Sing! China
GenreReality competition
Created byJohn de Mol
Directed byJin Lei
Presented by
Judges
Country of originChina
Original languageChinese
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes44
Production
Production locationJiaxing, Zhejiang
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time90 minutes
Production companyStar China Media
Original release
NetworkZhejiang Television
Release15 July 2016 (2016-07-15)
Related
The Voice of China

Sing! China (Chinese: 中国好声音; pinyin: Zhōngguó Hǎo Shēngyīn; formerly Chinese: 中国新歌声; pinyin: Zhōngguó Xīn Gēshēng) is a Chinese singing competition television series broadcast on Zhejiang Television. It is produced by Star (CM) Holdings Ltd.[1] It premiered during the summer on 15 July 2016. It is a re-branded version of The Voice of China, a show based on the original The Voice of Holland. It has aired seven seasons and aims to find new singing talent (solo or duets, professional and amateur) contested by aspiring singers, aged 18 or older (16 or older in seasons one and two), drawn from public auditions.

The winner is determined by live audience voting by SMS text. They receive a record deal with various labels for winning the competition. Winners of the past seven seasons have been: Jiang Dunhao (蒋敦豪), Tashi Phuntsok (扎西平措), Tenzin Nyima (旦增尼玛), Xing Hanming (邢晗铭), Shan Yichun (单依纯), Wu Keyue (伍珂玥), and Sumi Liang (梁玉莹).

The series employs a panel of four coaches who critique the artists' performances and guide their teams of selected artists through the remainder of the season. They also compete to ensure that their act wins the competition, thus making them the winning coach. The original panel featured Jay Chou, Na Ying, Wang Feng, and Harlem Yu. Other coaches from previous seasons include Eason Chan, Liu Huan, Nicholas Tse, Li Jian, Wang Leehom, Li Ronghao, Chris Li, Hacken Lee and Fish Leong.

The latest season eight began airing on 28 July 2023 with Wakin Chau, Joker Xue, Wilber Pan, and Henry Lau joining as new coaches, but it was put on hold on 25 August 2023 pending an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of late singer Coco Lee, who was one of the coaches on Sing! China in 2022, and other issues raised by the netizens and viewers of the program.[2]

Format

The series consists of three main phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows. The four judges/coaches choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditioner's performance to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team. They can do it by pressing their button and their chairs will face the artist, just like in The Voice. If only one coach want the same singer, that singer will be defaulted to his/her team. If two or more coaches want the same singer (as happens frequently), the singer has the final choice of coach.

In Season 8, for the first time in the history of the show, artists have two options to choose from before they go on stage: Blind Audition and Open Selection. If they choose the former, the show will proceed by the normal rules. If they chose the latter, the coaches will turn around and judge the artists as they perform. In addition, if a coach presses the red button during the Open Selection, it will turn the coach's chair back and the singer isn't allowed to pick that coach. At the end of the performance, if the coach didn't press the button, it means that the students are invited to join that team.

Since 2018, artists that are not selected by any of the coaches leave the stage directly after their song and do not talk with the coaches. The chairs do not turn and hence the coaches do not see any artists that are not picked. Exceptions include if a coach wants to see the unchosen artist after their performance by request. However, this has been reversed in Season 8.

Each team of singers is mentored and developed by its respective coach. In the second stage, originally called the battle phase, coaches have two of their team members battle against each other directly by singing the same song together, with the coach choosing which team member to advance from each of the individual "battles". However, from Season 5 onwards, the second stage consists of a cross battle phase, which is similar to the regular battle phase, except for the fact that two artists who are not from the same team battle against each other. Winning artists score a point for their team. The losing artists do not earn any points but are not immediately eliminated. At the end of the cross battle rounds, whichever team that achieved a lower score will have to eliminate one artist from their team as a penalty. Other artists advance to the cross knockout rounds. Cross Knockout rounds are similar to the cross battle rounds except that losing artists are immediately eliminated. Winning artists move on to the first live rounds. Within that first live round, the surviving four acts from each team again compete head-to-head, with public votes determining the best of four acts from each team that will advance to the final eight, while the coach chooses which of the remaining three acts comprises the other performer remaining on the team.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants compete against each other in live broadcasts. The audience and the coaches have equal say in deciding who moves on to the final 4 phase. With one contestant remaining for each coach, the four contestants will compete against each other in the final round with the outcome decided solely by public vote.

Initially, there were no steals/saves in the entire competition. However, since season 5, any artist eliminated during the sing-offs by their coach can be stolen/saved by other coaches.

Controversies

Alleged mistreatment

In September 2022, a video went viral showing Coco Lee, one of the mentors on season 7, arguing with the show's director about which contestants should have advanced. Some netizens alleged that the show was known to be shady, while others said the production team's desire was to speed up filming due to ongoing delays.[3][4]

On August 17, 2023, after Lee's suicide in July, a nine-minute audio clip from Lee described her mistreatment by the production team during the show's final episode in October 2022.[5] According to the clip, she was subjected to a sudden placement change during a performance with Wang Zepeng, a contestant on her team. Wang, who was supposed to accompany Lee on stage to assist her due to her fragile condition from battling illnesses, had his back turned to her, causing Lee to stand alone in seven-inch heels and fall during their duet. She described this experience as "humiliating," especially since her health issues had been largely concealed from the public.[6]

Wang later supported Lee's claims by sharing a screen capture of their private text messages from that time, when Lee accused the director of intentionally undermining her. Other videos showed a staff member attempting to remove Lee from the stage as she repeatedly said, "Don't touch me", and her finally leaving the venue under assistance, struggling to walk.[6]

The clip also mentioned that the production team threatened not to give contestant Feige a chance to return to the competition unless Lee were to write a Weibo post. She complied to ensure Feige had an opportunity to showcase his talent. This controversy led to a significant debate among netizens, with calls to boycott the show's sponsors.[4]

By August 25, 2023 after the audio clip went viral, the stock price of Star China Media, the parent company of "Sing! China," plummeted by more than 50 percent, resulting in a loss of approximately $3 billion in value.[7]

Insiders' claims

Li Jiajie, one of the contestants in season 8 (2023), said that "the price of 500,000 yuan per seat, in his opinion, is certainly not a baseless rumor,” implying that the top ten places in the finals are all available for purchase. His posts were mysteriously removed, and Li later said that his allegations were made without basis.[8][9] People were surprised by the posts’ removal and his “apology”, leaving comments to ask if he was threatened.[8]

Zhang Weiqi, a contestant from season 1 of the Voice of China (2012), denied the rumor of turning a chair for 500,000 yuan, but revealed that the participants needed to sign a contract for 9 years to continue performing on the show in the finals. He also claimed that the participants who introduced themselves as truck drivers, farmers, nail salon owners, etc. were all fake, but for the sake of effects in the show.[10][11]

Wilber Pan’s chair

On the 4th episode of season 8, during a performance of the girl group Yomodo Band, Wilber Pan's chair swivelled away from the stage without him pushing the button, thus disapproving the contestant’s performance. However, as his hands were observed to be resting on his lap, and with his mouth appeared to have said the word “what”, many netizens believed that he did not push the button to opt for disqualifying the contestant from proceeding to the next round.[12]

Suspension

On 25 August 2023, Zhejiang Satellite TV announced that the program had been frozen from broadcasting briefly pending an investigation over the alleged mistreatment of Coco Lee and other issues raised by netizens and viewers.[13][14][15] It was reported that the suspension of the show was also partly due to current season 8's coaches, Wakin Chau and Joker Xue, having insisted on pulling out of the show after the incident with half of the season yet to be produced and filmed.[16] Chau's team denied the rumor that Wakin Chau had pulled out from the show.[17]

Coaches and hosts

Coaches

Sing! China season 8 coaches
Henry Lau
Wakin Chau
Joker Xue
Wilber Pan
Timeline of coaches
Coach Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Jay Chou
Harlem Yu
Na Ying
Wang Feng
Eason Chan
Liu Huan
Li Jian
Nicholas Tse
Li Ronghao
Wang Leehom
Chris Li
Hacken Lee
Liao Changyong
Fish Leong
Coco Lee
Momo Wu1
Jike Junyi1
Zhang Bichen1
Huang Xiaoyun12
Curley G2
Wakin Chau
Joker Xue
Wilber Pan
Henry Lau
Notes
  1. ^ In Season 6, Momo Wu, Jike Junyi, Zhang Bichen and Huang Xiaoyun took responsibility as advisors to their respective coaches.
  2. ^ In Season 7, Huang Xiaoyun and Curley G took responsibility as "Comeback Stage" coaches.
Legend
  Featured as a full-time coach.
  Featured as a part-time coach.
  Featured as a full-time assistant coach.

Hosts

Timeline of hosts
Host Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Li Yong
Hu Qiaohua
Yi Yi
Shen Tao
Rosy Luo
Andy Lau
Legend
  Featured as a full time host.
  Featured as a backstage host.
  Featured as a part time host.

Dream coaches (as Coaches' advisors)

Season Team Jay Team Wang Feng Team Na Ying Team Harlem
1 Fei Yu-ching Tanya Chua Lang Lang Mavis Fan

Singing-accompanying guests

Season Team Eason Team Na Ying Team Liu Huan Team Jay
2 Kay Huang
Li Ronghao
Waa Wei
Miriam Yeung		 Bruce Liang
Diamond Zhang
Zhang Lei
Zhou Shen		 Sitar Tan
Jason Zhang		 Cao Yang
Na Ying
Harlem Yu

Coaches' teams

  Winner
  Runner-up
  Third Place
  Fourth Place
  Fifth place
  Sixth place

These are the contestants of each team who survived in the cross-battles (seasons 1-3), cross-knockouts (season 4-6), and knockouts (season 7), as well as their placements until the finale. Stolen artists are italicized.

Season Team Jay Chou Team Wang Feng Team Na Ying Team Harlem Yu
1 Nathan Hartono 向洋 Jiang Dunhao 蒋敦豪 Wang Chenrui 汪晨蕊 Yang Meina 杨美娜
Lokey 低调 Xu Geyang 徐歌阳 Jeryl Lee 李佩玲 Jike Hao 吉克皓
Yutian 羽田 Liu Wentian 刘文天 Su Lisheng 苏立生 Zhao Xiaoxi 赵小熙
2 Team Eason Team Na Ying Team Liu Huan Team Jay Chou
Ye Xiaoyue 叶晓粤 Doris Guo 郭沁 Tashi Phuntsok 扎西平措 Joanna Dong 董姿彦
Xiao Kaiye 肖凯晔 Curley G 希林娜依·高 Zizi 子子 Darren 达布希勒图
Jeslyn Khoo 古洁縈 Leah Li 李雅 Hu Simo 胡斯默 Janice Tan 陈颖恩
Zhang Ze 张泽 Ye Xuanqing 叶炫清 Ji Hang 冀行 Olinda Cho 卓猷燕
Du Xingying 杜星萤
Yan Jun 闫峻
Yu Zibei 于梓贝
3 Team Nicholas Tse Team Jay Chou Team Harlem Yu Team Li Jian
Liu Junge 刘郡格 Su Han 宿涵 Li Zhenwu 黎真吾 Tenzin Nyima 旦增尼玛
Double Angel 打包安琪 Cering 周兴才让 Nigel Tay 郑伟杰 Kang Shulong 康树龙
Deng Zixiao 邓紫霄 Zhang Shen'er 张神儿 Huang Renqin 黄稔钦 Tiger 谭秋娟
Vash Hsu 徐暐翔 Suzanne Low 刘思延
4 Team Li Ronghao Team Harlem Yu Team Na Ying Team Wang Leehom
Xing Hanming 邢晗铭 Chen Qinan 陈其楠 Sidanmanchu 斯丹曼簇 Nasi Li 李芷婷
Li Fanyi 李凡一 Wang Shuai 汪帅 Jasmyn Aisin Gioro 爱新觉罗媚 Qu Yang 屈杨
Liu Meilin 刘美麟
Cui Jiaying 崔佳莹
Xiao Qiang 肖蔷
5 Team Nicholas Tse Team Li Jian Team Li Yuchun Team Li Ronghao
Cao Yang 曹杨 Shan Yichun 单依纯 Pan Hong 潘虹 Zebra Forest 斑马森林
Fu Xinyao 傅欣瑶 Song Yuning 宋宇宁 Cheng Mohan 程墨寒
Jia Yiteng 贾翼腾 Su Wei 苏玮
6 Team Hacken Lee Team Wang Feng Team Liao Changyong
(Replace Na Ying)		 Team Li Ronghao
Wu Keyue 伍珂玥 Yao Xiaotang 姚晓棠 Chen Wenfei 陈文非 Wang Jingwen 王靖雯
Kazu 贺三 Wang Xin 王馨 Zhang Luxin 张露馨 Wang Honghao 王泓昊
Zhuang Yuliang 壯煜亮 Yu Zibei 于梓贝
Tan Xuanyuan 谭轩辕
7 Team Hacken Lee Team Coco Lee
(Replace Liao Changyong)		 Team Fish Leong Team Li Ronghao
Sumi Liang 梁玉莹 Wang Zepeng 王泽鹏 Pan Yunqi 潘韵淇 Claire Choi 蔡子伊
Ru Jin 茹今 Figo Zhou 周菲戈 Yang Can 杨灿 Li Chuchu 李楚楚
Yao Yusheng 姚宇笙 Burning Dolphins 灼海豚乐队 Zhang Yiwen 张艺雯
8 Team Henry Lau Team Wakin Chau Team Joker Xue Team Wilber Pan
Current season

Series overview

Season Aired Winner Runner-up Other Finalists Winning coach Host(s) Coaches (chair's order)
Main Specials Finals 1 2 3 4 Comeback Stage
1 2016 Jiang Dunhao Nathan Hartono Wang Chenrui Xu Geyang Yang Meina Jeryl Lee Wang Feng Li Yong Yi Yi Li Yong Hu Qiaohua Yi Yi Jay Chou Wang Feng Na Ying Harlem Yu N/A
2 2017 Tashi Phuntsok Doris Guo Joanna Dong Ye Xiaoyue Xiao Kaiye Liu Huan Hu Qiaohua Shen Tao Eason Na Ying Liu Huan Jay Chou
3 2018 Tenzin Nyima Li Zhenwu Liu Junge Su Han Cering Li Jian Rosy Luo Nicholas Tse Jay Chou Harlem Yu Li Jian
4 2019 Xing Hanming Sidanmanchu Nasi Li Chen Qinan Li Ronghao Hu Qiaohua, Yi Yi Li Ronghao Harlem Yu Na Ying Wang Leehom
5 2020 Shan Yichun Zebra Forest Pan Hong Cao Yang Song Yuning Li Jian Nicholas Tse Li Jian Li Yuchun Li Ronghao
6 2021 Wu Keyue Wang Jingwen Chen Wenfei Yao Xiaotang Kazu Hacken Lee Hacken Lee Wang Feng Liao Changyong
7 2022 Sumi Liang Claire Choi Pan Yunqi Wang Zepeng Li Chuchu Hu Qiaohua, Andy Lau Coco Lee Fish Leong Huang Xiaoyun & Curley G.
8 2023 Season suspended Hu Qiaohua Henry Lau Wakin Chau Joker Xue Wilber Pan N/A

References

  1. ↑ Bloomberg, John Cheng / (18 Aug 2023). "'The Voice of China' Rocked by Allegations of Unfair Treatment of Late Pop Star and Show Mentor". Time. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 19 Aug 2023.
  2. ↑ Lim, Ruey Yan (2023-08-25). "Sing! China series halted over alleged mistreatment of late singer Coco Lee". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. ↑ "Coco Lee Yells At Sing! China Director On Set, Calls Competition Unfair". 8days. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  4. 1 2 "'I was humiliated on stage': Late Coco Lee's rant about unfair treatment on Sing! China leaked". AsiaOne. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  5. ↑ Lim, Ruey Yan (2023-08-18). "Late singer Coco Lee claimed she was mistreated on Sing! China: New video". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  6. 1 2 Ip, Cyril (23 Aug 2023). "'Humiliation' claims by late music icon Coco Lee rock top China TV talent show". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 6 Oct 2023. Retrieved 6 Oct 2023.
  7. ↑ Berry Wang, Nectar Gan (25 Aug 2023). "Coco Lee: 'Sing! China' suspended after uproar over treatment of late pop star". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 Oct 2023. Retrieved 6 Oct 2023.
  8. 1 2 "中國好聲音｜學員為李玟發聲　揭節目黑幕：50萬換名次非空穴來風" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). HK01（香港01）. 2023-08-18. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  9. ↑ "李玟疑被《好聲音》侮辱聲帶曝光　李思林：事實在視頻裏面說了" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Oriental Daily News（東網）. 2023-08-18. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  10. ↑ "好声音前学员揭内幕，他们背景都是假的". 星岛环球网 (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  11. ↑ "《好聲音》前學員揭內幕 他們背景都是假的". 中時新聞網.
  12. ↑ "Wilber Pan's chair swivels on its own in recent episode of Sing! China, suggesting manipulation by production team". AsiaOne. 2023-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  13. ↑ "STAR CM Once Plummets Almost 10%; 'The Voice of China' Broadcasting Frozen". AASTOCKS.COM. 25 Aug 2023. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 25 Aug 2023.
  14. ↑ "《中國好聲音》宣布暫停播出　浙江衛視：節目問題正在調查之中". 香港01 (in Chinese). 25 Aug 2023. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 25 Aug 2023.
  15. ↑ "《中國好聲音》宣布停播　節目母企星空華文股價再挫12%失守60元 (更新)". am730 (in Chinese). 25 Aug 2023. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 25 Aug 2023.
  16. ↑ "Wakin Chau, Joker Xue Want Out Of Sing! China; Nicholas Tse Only Celeb Mentor Producers Could Not Control". 8days. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  17. ↑ "Wakin Chau denies leaving "Sing! China"". sg.style.yahoo.com. 2023-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
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