‎中國新歌聲‬ SING CHINA Season 1 Episode 1

Retaining one of the Voice of China's traditions, each of the judges sing one of the other judges' famous songs. Na Ying sings Harlem's 1997 hit romance song 只有為你 - is it me or her voice became even more characteristic of herself? The rest of the judges harmonize with her. Then, Wang Feng sings 安静, which everyone knows is a huge favourite of Jay Chou's. Harlem does Na Ying's 不管有多苦 in a super rock version which is very different from the original, before Jay Chou taking on the stage, singing 满 by Wang Feng. Whoa, Jay Chou looks good, it's rare to see him taking on this genre, and with him on stage, the whole atmosphere in the house reaches its apex. Ending off the first section, all four judges sing 我要夏天 (I want summer) together. This is paying homage to one of the ideas that its predecessor (Voice of China) always coincide the show's opening with the beginning of summer in July.

Out of 400 contestants, the first contestant is an Indo-Chinese from Singapore, 向洋 (Nathan Hartono). He picks a more contemporary song 有没有 by 韦礼安 which suits him a lot. He achieves the first 4 stars, which means all judges want him to be on their team. Seeing his handsome looks, Na Ying, as usual, cannot keep her hands to herself and immediately runs up to ask for a hug after his performance ends. Jay Chou offers to give 向洋 an opportunity to perform in his concert tour during the Singapore leg. Harlem and Wang Feng give feeble attempts to attract him. The contestant gives a round of compliments to all the judges. Finally, he chooses Team Jay Chou.

The second contestant hails from Zhuozhou, nearly 70km away south of Beijing. She is 白若溪 (Bai Ruo Xi). This 30-year old is a cat-lover, and owns 18 cats! She is 1.8m and is a professional musical actress, and chose 无处安放 as her performance song. Wang Feng reveals that this song is written for his wife, Zhang Ziyi, inspired from a time when they took a roadtrip. It's little surprise, but she heads for Team Wang Feng.

The second last contestant of the night is 蒋敦豪 (Jiang Dunhao) from Xinjiang. His home is near Lake Sayram, which he describes to be the 'last tear of the Atlantic Ocean'. Following the steps of last season's champ Zhang Lei, he sings a minyao 天空之城. He quickly wins the favour of Wang Feng. I personally feel that he is too similar to Zhang Lei yet doesn't have as magnetic a voice as the former, which is a huge disadvantage. At least he chooses Team Wang Feng, which means Wang Feng will be able to sculpt him in another way (Zhang Lei was on Team Na Ying).

Finally, we end off the night with 杨博 (Yang Bo), an online singing sensation. I almost screamed - he sings one of my absolute favourite songs(!!!), 十万毫升眼泪 (the original deserves a listen as well). It's not an easy song to sing at all, but he controls it well. His voice reminds me of 陈势安. Right? Very addictive. I love the way he changed the ending part of the song. I'm rooting for him already, and look forward to his subsequent performances! I bet he will go far in this competition. He chooses Team Na Ying.

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