Super Boys Top 9 Recap: Follow along!

As for as favorite singers, I think all the fans already have ones in mind by now.

Fan Bing Bing and her male escort, Aarif Lee

(read carefully) This is a recap of Super Boy Top 10 into 9: today’s episode, they are only going to eliminate one singer out of the ten. Only one. I will, at the end, include links to the three videos that are most worth checking out.

Ou Hao is the first person in line to perform and he gets to select one person to compete with – which he picks Zuo Li. Those two guys are on opposite ends of the spectrum by the way, in terms of the types of singing. Whoa. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.

*information may still be inaccurate because this is written as I watch, so stay tuned for updates on this post

Judges: what – WHAT? Not only is Fan Bing Bing appearing on the show, both her and her movie costar Aarif Lee are treated to a VIP seat. And get this, FBB can choose to replace – temporarily of course – one of the three Super Boy judges (Li Yuchun, Chen Kun, or Tao Zi). So basically she has the power of a judge in this show now. To clarify, FBB just represents the votes people from social networking site Weibo (so yes, it is democratic voting process, don’t worry).

How the judges determine winners: This is pretty cute. They can draw pictures on a small whiteboard who they choose. For example, Tao Zi drew a cartoon of Ou Hao with bulging biceps:

Basically, Ou Hao ended up getting all three votes, so that just means he will directly get into Top 5. Yay! Not surprised though. Meanwhile Zuo Li is in ‘waiting/to be determined’, not eliminated. Eventually Zuo Li will have a chance to PK with other singers put in the ‘waiting’.

Watch it along with me: here

Second to be challenged: Zhang Yang Yang.

Super Boy’s Top 10 – Who Actually Made it?! Well our adorable alien boy sure did.

Top 10 is revealed Friday night (in China time)! 7 out of the 10 I predicted actually got in! You can say my prediction is magic. Or the ten finalists just give off bupingfan* star power and singing quality. Surprising that Yu Menglong hasn’t been brushed off the list yet with his barely-passable voice, not that I mind, I mean the guy is quite some eye candy and definitely looks like a classmate I know.

It’s clickable! Sorry Zuo Li, we couldn’t fit you on the pic (it is indeed top 10)

1. 华晨宇 Hua Chenyu: He is dubbed the “Alien” superboy. After watching his perf, “some artists, I would buy their CDs to listen at home, for you, I would buy a ticket to see you at a live concert” – Chen Kun (judge)
2. 于湉 Yu Tian: This Tianjin-native who studied in Canada is good at jazz stuff. Infectious voice and a powerful stage presence.
3. 贾盛强 Jia Sheng Qiang: Little Q may be a country bumpkin, short, and unattractive, but he’s got the voice. And original guitar songs. 
   
4. 宁桓宇 Ning Huanyu: Ning is a prodigy at music school. Arrogrant but has gotten better after Chen Kun gave him at caution at the preliminaries. 
5. 白举纲 Bai Jugang: Kid’s got a pure face and beautiful, honest voice. I think he’s going to be number one. 
6. 张阳阳 Zhang Yang Yang: Can you believe this babyface graduated from police school?! I can’t. 
7. 欧豪 Ou Hao: If he didn’t choose that rap song, he probably wouldn’t make it. People just like his badboy image. -_- Yes, I’m bitter. Fan Shiqi could’ve had his spot. 
8. 于朦胧 Yu Menglong: Like I said, he’s just a decent singer and has quite a nice, modest personality. Very easy on the eyes though.
9. 左立 Zuo Li: He’s kind of…boring. What got him famously known as the fiancee of “Ms. Xiong” doesn’t cut it for me.
10. 饶威 Rao Wei: “I want to be the Chinese Justin Bieber!” Watch out for this guy, boys and girls.

*bupingfan (不平凡): above the usual, different from the masses

Were there any singers you liked in particular? One of my faves was Fan Shiqi. Menglong made it to top 10 but not my ShiQi?! Well at least he is fighting on YY for a fan-revival-of-eliminated-Super-Boys. In the meanwhile, you can enjoy his recent hosting gig where he’s temporarily replaced the guy normally covering the Olympic games SuperBoy competition.

Thoughts on popular Chinese television: “Super Boy” 2013 Singing Competition

WANG Jing

WEI Shuai

With the summer in full blast, Super Boy, a Chinese idol/singing competition has also commenced this year. This is the first time I’m watching SuperBoy (or any Chinese singing show for that matter) so I’m going to take you along for the ride. If you have heard of Super Boy but don’t know what its all about and want to follow this year’s competition, then you’ll need to read on!

There’s five types of contestant winners, let me just break it down for ya: the Korean popstar, the unassuming pretty boy-next-door who CAN actually sing or is passable singer (always a crowd pleaser), the bulky guy that can belt 50 octaves high (I obviously know my music lingo), the arrogant type who eventually wins based on talent even though people are talking trash about his attitude, and finally the shilipai (实力派) a Chinese term for dedicated, hardworker who may not be gifted with appearance.

Quick Terminology {Geek Facts} to Know:

• hosted every three years in Changsha of Hunan Province (started in 2007)
• preliminary round of SuperBoys has begun regionally (this year’s locations are Changsha, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Guangzhou)
• there are three celebrity judges who will either give a PASS or LEAVE which determine your fate
• Auditions open to all men >> 300 successful contestants >> Regionals >> Top 20 Finalists go on to Nationals>> the final round

• beginning in 2010, audience can now vote the disqualified boys back into a spot on the 20 finalists (reviving- FuHuo 复活)

If you haven’t seen this, the Hangzhou round is chock-full of pretty boys, but I’ll let you be the judge. Check it out below the cut.

“Starman” Episodes 1-2 Thoughts & Recap

So I’m just jotting my ideas so this might be a bit messy.

Episode 1

The general layout of the series is introduced. You meet Sawako, grandma, and the three children. Our leading guy is walking around town, aimlessly. One scene, he is shown stepping out of a train – in another, he is lying

Love’s Bandage 愛的創可貼: Episode 1

The wait process to watch a mainland Chinese series will make you want to break a chair. It’s been a year and then some…? Sometimes you just have to pretend the drama doesn’t exist until you chance upon its videos or Cfensi reminds you that the show is on air. For this, it all comes down to how the main leads deliver. Yedda and Bryant make an incredibly successful and unexpected pairing, I’ll say! Love’s Bandage (also known as Our Love) is a new Chinese romantic comedy set in bustling, fashionable Shanghai. A lot of us were waiting for the day Bryant Chang becomes leading man (I dub thee one of the most deserving actors). Though Love’s Bandage isn’t about to break any new territory as far as romance-comedy is concerned, its still pretty good lighthearted fare. It’s like Taiwanese drama with a Mainland Chinese flair.