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Grassroots singers become new icons
Xu Xiaomin
Shanghai_Delta
page04 2006-3-28
The 13th ERS Chinese Top Ten Awards were held last Saturday in the Shanghai Grand Stage. The annual awards, seen as an important judgment on Chinese mainland pop music, didn't produce any big surprises this year, but some of the winners mark the emergence of a new force in the nation's popular music scene.
Most of the big awards - such as those for best singers of both sexes - went as expected to established names such as Li Quan and Zhao Wei, while others rewarded well-known pop celebrities such as Zhou Xun, Yu Quan and Hu Yanbin, artists who rarely leave such an awards ceremony empty-handed.
However, some relative newcomers to the entertainment world - with only one or two years of exposure - also won major applause during the ceremony. Zhang Jie, the champion of the 2004 My Style My Show (a competition based in Shanghai that selects young singers), won top slot this year for his song "Love of Big Dipper," while Zhou Bichang, the runner-up of 2005's Super Girls, also won one of the top 10 song awards for her latest release "Note."
Gou Wei, though not like a pop star at all in appearance, won the golden award for new singer, for his musical creativity.
His award, compared with the others, was particularly competitive because it was decided by audience vote at the spot, rather than the judging panel. After seven candidates for best new singer performed on the spot, Gou won the acclaim of the audience with his singing style full of power and passion.
Gou started to learn the guitar in 1997. Since 1999, he has performed in bars in Chengdu and started to create rock & roll in his own style. In 2004, he attended the My Style My Show competition, with the aim of seeing his idol, Beyond. Once there, he became one of the star participants. Most people remembered this "not exceptionally good-looking man with a wonderful voice."
"We choose singers from among ordinary people, not aiming either to entertain the audience or create a one-minute star, but rather to find people who can develop continuously in the musical field and really become a new force in the Chinese music scene," said Zhong Hua, an official with SUM Entertainment Limited, an organizer of the My Style My Show.
Despite these objective, most people were fascinated by the dream-like transformation the winners of such competitions can undergo: Zhang Jie presented his personal album after winning, Liu Wei, the champion of the My Style My Show 2005, went to Korea to learn music and dance. Super girls have become some of the most frequently clicked entertainment attractions in 2005. Now super girl Zhou Bichang even requires more security staff than other major celebrities in public events.
The outstanding achievements of grass-root singers have stimulated even more young people to pursue dreams of stardom.
This year, new opportunities will arise. The My Style My Show will accept applications in Shanghai on April 8 and 9, while the Super Girls show is still working hard to obtain approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television |
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