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Dancehall star Shenseea has received her first Silver certification in the United Kingdom for her 2018 hit single, Shenyeng Anthem.
On Friday, September 20, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the Brit Certified Silver Award after the song surpassed 200,000 units sold in the UK, according to The Official Charts Company.
Produced by Chimney Records on the Rice Grain riddim, Shenyeng Anthem celebrates confidence, boldness, and a carefree attitude while emphasizing Shenseea’s stance against disrespect and drama. The riddim also featured tracks like Alkaline’s Pick Unuh Side, Jahmiel’s Level Up, Teejay’s Home, Govana’s Hot Topic, and Ding Dong and Konshens’ Dream Weekend.
In a 2021 interview with Taste Radio, Shenseea reflected on her confidence while recording the track. “I love producing music, I won’t put it out if I’m not comfortable with it, but most of my hits, I see them coming. ShenYeng Anthem, I knew that was gonna hit,” she said. “It’s a good amount of them that I just said yo, this song is gonna hit, Good Comfort, Trending Gyal.”
The song has since become a defining track for Shenseea, representing her ‘Shenyeng’ identity. Her stablemate, Ding Dong, is credited with coining the phrase, which is also used to describe her fanbase.
“When I just came out and I went with Shenseea, he just came out with Yeng Yeng, the dance with the bikes. So, he was like ‘ShenYeng’ and I said, ‘Why are you merging my name with your song?’… He was like, ‘You shoulda went with the name ShenYeng, you talking bout Shenseea. Shenseea ain’t it, you need to go with ShenYeng’. I said that, you know, it is a pretty cool name,” she previously explained.
In 2020, Shenseea embraced the identity further, declaring May 20 as ‘Shenyeng Day’ to celebrate the song’s release and her loyal fanbase annually.
The name has also evolved into an alter ego, with Shenseea explaining to KISS Fresh: “When you see me deejaying and rapping, doing my freestyles, that’s ShenYeng to me. When you hear Good Comfort, that’s Shenseea. When you hear ShenYeng Anthem, that’s ShenYeng. When you hear Love I Got For You, Shenseea.”
Shenyeng Anthem has amassed over 60 million plays on Spotify.
Despite its commercial success, the song was not without controversy. The music video, which currently has 13 million views on YouTube, drew accusations of cultural appropriation upon its release.
As reported by the Star in 2018, “Despite being of Korean descent, viewers pointed out that Shenseea was in no position to represent Asian people as she does not identify with that culture.”
The report further elaborated on the criticism: “Some viewers said that everything from the accent, to the style of dress, to make-up used in the video was a disrespect to the Asian culture. Others suggested that Shenseea needs to be educated a little bit more on the different Asian societies because she dressed like a Chinese but spoke Japanese in the video’s intro.”
In addition to her UK Silver certification, Shenseea also has a Gold certification (500,000 units) in the US for Pure Souls, a collaboration with rapper Kanye West, and a Gold certification in Canada for Blessed (40,000 units), her collaboration with rapper Tyga.
English (US) ·