You might have heard of Jane Zhang, whose penchant for piercingly high pitches landed her the nickname "Dolphin Princess" and an invitation to the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009. Or maybe you've read about Kris Wu briefly knocking "Thank U, Next" from the top spot on the U.S. iTunes chart much to the outrage of Arianators. It's also possible you've never been formally introduced to either – or the innumerable other talents from China.

The hottest artists in town are alien names to most foreign ears and the local buzz around them is largely muted overseas.

Despite their obscure status on the international stage, at home, they're worshiped idols, amassing cult-like followings, breaking the internet at will and making fat fortunes along the way. The ability of Chinese entertainers to excel – and sell – fuels the country's music industry, which in 2017 was valued to the tune of 347 billion yuan (48.9 billion U.S. dollars), according to the China Music Industry Development Report 2018.

So who exactly is part of this constellation of stars whose tunes are loop played on radio, belted out in KTV rooms and even chanted in patriotic gatherings? The answer is neither straightforward nor scientific.

In a cutthroat industry where going from top to flop can happen overnight, popularity is measured beyond social media followers, deals with record labels and hefty paychecks. Some of the most memorable names in China have long exited the game, but not before leaving their indelible mark on the industry and carving a place for themselves in the hearts of generations after them.

Whether they're fresh faces or old-school music icons, a number of singers have become synonymous with China's evolving music industry.

Folk Frenzy

The first 30 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, artists' fame came from an unlikely place: movies. As films became popular, so did their soundtracks. Guo Lanying, who turns 90 this year, came under the spotlight in the 1950s because of her song "My Motherland," which was written for a movie about the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Today, the song is an unofficial anthem, sung during patriotic flashmobs.

The success of artists during that era had a lot to do with their ability to turn the victories of the Chinese social revolution into fervent melodies.

Folk songs, with their plain lyrics and catchy tunes, spoke about ordinary life with a healthy dose of passion. It took a bit of artistic tweaking before the entire nation could appreciate what were initially sung in too local a dialect. Thanks to the humble radio, these songs made their way into households across the country. Everyone was turning their sets to listen to Guo Song and Tseten Dolma in the 1960s and 70s.

Opening up to Pop

The reform and opening-up policy was a watershed moment in the country's history as China slowly came out of its shell. Popular music, as a result, found its way to music lovers' portable cassette players.

"Love for the Hometown" is arguably one of a collection of best-known songs that first departed from the traditional styles and themes popular in China at the time. It was such a hit that it got featured on the Chinese Spring Festival Gala – one of the most watched TV shows on Earth – in 1980. Li Guyi performed on a grand stage, using vocal techniques similar to that of Taiwan artist Teresa Teng and Japan's Yamaguchi Momoe who had made a name for themselves in the country.

You can't spell rock and roll without Cui Jian, whose rebellious style brought him stardom, especially among the country's youth. "Nothing to My Name" is probably his best-known song. As China was on track towards prosperity and living standards were already improving, Chinese people began to search for the deeper meanings of life beyond the basic needs and related to Cui's jams.

Meanwhile, folk songs from the country's west trended nationwide owing to their passionate style. Na Ying and Wei Wei were on everyone's lips.

The increasingly closer cultural interaction between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland since the opening-up brought with it a wave of changes to the latter's music industry as music videos became all the rage.

Thanks to their stage presence and flashy music clips, "The Four Heavenly Kings," namely four of Hong Kong's best-known pop singers Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai, captivated listeners on the Chinese mainland.

The 1990s was also marked by a deluge of romantic songs. "My Desk Mate," a sentimental tune about innocent love, helped Wang Yang, also known as Lao Lang (Old Wolf), establish a foothold in the industry.

Meanwhile, the 21st century brought music to the cloud as the industry got a digital makeover, making it easier to track the metrics of success. Data about which singer made the biggest bucks or whose jams were downloaded the most became more accessible than ever. And although one would be remiss to take them at face value, these numbers and figures do give an inkling of who's a hit – and who's not.

Despite the crowded entertainment space, Jay Chou has cemented his place in China. The Taiwan signer has been going on strong since his debut album in 2000. In 2016, his album "Jay Chou's Bedtime Stories" was the most sold album on all major Chinese music apps. On September 16, his new single "Won't Cry" racked up 1.93 million views on YouTube in just eight hours.

And then there's Kris Wu, whose very name evokes impassioned cries from his groupies – and frowns from others. The former member of K-pop band EXO, who grew up in Canada, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in his birth country, performing to sold-out crowds and signing endorsement deals with brands running the gamut from Burberry to burger giant McDonald's. It also didn't hurt his fame that he was behind, although unintentionally, one of the hottest buzzwords in the country in 2017 – "Can you freestyle?"