‎中國新歌聲‬ SING CHINA, Top 5 of Na Ying Team (Ep 9)

There is no suspense of the guest judge this week - after all we already know since a long time ago that it will be international pianist Lang Lang! He plays a melodic tune for Na Ying to sing 相爱恨早, the ending theme song of So Young (aka my favourite Chinese movie which I think it's a must-watch). Na Ying demonstrates what it means to be a singing diva who does not need frills. As the performance draws to a close, it only signifies that the PK rounds are about to begin.

To me, Bai Jing Chen improved more than Yang Bo did. He sang 克卜勒 by Stefanie Sun. It was a touching rendition of the original song, and I did feel like he could grasp his audience attention better especially the line '一闪一闪亮晶晶'. However, the judges mention that Bai was quite nerve-wrecked throughout his performance and affected his delivery. Although I like Yang's blind audition better, just comparing these two performances I prefer Bai's.

Na Ying mentioned that she had wanted Yang to see Jay Chou's famous song 枫, but had repeatedly decided that he did not do the song justice and might be shot down by Jay during the post-performance assessment. Therefore, she changed to this song at the last-minute. If I were to psycho-analyze this, it seems like Na Ying already wanted Yang to win no matter what happens during the crossfire.

I feel like a broken tape recorder for repeating this but - again, already a pre-determined situation before they started singing. After all Su Li Sheng was the one who moved everyone to tears in his blind auditions with a 寂寞有多长, while Yang was a rather forgettable and relatively average contestant. It was just a rite of passage that must be had. Su sings 难道 by 羽泉, a soft rock duet group of the late 1990s. Just the thickness and effortlessness of his singing have already easily won over the audiences' heart. With a few explosive crescendoes towards the end, I think Su had solidified his position in the top 5 already.

Yang Shan takes the stage with his guitar and his lovely wife cheering for him in the audience. He sings 九月. It is very similar to Dao Lang's style of singing. It is very clean, poetic, comfortable and beautiful... but then for a competition, there is no 'killer effect' in his performance. It is meant for pure enjoyment.

As The Voice/ SING CHINA comes to a full circle, Zhou Yang sings a rock-style Rachael by one of the first season's top 5 finalists, 金志文. The song is catchy, the first showy performance of the night. She has power, and gave us a surprise finally. But she is certainly not impressive enough at this point in the competition when you think about the rapping duo talents from Jay's team, Yang Mei Na from Harlem's, and Xu Ge Yang from Wang Feng's. She might have stood a chance if she went to Harlem's team (then again, no, because too many talents over at that camp). Zhou is evidently "cannon fodder" when faced off against Li Pei Ling.

Li Pei Ling sings a classic 不要对他说 with her traditional, sweet and clear voice. An instant winner by the time she sang the third line - I mean, even the goosebumps on my scalp are standing! She reached the highest notes without a problem, and she is currently the best contestant of the night already. What's more, the touching element in her voice is unmistakable.

It turns out that these two Geminis, Zhou Yang and Li Pei Ling are roommates during the course of the competition, and that they have already promised to visit each other's hometowns at the end.

Yue Jing Qi challenges a James Brown song - It's a Man's World. The opening line had a surprise element, as Yue captured it well. He had a characteristically Northeastern English sort which might not sit well with a lot of people. I like the sandy feel in his voice, the beautiful sort and not the annoying sort, and he soared through the song safely. He could have been more risky and explored more to put up a considerable fight... Of course, safe is not enough when facing off with the all-powerful, all-popular Vinida. Again, this face-off is way too predictable!!!

Vinida hums a little tune into the microphone, as Jay and Wang Feng looks on with huge anticipation. Interestingly, she picked 给我一个吻, a classic song but she took a cool, contemporary spin with it. The audience cheers and claps appreciatively. AND THEN SHE SWITCHES TO VINIDA TRUE MODE and then raps into this eyeball-freezing performance. There's even Moonlight Sonata in there, what? But she is the queen here, and she could do anything she wants. I keep thinking back at the rapping talent duo from Jay, as they've constantly been compared since Jay's top 5 episode, and do you think Vinida is better?

IMHO, Vinida has a stronger character, and she's got spunk. I mean, look at that swag side-eye she is sweeping across the room. Her rap's lyrics have a better poetic and depth, but maybe that's because she had two more weeks of preparation time as compared to Jay's team. Overall, I would say if the duo were to PK with Vinida, Vinida would more likely be stronger.

If they follow the previous Voice of China format, one contestant from each team will face off one another (ie. 5 v 5, 10 people in total). By drawing lots, one of them will have to select a contestant from their pool of 5 contestants to perform first. The other judge would then have to choose from their pool of 5 to PK with that selected contestant.