Super Girl (contest)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
| Super Girl 超级女声 |
|
|---|---|
 Super Girl logo with that of official corporate sponsor Mengniu |
|
| Also known as | Super Voice Girls |
| Genre | Interactive reality game show |
| Created by | Liao Ke |
| Country of origin | People's Republic of China |
| Language(s) | Mandarin |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Changsha, Hunan (1–3) Chengdu, Sichuan (1–3) Guangzhou, Guangdong (2,3) Hangzhou, Zhejiang (2,3) Nanjing, Jiangsu (1) Shenyang, Liaoning (3) Wuhan, Hubei (1) Zhengzhou, Henan (2) Numbers indicate the season(s) in which a competition was held there. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Hunan Satellite Television |
| Original run | May 6, 2004 – September 30, 2006 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Super Boy |
| Followed by | Happy Boy |
| Related shows | Idol series |
Super Girl or Super Voice Girls (simplified Chinese: 超级女声; traditional Chinese: 超級女聲; pinyin: Chāojí Nǚ Shēng; literally "Super Female Voice") was an annual national singing contest in People's Republic of China for female contestants, organized by Hunan Satellite Television between 2004 and 2006. The show's official name was the Mengniu Yoghurt Super Girl Contest, after the company that sponsored the series. It was generally described as the mainland Chinese version of Pop Idol and became one the most popular entertainment shows in the country. Despite Super Girl's major popularity and success, the show was heavily criticised by Liu Zhongde, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He essentially claimed Super Girl was poison for the youth.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Outline
Partly inspired by the many spinoffs of the UK show Pop Idol, the competition was open to any female contestant regardless of her origin, appearance, or how she sings.[2] The almost unrestricted audition sessions drew contestants of ages ranging from 4 to 89 years old.[3] The 2005 season attracted more than 120,000 applicants during the preliminary selection rounds, held in the five provinces of Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang.[4] Many applicants travelled long distances to take part in the competition hoping to become a star. Each contestant was allowed 30 seconds to perform in front of judges and find out if they were selected for the preliminary regional rounds. To prevent another overwhelming audition season, minimum age of eighteen was later set during the 2006 season.[5]
Following the selection of contestants in the five regions, the competition began with the preliminary rounds. Preliminaries were held in each of the five locations where auditions were located. Television viewers were able to watch each of the preliminaries and vote for their favorite singers. Voting was conducted by telephone and text messaging.
The regional preliminaries are followed by a weekly broadcast knockout competition held in Changsha, Hunan province. Viewers call in to vote for their favourite singers, and the weakest two—as voted by the judges and the audience's weekly SMS— face-off subsequently in a PK, short for Player Kill. The term is derived from kill-or-be-killed multiplayer online games.[6] The singer with the least number of votes is then eliminated. Unlike Pop Idol, the last event is contested between the final three, rather than the final two contestants.
Unlike American Idol, judges for the competition were selected from different backgrounds in society. A few dozen "audience judges" were selected in addition to several professional judges. The show's professional judges also do not have the distinct personalities of American Idol judges.[7]
[edit] History
The original version of the show was known as Super Boy, and aired in 2003 on Hunan Entertainment Channel, a local broadcaster based in Changsha, Hunan province in South Central China. The show was a success and its counterpart, Super Girl, aired at the beginning of 2004 and became the most viewed show in Hunan. However, the programme's impact was limited as the channel does not broadcast outside the province.
On May 6, 2004, Super Girl was introduced to a national audience by its producer Liao Ke through Hunan Satellite Television. In addition to broadcasting the original episodes created by Hunan Entertainment Channel, the network also developed this show in other 3 cities: Wuhan in Hubei province, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, and Chengdu in Sichuan province. This show attracted an average of 10,000 contestants in each city and received nationwide attention.
Hunan Satellite Television introduced a second season of Super Girl on March 19, 2005. The preliminary rounds were filmed in five cities: Changsha in Hunan province, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Zhengzhou in Henan province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Chengdu in Sichuan province. By the middle of the season, the competition captivated a nationwide audience and became one of the most watched television entertainment shows in mainland China with tens of millions of viewers.[4]
[edit] Cultural impact
[edit] Positive impact
The final episode of the 2005 season was one of the most popular shows in Chinese broadcast history, drawing over 400 million viewers, more than the China Central Television New Year's Gala earlier that year.[8] The final peaked at 280 million viewers at a given time, dwarfing the 12-million-viewer figure for the finals of Pop Idol.[9] Despite the show being condemned by China Central Television as being "vulgar and manipulative", a third season of the show was launched and finished in early October 2006.[10]
On January 18, 2006, China National Philatelic Corporation released a postage stamp issue featuring 2005 winner Li Yuchun. The set was released ahead of Li's 22nd birthday in her commemoration.[11]
Some who were not chosen as winners have also been able to enter the recording industry through other means. Ji Minjia, who ranked 5th overall in the 2005 contest, worked in Los Angeles in 2006 to help with production of the title song for Japanese anime series The Galaxy Railways.[12] On March 15, 2007, Japanese recording group Hello! Project announced Li Chun, one of the top 50 contestants in the 2006 Changsha regional, as one of two new members of Chinese ancestry of its pop group Morning Musume.[13][14]
The contest has also inspired television producers to create other talent search shows, including ones based on American shows such as The Apprentice.[15][16]
The show was the feature of a 2007 documentary titled "Super, Girls!", produced and directed by independent Chinese filmmaker Jian Yi during the 2006 contest season and released at the Cambridge Film Festival. An ARTiSIMPLE Studio production, "Super, Girls!" is the only independent feature-length documentary ever made about the "Super Girls."[9]
[edit] Democratic expression
One of the main factors contributing to the show's popularity was that viewers are able to participate in the judging process by sending text messages with their mobile phones to vote for their favorite contestants. During the 2005 regional contest in Chengdu alone, 307,071 message votes were cast for the top three contestants, each vote costing 0.5 to 3 yuan.[4] This was considered as one of the largest "democratic" voting exercises in mainland China.[17]
Over 800 million text messages were sent during the third season of Super Girl, and fan clubs began to appear throughout the country. The show was the feature of a 2007 documentary titled Super, Girls! released at the Cambridge Film Festival.[9]
While some culture and media experts praised Super Girl in blazing "a trail for cultural democracy" and breaking elitism in China's entertainment industry, others were quick in pointing out that the show represented a superficiality in society, "propelled by behind-the-scenes manipulation and state-of-the-art pomp and circumstance".[18]
[edit] Criticism from CPC
Liu Zhongde of the Chinese Communist party's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference criticised both the show and its negative influence on society. Saying the audience watches the program under a distorted mentality and in an unhealthy condition. He claimed that the government departments oversee culture and art, and they should not permit something like Super Girl to exist. He admitted it was the choice of the market while claiming it as low culture. He said it wasn't as back as the 1983 Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign, but the elements are there: cultural invasion, suspicion of market forces, spiritual health, preservation of national culture, and allegations of popular entertainment spreading corruption among the youth, all facing off against a new concept of socialist morality.[1]
[edit] Economic impact
Mengniu Milk Group reportedly paid ¥14 million to Hunan Television for rights to sponsor the show's broadcast outside Hunan province beginning with the 2005 season.[6] According to one of China's leading thinktanks, the 2005 contest was estimated to have drawn in a total of ¥766 million (US$95.75 million). Indirect business impact of the competition was estimated at several billion yuan.[11]
Television advertisement slots cost an average of ¥33,400 for 15 seconds in 2006, compared to the average of ¥28,000 in 2005. Advertising sales were expected to reach ¥200 million (US$25 million), nearly double that of the previous year.[19]
[edit] 2004 season
The first season of Super Girl aired from May 6 to September 22, 2004. Although the winners of the competition were not promised recording contracts, the top three winners signed such deals.[7]
[edit] Qualifications
| Region | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chengdu[20] | Wang Ti 王媞 |
Zhang Hanyun 张含韵 |
Yin Tingting 尹婷婷 |
| Nanjing[21] | An Youqi 安又琪 |
Zhang Yue 张玥 |
Liu Ning 刘宁 |
| Wuhan[22] | Sun Yipu 孙一卜 |
Chen Wenya 陈文娅 |
Guo Juan 郭娟 |
| Changsha[23] | Strings | Yang Yang 杨暘 |
Zhang Chen 张琛 |
[edit] Final contest
- An Youqi (安又琪) Champion
- Wang Ti (王媞) 2nd place
- Zhang Hanyun (张含韵) 3rd place
[edit] 2005 season
The second season of Super Girl aired from March 19 to August 26, 2005. The announcement of Li Yuchun as the season's grand champion came under scrutiny as she had been leading voting results despite having the weakest voice among the top finalists.[18] Despite the heavy criticism that arose during the competition season, the three 2005 finalists have been considered the most successful singers from the entire show.[24]
[edit] Qualifications
| Region | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contestant | Votes | Contestant | Votes | Contestant | Votes | |
| Guangzhou[25] March 19 – May 6 |
Zhou Bichang 周笔畅 |
113,535 | Yi Hui 易慧 |
67,310 | Li Na 李娜 |
56,383 |
| Changsha[26] April 2 – May 20 |
Zhao Jingyi 赵静怡 |
106,967 | Huang Yali 黄雅莉 |
87,118 | She Manni 佘曼妮 |
77,115 |
| Zhengzhou[27] May 1 – June 10 |
Zhu Yan 朱妍 |
524,595 | Song Lin 宋琳 |
473,327 | Guo Huimin 郭慧敏 |
470,841 |
| Chengdu[28] May 21 – July 1 |
Li Yuchun 李宇春 |
206,564 | Zhang Liangying 张靓颖 |
58,172 | He Jie 何洁 |
42,335 |
| Hangzhou[29] May 22 – July 8 |
Ji Minjia 纪敏佳 |
37,385 | Ye Yiqian 叶一茜 |
36,736 | Lin Shuang 林爽 |
26,835 |
[edit] Final contest (July 15 – August 26)
| No. | Name | Chinese Name | Rank | Vote of Final 3 |
| 08 | Li Yuchun | 李宇春 | 1 | 3,528,308 votes |
| 07 | Zhou Bichang | 周笔畅 | 2 | 3,270,840 votes |
| 01 | Zhang Liangying | 张靓颖 | 3 | 1,353,906 votes |
| 02 | He Jie | 何洁 | 4 | |
| 04 | Ji Minjia | 纪敏佳 | 5 | |
| 10 | Huang Yali | 黄雅莉 | 6 | |
| 03 | Yi Hui | 易慧 | 7 | |
| 06 | Ye Yiqian | 叶一茜 | 8 | |
| 09 | Zhao Jingyi | 赵静怡 | 9 | |
| 05 | Zhu Yan | 朱妍 | 10 |
[edit] 2006 season
The third season of Super Girl aired from April 2 to September 30, 2006. Shang Wenjie's selection as grand champion over Tan Weiwei, who is a professional vocalist from Sichuan Conservatory of Music, raised questions at each candidate's public appeal. Speculations arose that Shang, who appeared to be a copycat of Li Yuchun's image, was voted grand champion due to the appeal of her Cinderella story.[30]
[edit] Qualifications
| Region | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contestant | Votes | Contestant | Votes | Contestant | Votes | |
| Changsha[31] | Li Na 厉娜 |
152,133 | Zhang Yafei 张亚飞 |
137,925 | Xu Fei 许飞 |
137,031 |
| Hangzhou[32] | Reborn | 131,948 | Tang Xiao 唐笑 |
113,721 | Zhang Yan 张焱 |
46,661 |
| Chengdu[33] | Tan Weiwei 谭维维 |
241,593 | Zhao Yuanyuan 赵媛媛 |
156,621 | Yang Lei 阳蕾 |
80,586 |
| Shenyang[34] | Ai Mengmeng 艾梦萌 |
237,478 | Zhang Chuge 张楚格 |
169,714 | Gong He 巩贺 |
156,951 |
| Guangzhou[35] | Liu Liyang 刘力扬 |
359,808 | Shang Wenjie 尚雯婕 |
142,803 | Han Zhenzhen 韩真真 |
110,102 |
[edit] Final contest
| No. | Name | Chinese Name | Rank | Vote of Final 2 |
| 06 | Shang Wenjie | 尚雯婕 | 1 | 5,196,975 votes |
| 04 | Tan Weiwei | 谭维维 | 2 | 4,818,125 votes |
| 08 | Liu Liyang | 刘力扬 | 3 | |
| 03 | Ai Mengmeng | 艾梦萌 | 4 | |
| 05 | Li Na | 厉娜 | 5 | |
| 07 | Xu Fei | 许飞 | 6 | |
| 01 | Han Zhenzhen | 韩真真 | 7 | |
| 02 | Reborn | Reborn | 8 | |
| 09 | Tang Xiao | 唐笑 | 9 | |
| 10 | Yang Lei | 阳蕾 | 10 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b CPPCC: Exterminate the Super Girls. Danwei.org (2006-04-26). Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ Goldkorn, Jeremy. "The final week of TV sensation Super Voice Girls", Danwei.org, 2005-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Lynch, David J. "China under spell of mighty 'Super Girl'", USA Today, 2005-05-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b c Miao, Qing. "'Super Voice Girls' challenges China's TV culture", China Daily, 2005-08-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Xiao, Qiang. "The State Administration of Radio Film and Television Restricts Super Girl", China Digital Times, 2006-03-19. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ a b Gordon, Kim Hunter. "Player killer TV", Eurobiz, 2007-03. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
- ^ a b Epstein, Gady A. "'Idol'-style 'Super Girl Voice' a hit in China", San Francisco Chronicle, 2005-05-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Macartney, Jane. "TV talent contest 'too democratic' for China's censors", The Times, 2005-08-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b c University of Cambridge (2007-07-05). "Footage from banned Chinese "Pop Idol" receives Cambridge premiere" (in English). Press release. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Marquand, Robert. "In China, it's Mongolian Cow Yogurt Super Girl", Christian Science Monitor, 2005-08-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b "China's "Super Girl" singing contest creates "economic miracle"", People's Daily, 2006-01-18. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Han, Lin. "Chinese "Super Girl" showcases voice in L.A", China View, 2007-02-14. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ (Japanese) "Morning Musume New Member Announcement モーニング娘。新メンバーに関して、つんく♂より皆様へのお知らせ。", Hello! Project, 2007-03-16. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
- ^ (Chinese) "Super Girl Changsha Top 50, Part 2 超级女声长沙唱区50强—名录之二", Hunan TV, 2006-05-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-01. Li Chun's photograph is the center photograph on the first row.
- ^ "Chinese version of Apprentice coming soon", People's Daily, 2006-03-31. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ "Reality TV show to unearth a new Jet Li", China Daily, 2006-03-31. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Yardley, Jim. "An unlikely pop icon worries China", International Herald Tribune, 2005-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b Zhou, Raymond. "Secret behind idol-making Super Girl contest", China Daily, 2005-08-27. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Zhang, Liuhao. "'Super Girl' Brings 'Super' Advertising", CRI English, 2006-04-17. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ (Chinese) "超级女声成都赛区决赛落幕 王媞大热夺冠 Super Girl Chengdu regional finals, Wang Ti is grand champion", Chengdu Industry Paper, 2004-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "安又琪获得“超级女声”南京赛区冠军 An Youqi becomes Super Girl Nanjing region champion", China Jiangsu Network, 2004-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "西安警花夺冠 湖北郭娟季军 Xi'an "flower" champion, Hubei's Guo Juan third place", Wuhan Morning Paper, 2004-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) Super Girl Changsha Region. Hunan TV. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Gao, Ying. "Super girls keep on going", Xinhua, 2007-11-27. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ (Chinese) "“超级女声”广州唱区落幕 "女版周杰伦"夺冠 Super Girl Guangzhou region finals, female "Jay Chou" champion", Nanfang Daily, 2005-05-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "超级女声长沙唱区 冠军诞生 Super Girl Changsha finals, champions born", Hunan TV, 2005-05-20. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "2005超级女声郑州唱区三甲诞生 2005 Super Girl Zhengzhou finals top 3", Hunan TV, 2005-06-11. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "“超级女声”成都唱区总决选 李宇春夺冠 Super Girl Chengdu finals determined, Li Yuchun champion", Chengdu Industry Paper, 2005-07-03. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ (Chinese) "2005“蒙牛酸酸乳”超级女声杭州唱区总决选 2005 Mengniu Sour Yoghurt Super Girl Hangzhou region determined", Hunan TV, 2005-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Wang, Shanshan. "Look-alike Supergirl's Cinderella appeal strikes a chord", China Daily, 2006-10-09. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ (Chinese) "“2006超级女声”长沙唱区前三甲悬念揭晓 厉娜夺冠 2006 Super Girl Changsha regional top 3 announcement, Li Na takes crown", Hunan TV, 2006-06-03. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Chinese) "“超女”杭州唱区三强出炉 Reborn夺冠 Super Girl Hangzhou regional top 3 announcement, Reborn takes crown", Hunan TV, 2006-06-24. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Chinese) "超女成都唱区三强出炉 谭维维打破李宇春纪录 Super Girl Chengdu regional top 3 announcement, Tan Weiwei breaks Li Yuchun's record", Hunan TV, 2006-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Chinese) "超女沈阳唱区3强唱响那些让人动容的“超女精神” Super Girl Shenyang regional top 3, audience show "Super Girl excitement"", Hunan TV, 2006-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Chinese) "广州超女前三强出炉 Guangzhou Super Girl regional top 3", Hunan TV, 2006-08-12. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
[edit] External links
- Official
- Hunan TV 2004 Super Girl official site
- Hunan TV 2005 Super Girl official site
- Hunan TV 2006 Super Girl official site
- Statistical information
- (Chinese) Super Girl 2004 Influence Analysis
- Super Girl economics (2005 season)
