Music, honesty and a cross-cultural connection

Canadian musicians Jenn Beaupre — better known as Rozette — and JKAI never expected their "reaction" videos to go viral in China, a project they started almost three years ago.

In their videos, Rozette, who is a singer-songwriter and vocal coach, reacts to live performances by Chinese singers appearing on the nation's popular music shows. Her honest reactions, fresh perspectives, as well as sharp yet professional and humorous comments, have attracted millions of followers in China.

Born in Alberta, Canada, Rozette debuted as a singer about 20 years ago. With a diverse musical style blending elements of pop, soul and jazz, she earned acclaim with her powerful vocals, impressive stage performances and accomplished singing. JKAI, who plans the videos, has also been involved in the music industry for about two decades. He has written hundreds of songs that are licensed out to record labels, games, films and TV commercials across Asia.

Humbly describing themselves as "small players" in the industry, the two told China Daily that they started to create and post videos simply for fun and as an experiment. JKAI, who has Chinese origins, was curious about how his best friend Rozette, who knew little about China, would feel about the nation's music that he loves.

In their videos, they do little preparation or research about the song or singer they are to review, meaning that Rozette's reactions are natural, honest and spontaneous.

With her understanding of vocal skills and musical knowledge, she shares her instant feelings about the singer's performance, the song's production values, and even the singer's personality.

Such honesty is a key and unique feature valued by an audience seeking a refreshing view of China.

"I was so separated and distant from all of this music and culture from China at that time, which made it easier for me to say what I thought. This project gave me a very interesting and eventually fulfilling opportunity to use my skills as a musician, singer and vocal coach to view something with a blank slate," says Rozette.

Since starting, they have filmed around 800 videos, many of which remain unreleased. On the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili alone, their videos have attracted nearly 2.4 million followers and garnered over 630 million views. They were listed among Bilibili's top 100 content creators in 2024, and were presented with the Overseas Content Creator of the Year award at Bilibili 2025 UP100 on Jan 18.