First of all, Super Girl is not a super competition for the highest level of professional singers in the country. Many of its contestants are purely amateurs. Although the final winners all have a musical background, they are all There is definitely a difference between someone who is studying or just singing in bars and the best professional singer.
Since their singing is not the best and most perfect, why are they so popular? In fact, the reason is very simple, because this show attracts viewers and makes them more and more deeply concerned about the fate of their favorite or inclined Supergirl. This is a very simple truth. Almost all successful long-form literary works or film and television programs that can attract people to read or watch start from attracting the audience to pay attention to the fate of the characters in it. And Super Girl is very successful at this point.
From the moment we entered the finals, the entire stage focused on 15 ordinary girls, showing their personal characteristics and stage performance abilities from all angles, not just singing. There's really no comparison between their live matches and the original CDs. As long as they watch it two or three times, many people can't help but pay attention to some of the super girls, not only about how well they sing, but more about whether they will be eliminated or how far they can go in the competition.
Here I have to say that the design of this show by the original creators in the UK is extremely clever and very creative from the perspective of reality TV production. The one introduced by Hunan Satellite TV was also very successful. Not to mention the selection mechanism, just look at the elimination setting of this competition show. Starting from the finals, it is not like the general geometric progression elimination system (16 will advance to 8, 8 will advance to 4, 4 will advance to 2 to the final champion and runner-up) , but only one or two people are eliminated at a time (15 into 13, 13 into 10, 10 into 8, 8 into 6, 6 into 5, 5 into 3). This arrangement seems very procrastinating, but the actual effect is Giving these supergirls more opportunities to meet with the audience repeatedly has greatly increased the audience's attention to them, and has increasingly shifted from attention to concern.
So, to put it simply, Supergirl's success started from people's attention to their stage fate. Just like the long-running TV series "Dae Jang Geum" that I am obsessed with from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, each episode is actually not unique if you look at it individually. If you watch one or two episodes in the middle, you will not feel anything, but if you watch it all If you follow the story from the beginning, you will easily be attracted by following the fate of the protagonist Jang Geum. The same is true when watching Supergirl. If you hear that it is very popular and download one or two songs to listen to it, you will naturally not pay attention to Supergirl who has nothing to do with you, and naturally you will not have any interest.
The second point of Supergirl’s success is also the much-talked-about audience participation. You can imagine how tempting it would be for a character you care about, and people suddenly discover that they can directly affect their stage fate using their mobile phones, even if the influence is extremely limited. Especially in China, a society that extremely lacks opportunities to express personal wishes, many people suddenly have a feeling of participating in a similar election vote in the process of paying attention to Super Girl, which in turn will inevitably greatly increase their attention to the fate of Super Girl, which can Imagine the great passion that arose.
Many people attribute the success of Super Girl to mass participation. I think people’s participation first comes from their concern for Super Girl. If you don't care about their fate, you won't have the enthusiasm to participate. However, the design of Super Girl, coupled with its near-perfect integration with China’s developed text messaging environment, allowed the audience to easily participate, triggering an explosive chain promotion of participation and attention, which made Super Girl super successful.
As for netizens’ speculations and accusations about Supergirl’s shady story and unfairness, they all stem from people’s concern for Supergirl’s fate. These are actually the results of Supergirl's success, not the results of hype. If it weren't for the strong attention to one's favorite Supergirl, there would not have been intense anger over her elimination or even shady suspicions and unfair discussions.
In addition, what I want to say is that each of the last few promoted super girls has unique characteristics. It can be said that on the one hand, the show Super Girl has made these super girls, and on the other hand, their outstanding individuals Stage charisma also makes the show Super Girl possible. It’s hard for me to imagine if a new batch of Super Girls were replaced, all with a similar tone or style, without the personal touch of the current Super Girls, whether Super Girl would still be as popular.
In other words, is Supergirl's popularity more inevitable or accidental?
The social participation effect generated by Super Girl in the last few weeks made Super Girl a well-deserved super entertainment event in 2005. It can also be said that it has become a very unique cultural symbol this year. . It can attract many young people to organize self-organized canvassing groups, which can not but be said to be a subversive impact on the Chinese entertainment industry. Its significance has also gone beyond the scope of simple music and television, triggering people's interest in Super Girl. The discussion and thinking of this program from more angles, whether it is positive or negative meaning, has gone far beyond the superficial debate of vulgarity and elegance.
Some people say that without "Super Girl", the screen would be boring this summer. "Super Girl" satisfies the youthful dreams of countless boys and girls, and also satisfies the dreams of countless boys and girls who are no longer young. From the aunt-like figure in the audition becoming the subject of criticism to the rumor that a grandma-like "corn" got 3,000 votes. "Super Girl" not only allows everyone to hear songs and see tears and laughter, but more importantly, it brings a lot of topics to people, entertains many people, and opens up a new era of entertainment industry. From this point of view, she is Successful. Let me ask: Which Chinese program can have such influence? "Super Girl" became popular, and its popularity even caused a public attack by CCTV. Several CCTV celebrities took turns denigrating Super Girl as "vulgar" and pointed out that ratings do not determine everything. Vulgar or not, people's enthusiasm for pressing text messages to vote has not diminished at all.
Some people say that the Chinese people used all their enthusiasm for the election on "Super Girl". Even communication scholars dare not underestimate such influence. Professor Yu Guoming from the School of Journalism at Renmin University of China directly faced the media and said, "This change in the rules of the game has touched people's deep-seated desire for value." He quoted Marx as saying, "She (literature and art) is the nature or symptom that most instinctively responds to social demands." Cultural critic Zhu Dake even regarded "Super Girl" as a preview of an aesthetic democratic election. "For the first time, it allows people to participate in elections, vote and construct their own idol system. Its significance has transcended the culture itself." Therefore, "Super Girl", an activity that originally guided national entertainment, became a symptom that reflected social demands. Colors at the forefront of the times.
Of course, Zhu Dake also admitted: If it eventually becomes a tool for commercial and market interests, or is overwhelmed by a lot of vote-buying scandals, it is likely to be just a funny "game." That's what we're really worried about. You see, "Super Girl" was walking on thin ice until the very end. A bunch of shady stories that popped up from time to time have made the organizers dare not be careless when selecting judges and eliminating contestants, walking a tightrope among the opinions of all parties.
The popularity of "Super Girl" has brought about not only the problem of the unofficial appointment and the shady story itself, but also the fatal temptation brought to children by the brilliant stage and the beautiful aura. According to Oriental Outlook Weekly, a girl from Fujian spent three months of her salary to participate in the first round of auditions. As we all know, from the initial audition to the top ten in each competition area, players have to bear all their own expenses, including transportation, food and accommodation, communications, clothing, etc. For those in their teens and 20s, It is by no means a small amount for the little girls.
This brings us to another problem: behind the well-dressed contestants, how many parents are standing behind them who are plainly dressed but looking forward to it? How much investment is needed to realize the beautiful promise of "singing whenever you want" in three minutes? Under the banner of "Sing if you want to sing", tens of thousands of children put down their books and came to have a try. After one round of selection and singing, the organizer is guaranteed a year's program ratings and a year's advertising revenue. The selected stars directly become the company's contracted singers, achieving multiple goals with one stone. However, for the children in middle school and college who are involved in it, it is not only money that is wasted, but also academic studies, and a heart that is difficult to calm down after being impetuous.
"Super Girl" became popular because it brought such controversy and thinking. To eliminate disputes and move towards sanity, it is not just a matter of an entertainment program. Perhaps when everyone becomes accustomed to such programs, our society will really move towards promoting individuality and freedom of expression.
Why is "Super Girl" so popular?
Is her great success accidental or inevitable? Hu Xiao, the host of Super Girl Sichuan Station, has his own unique perspective on this: too many stars Scandal stories make people feel aesthetic fatigue, and they would rather see a kind of pure beauty. "Super Girls" are all non-professional singers, and most of them participate in the competition just to show themselves, and the performance of the contestants on the stage is also very real. Dadi attracted the attention of the audience. Feng Jiamei went from being in the spotlight to having a perfect tone; Wen Yao became confident from being unsure; Li Yuchun did not hide his image as a little boy and insisted on not wearing a skirt until the finals... "They showed the most innocent kind. , the most sincere beauty, especially in the literary and art circles, there are fewer and fewer such things, so they are particularly precious. "Hu Xiao sighed. After the top 50 were produced, tears began to fill the scene inside and outside the scene. The audience, judges, hosts, and staff could not help but burst into tears for the departure of the contestants. A TV program planner believes that many people now The program is all about "show", and "Super Girl" has completely jumped out of the category of "show" and has reached the realm of "realness". Some social scholars said that "Super Girl" may represent equality in social culture and entertainment. This question should be answered by the initiator of this civilian star-making movement.
Xia Qing, director of Hunan Radio and Television Group and one of the founders of "Super Girl", graduated from the Broadcasting Department of Beijing Broadcasting Institute in 1991. After graduation, Xia Qing returned to Hunan TV Station and "had dabbled in all aspects of television." A surgery in 2002 gave her more than a month of rest. At this time, she saw the introduction of the American "Super Idol". Xia Qing excitedly reported the article to the station with a simple outline. In fact, similar programs have become popular in the United States and other European and American countries. The Americas, Oceania and even Israel have their own "pop idols" whose basic forms are derived from these programs. For the British "Pop Idol", the preliminary round is similar to the audition for "Super Girl". In front of a simple set board, without accompaniment, microphones and any auxiliary equipment, participants sing songs of their choice a cappella. There are three judges, usually two men and one She is a record company owner and a veteran in the industry. If she feels that the contestants are not performing well, she can interrupt them at any time and make sarcastic comments. The earliest similar program in China is called "Super Boy", another founder of which is Liao Ke. Recalling that it did come from "American Idol", starting in July last year, only male contestants were initially allowed to participate, and the show was only broadcast in Hunan. There were only more than 100 people who signed up for the first time, but after the show started airing, The number of people increased by 200 every day, and 3,000 people signed up within two weeks. What was a miracle at the time is nothing now. After the program was renamed "Super Girl" and was broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV, the response was so strong that even the judges took to the streets. will attract a large number of "fans". In addition to participating in the planning of "Super Girl" from beginning to end, Xia Qing also came to the stage as a judge. She once used an analogy to describe the column she founded, "'Super Girl' is like a barrage of fans. In the park where tickets are available, everyone, regardless of age, beauty or class, can go there and show themselves. We are a park without thresholds. We do not mean that those who are ugly or young cannot participate. We cannot deprive others of their rights. The reason why we don’t invite celebrities to be judges is because in this case, all the attention will be focused on them, which will not be equal to the participating contestants. "
However, two judges' stars have been born. The contestants like to call them "Ke Nan" (Ke Yimin and Hei Nan). Malaysian female singer Ke Yimin was famous in the Chinese music scene as the "Queen of Bel Canto" in her early years. Nowadays, Hei Nan is a well-known independent music producer. He graduated from Beijing Normal University and majored in composition at the Royal College of Music. They are both famous for their work. Because of their "unobtrusive speech".
Once, a student-looking contestant sang out of tune, and the judges immediately interrupted: "Study hard, and you will have a bright future; if you want to sing, you will be dead." "This is nothing. If you hear such comments, the players will probably lose face even more: "You have a long waist and short legs. You are not suitable for wearing this kind of clothes." "This, of course, caused public outrage among many contestants and viewers. However, for more people, "Ke Nan"'s ridicule of the contestants has become the most valuable part of the show.
No matter how far the platform behind them will eventually develop, no matter how this platform ranks compared with other similar programs, the "Ke Nan" group's tacit cooperation, relaxed state, and the convincing selection results make them a national star. The most popular judging panel in sports. As a result, more people participated in this mass carnival outside the stadium. They not only commented on the contestants' clothing, movements, and singing skills, but also put forward their own opinions on the judges' evaluation methods, which eventually turned into a scene of thousands of people signing signatures to change judges during the national finals. But on the other hand, from the judges' comments, we can already see that this civilian talent show is not actually a farce. "It's good to have star dreams, and I support it. But for those girls who have star dreams, it's unclear whether it will be a sweet dream or a nightmare. How to realize the dream? Super Girl is a channel that makes people interested in singing Many girls have entered this industry, and I can appreciate their dedication and good intentions, but they may not be successful if they enter the industry." Ke Yimin's comments on the players are still very pertinent.
How far can "Super Girl" go?
Zhang Hanyun is a junior high school student from Deyang, Sichuan. She won third place in the "Super Girl" national finals last year when she was only 14 years old. This year, her new album has been released. Last year, a total of 60,000 people participated in the four divisions, but only 20 people had the opportunity to sign. It is even more difficult for those who have the chance to come out after signing. The famous music producer Song Ke personally participated in two Supergirl auditions. He said: "Supergirl is an absolutely successful TV show, but it does not mean that every Supergirl can become popular. It depends on their personal qualifications, and only from It is impossible to judge whether she has the qualities of a professional singer just by singing one or two songs on TV. Of course, there are also potential contestants among them, but you cannot tell by just one or two songs. We need to sign a professional Artists can’t be that simple.” In fact, the origin and popularity of Super Girl are ultimately due to the need to “fulfill a dream.” Everyone has a dream, and among them, the dream of stardom is the strongest. Not everyone has the opportunity to become a star. , but they all want to try, and if they fail, they don’t think about it, so “Super Girl” can still become popular, “because young people pursuing their dreams are constantly growing, and such talent shows abroad have a history of ten years. , so I think the 'Super Girl' event will continue to be prosperous."
It is worth noting that among the five competition areas set for this year's "Super Girl", Changsha has the smallest number of applicants. They have been able to view such programs with a more mature attitude.