid-October, a fan in the crowd waved a banner that read “Let all women embrace bigger, limitless dreams”. Though its earnestness clashed a little with the smash-it-up attitude of some of the bands, it was clearly a sentiment close to the hearts of many of those present. As 45-year-old Helen Feng, lead singer of Nova Heart, an electronic rock band, strode out on stage, men and women in the mosh pit screamed “Niu bi, niu bi”, a crude term most politely translated as “You’re a bad-ass”.

The early stages of China’s post-Mao music scene in the 1980s and 1990s were dominated by male artists. It was then subsumed in a sea of cutesy boy bands and ditzy girl bands all dancing in time. Now female musicians and all-female bands are making themselves heard. Observers of China’s music scene expect more outspoken female musicians to come to the fore during 2024.