Quadruple opening with excellent song choices by judges

Exhibiting what it means by breathing life into different songs with their own different styles, the judges launched the season with an amazing transition from song to song. You don't have to see the visuals to know who is singing what, everything is beautifully choreographed. This effectual impact sets really high expectations for the season to come!

青花瓷 by Na Ying (original singer: Jay Chou)
春泥 by Wang Feng (original singer: Harlem Yu)
默 by Jay Chou (original singer: Na Ying)
一起摇摆 by Harlem Yu (original singer: Wang Feng)

Revival of Jay Chou's song - 双截棍

Jay Chou has so many songs, some are undeniably more memorable than others. 双截棍, one of the rap songs released in 2011, is typical of his unclear mumbling rapping style... perhaps only his fans would have the patience to read the lyrics! Contestant Chen Zi Tong - also known as Queen T, who is raised in an environment surrounded by military influences decided to perform this song, with her own interpretation (watch it here). It feels slightly too 'slippery' and not powerful enough because she got quite breathless halfway. She still received affirmation from all four judges. In addition, Chen Zi Tong is being nurtured by Korean entertainment media company CJE&M and Beijing Century Media as a new singer. Don't you see a striking parallel with Season 3's winner... Zhang Bi Chen? Food for thought.

Loved this post? Read Episode 13 Finale Prelude - best of Season 4, finale song lists, and predictions!


Several classic voices...

A plethora of extremely 'classic' voices are presented in the first episode, including (1) Tan Xuan Yuan's Still Loving You, (2) the return of Season 3's contestant, Zhu Qiang's performance of Faye Wong's vintage song 但愿人长久, and (3) Thai-contestant Lang-ga-la-mu's performance of Teresa Teng's 千言万语. Tan's voice was described to be even better than Season 1 super wide vocal range singer Zhang Wei... I must say.. that reserves to be proven right but not with this song. 16-year old Lang-ga-la-mu's performance is too similar to the original singer, one of the common reasons for the judges not to turn for contestants. At least she got to sing with Jay Chou! I love her voice, to be honest, she reminds me of the lovely voices from Thai rom-com theme songs.

And the ones that managed to differentiate themselves.

Leon Li An (same name as director Ang Lee)'s singing managed to convince the judges to turn for him purely based on his voice. While Na Ying thought that he must be 'very handsome' based on his really good voice, she was evidently surprised to find him to fall below her expectations... time to calm your hormones down, woman. Bei Bei from Wuhan sang a powerful song that has become trademarked by Season 1's winner - 花火. A dangerous move, but it seems like the judges still dig that explosive, shouting sort of singing style. She sure reminds me of rocker-style 毕夏 from second season... but less polished...

404 error: no surprise found! The hype for this season is single-handedly built around Jay Chou's involvement in the judging. Many of the contestants came straight for Jay, with little deviation from their initial intentions. There are some who changed their minds on stage though, so keep a lookout for the contestants' choices. A little episode: Don't miss out on Jay Chou's bitter scoop on how he got snubbed by Harlem before he got famous too. Here, some moving gifs of your favourite judge.

Credits: @周杰伦官方歌迷资讯 weibo

Credits: @周杰伦官方歌迷资讯 weibo

Credits: @周杰伦官方歌迷资讯 weibo

Credits: @周杰伦官方歌迷资讯 weibo

Karaoke super high song featured in R&B

Obviously a personal favourite - 姐姐 by Jeannie Hsieh performed by music editor, Xu Lin... If you haven't sung this song in karaoke yet, DO IT (*flashing fierce eyes*). It is such an enjoyable performance and slightly strange... because it is sung by a guy. I say, this is my favourite performance of tonight's episode, though I'm hoping and thinking that there should be someone out there, ready to wow us. The best is yet to be!

Final summary of the contestants' choices
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