diff --git a/resources/lib/utils.py b/resources/lib/utils.py
index da6ed2c..59c0bc6 100644
--- a/resources/lib/utils.py
+++ b/resources/lib/utils.py
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ def send_event_notification(method, data=None, hexlify=False):
 
     if hexlify:
         # Used exclusively for the upnext plugin
-        data = ensure_text(binascii.hexlify(ensure_binary(data_str)))
+        data_str = ensure_text(binascii.hexlify(ensure_binary(data_str)))
     sender = 'plugin.video.jellycon'
     data = '"[{}]"'.format(data_str.replace('"', '\\"'))