Post-95 actresses Zhao Lusi and Esther Yu, who both rose to fame through Love Like the Galaxy and Love Between Fairy and Devil, are once again competing—this time in the music scene.
Zhao Lusi released her new single Black Veil Bride on October 31, which skyrocketed past 200 million streams within days. Within just 10 minutes of release, it gained over 10,000 saves and topped QQ Music’s Trend Chart in three hours, later sweeping four major charts including the Hot Songs and Rising Charts. Produced by Brian Lee—who has worked with Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson—the track boasts an international-grade production team that also collaborated with BLACKPINK and G-Dragon.
On November 2, Zhao followed up with another single, Don’t Wanna Know, featuring Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany in production, signaling her determination to expand beyond acting into music.
Meanwhile, Esther Yu’s new song Dream Time, released to celebrate her ninth debut anniversary, has sparked controversy. Netizens alleged it plagiarizes a song by independent artist JuggShots and criticized the production quality. Despite reportedly receiving support from only 65 users on one platform, the song astonishingly ranked No. 2 on the chart—prompting accusations of “chart-buying” and “data manipulation.”
Compounding the issue, Yu’s follower count has dropped by over 2.5 million in the past two months amid bullying and family-related controversies. Following her latest release, she lost another 110,000 followers.
Still, Yu remains active, recently signing with a global pet brand and writing on social media: “A new journey begins—let’s go together!” Yet, her comment section remains filled with anti-bullying remarks, suggesting her image recovery will take time.
