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Popularly-voted 'Super Girls' sizzle China so
By Jim Yardley (The New York Times)
Updated: 2005-09-05 09:45

Wang Yao, 24, a graduate student in Beijing, watched the finals with a group of female friends. She knew the gossip about Li but was more impressed with her confidence and stage presence.

Mugs with photoes of the "Super Girls" decorated are put onto the shelves in a Hangzhou boutique on August 31, 2005. The popular mug sells for 30 yuan each, said the shop owner, and they are well received among customers. [newsphoto]

She also thought Li would never have been able to win a similar contest on state television because of her unorthodox appearance and manner.

"This time it depended totally on text-message voting," Wang said. "That's why I think the results are totally different."

The program was produced by a provincial satellite television station in Hunan Province and sponsored by a dairy company - hence, the full title of the show: "The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest."

Zhou Bichang (L) and Li Yuchun show super girls' first album "Terminal PK" in the opening ceremony held in Beijing, capital of China on August 29, 2005. [newsphoto]

Several months ago, more than 120,000 contestants auditioned in five cities in a week-after-week elimination process that grew in popularity as the field was whittled down.

Unlike much programming that comes out of Beijing or Shanghai, "Super Girl" featured young women from the provinces. For many fans, it was the lack of polish of the performers, and the lack of predictability of the voting results, that made the program addictive.

Ratings steadily grew until the final episode, which the state media said drew more viewers than the perennial blockbuster variety show at the beginning of each Lunar New Year celebration.

The popularity of the show also made it a discussion point for intellectuals, with opinion divided on whether it signaled how much closer China had come to an aesthetic democracy.

Other commentators were more concerned that the program signaled the further erosion of traditional Chinese culture.

Perhaps jealous of the high ratings, CCTV recently held a forum that criticized the show for debasing Chinese culture.

The final show was toned down and included some traditional acts.

China Daily, acknowledged the summer hit show and also asked: "How come an imitation of a democratic system ends up selecting the singer who has the least ability to carry a tune?"

Li and other finalists are scheduled to release a CD soon. Tryouts for next year's show are to begin in a few months, assuming "Super Girl" is not canceled.

But there is good reason to think that it, or some type of imitator, will be on the airwaves again for the simple reason that the program reportedly made gobs of money.

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