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


With tonight's episode, we have our top 20 finalized for 2016's summer SING!CHINA. Na Ying's round of elimination is relatively boring as compared to Harlem and Wang Feng's, with little surprise. They have all metamorphosized into Na Ying's style of a clean-cut, simple, love songs sort of genre. Yet, this time Na Ying had opted for a no-frills strategy, which helped to easily differentiate the abilities of competing contestants, but provide little entertainment for the audience. There is one or two performances I find worth watching this week, but you can have your own call:




Here you can watch the entire SING CHINA Season 1 Episode 9.

‎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.


杨博 (Yang Bo) vs 白静晨 (Bai Jing Chen)


Characteristic to Na Ying's interests, she positioned the two 'fresh meat' PK combination to open the night for the running of top 5 positions. Yang Bo is the contestant that sang 十万毫升的眼泪, and this time, he sings a 少年故事 by 彭坦 in a crisp and straightforward manner. I can't help but feel that happy songs do not really suit him because he does not have the infectious ability to make others smile with him. Sad songs still suit him much better. I really liked his blind audition performance but this one did not really wow me. Nevertheless, technically, he is still quite good as before.

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

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.

Editor: Bai Jing Chen
Lang Lang:  Neutral
Na Ying: Yang Bo

汪晨蕊 (Wang Chen Rui) vs 侯志斌 (Hou Zhi Bin)


 Wang Chen Rui sings 爱情转移 by Eason Chan, a very godly song choice that fits her voice like a glove. After a verse in Mandarin, she switches to Cantonese which is considerably rare and risky move on this singing competition. Risky is often rewarded as the judges consider it as a part of paying homage to her roots in Guangdong. The judges mention that Cantonese songs are incredibly difficult to sing, but given that she is from Guangdong, it is but second nature to her. Moreover, Cantonese songs when sung well, have an added advantage because it is much smoother than Mandarin as all the words tend to melt together. Towards the end, her sharp intakes of breath were picked up by the microphone and it was getting a little uncomfortable to listen by none of the judges commented on it.

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

Hou Zhi Bin put up a good fight with 不醉不会 by Hebe Tian, one of the songs that is actually incredibly hard to cover. Hebe has a voice that is made for this song, and if anyone else tried to cover it, would most likely either destroy it or be destroyed. Improved by a leap, Hou sings a punk-rock-sultry version of it. I imagined he would slaughter rather than slay it at the beginning, but he emerged okay. Again, I don't feel that this face-off is a fair one, because it seems like Na Ying already wanted one of them to win even before everything started.

Editor: Wang Chen Rui
Lang Lang:  Compliments Hou Zhi Bin and provides Wang suggestion to coordinate with the band.
Na Ying: Wang Chen Rui

苏立生 (Su Li Sheng) vs 杨山 (Yang Shan)

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

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.

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

Editor: Su Li Sheng
Lang Lang: Su Li Sheng
Na Ying: Su Li Sheng

周旸 (Zhou Yang) vs 李佩玲 (Li Peiling)

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

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.

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

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.

Editor: Li Pei Ling
Lang Lang: Neutral, but mentions that Zhou is not familiar with the song.
Na Ying: Li Pei Ling


岳靖淇 (Yue Jingqi) vs 万妮达 (Vinida)

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

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.

Lang Lang mentions that Yue put in too much emotions into the performance and ended up giving an overly weighted performance. Not sure why this only came up at this point during the PK itself. Na Ying says that she would give Yue 100 marks for his courage to accept the challenge of a different style.

Editor: Vinida
Lang Lang: Neutral, but hints at Vinida
Na Ying: Vinida


With this, the top 5 contestants of Na Ying's team is finalized:
Yang Shan
Su Li Sheng
Wang Chen Rui
Li Pei Ling
Vinida

My guess for Na Ying's top: Vinida


With that, the top 20 is OUT!

Wang Feng represent!
郑迦文 (Zheng Jia Wen)
 徐歌洋 (Xu Ge Yang)
蒋敦豪 (Jiang Dunhao)
林恺伦 (Lin Kai Lun, Karen)
刘文天 (Liu Wen Tian)

Jay represent!
Low Key Duo
Yu Tian
Zeng Min Jie
Nathan Hartono
Pu Xiang

Harlem represent!
Ji Ke Hao
Yao Xi
Wang Chuang
Zhao Xiao Xi
Yang Mei Na

Na Ying represent!
Yang Shan
Su Li Sheng
Wang Chen Rui
Li Pei Ling
Vinida


What's to come next after top 20? The four judges pick who they will PK against as a team.

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.


Each of the judges draw lots to decide who has the right to pick their competing team. Na Ying is the lucky one, and she gets to choose. Knowing competitive Na Ying, she will definitely choose the team that she considers have the least likelihood to win her contestants. She chooses Harlem, which makes total sense because Jay's Pu Xiang and Low Key Duo might possibly trump her favourite players Su Li Sheng and Vinida. On the other hand, Ji Ke Hao and Yang Mei Na of Harlem's team have relatively lower "lethality" for the same genre. Smart move.

Keep checking back for more updates over the weekend!

If you need a recap on all the previous episodes:


Never miss a post again!

I share interesting episodes in life revolving around food, lifestyle, travel and inspirational ideas. If you would like to stay in touch, follow me on my Instagram on @amie.hu and Facebook page!

Amie

a travel and food blogger with a constant longing to be somewhere to makes her feel alive ☆ life's an adventure

1 comment:

  1. heyy , can you give me an information about a girl who sit beside Wang Feng when Li Phei Ling performance?

    Thank youuu

    ReplyDelete

Join the discussion...