SCANDAL-PLAGUED singer Wang Leehom (pic) appears to have been removed from the list of artistes banned in China, sparking speculation that he might be making a comeback to the entertainment industry soon, reported China Press.

       The 45-year-old who was placed on a widely-shared list of blacklisted artistes believed to have been compiled by the Chinese authorities was recently found to no longer be on the list.

       However, other artistes such as pianist Li Yundi, who was caught engaging in the services of a prostitute, and Kris Wu, who is facing trial for sexual assault charges, remain on the list of “misbehaving celebrities”.

       After the list went viral online, many Internet users speculated about Wang’s possible return to the industry soon.

       “Does this mean he has been whitelisted?” a netizen asked.

       Wang sparked a storm after announcing his divorce from his wife of eight years and mother to his three children, Lee Jinglei, 35.

       Lee then published a nine-page bombshell of about 4,500 words on Dec 18 accusing him of various misdeeds throughout their marriage.

       Wang and his family then responded to her allegations, causing Lee to threaten legal action. On Dec 20, Wang apologised to his family and fans for “failing to manage the marriage properly” and said he would take a break from his career.

       Companies in mainland China were quick to drop the heartthrob as their brand ambassador.

       > King of Mandopop Jay Chou did not receive any profits from the sale of the Phanta Bear non-fungible tokens (NFTs) worth US$10mil (RM42mil) on Jan 1.

       China Press reported that according to a statement by Chou’s company JVR Music, the artiste was not involved in the selling of the NFTs even though he founded the PHANTACi brand, under which the Phanta Bear NFTs were released.

       JVR Music added that even though Chou was happy that the sale of the NFTs went well, it stressed that the tokens were not released by Chou himself.

       “We hereby state that he has not obtained any profits (from the sale of the NFTs),” it said.

       It was earlier reported that PHANTACi had collaborated with digital firm Ezek to release 10,000 cute NFT artwork known as Phanta Bears that were sold at US$1,000 (RM4,200) each.

       ● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.