Chinese Variety Show “Heroes of Remix” Brings Electronic Dance Music to the Masses
China’s new music reality show Heroes of Remix has become a hot topic on Chinese social media since its first airing on Jiangsu TV. The show gives electronic dance music a Chinese flavor and has heightened the popularity of the music genre in China.
China’s new music reality show Heroes of Remix has become a hot topic on Chinese social media since its first airing on Jiangsu TV. The show gives electronic dance music a Chinese flavor and has heightened the popularity of the music genre in China.
China’s much-anticipated music reality show “Heroes of Remix” (盖世英雄), that has premiered June 19 on Jiangsu TV, is getting rave reviews on Sina Weibo.
Different from previously aired music competition shows, including “The Voice of China” (中国好声音), “I Am a Singer” (我是歌手) and “King of Mask Singer” (蒙面歌王), “Heroes of Remix” (盖世英雄) brings an entertaining arrangement of remix music and dance, marking China’s first-ever variety show that features electronic dance music (EDM).
Following its previous popularity and success in Vietnam, The Remix highlights a dance music talent format in which singers, DJs and vocalists pair up and compete to make internationally-recognized Chinese EDM music. In each show, eight rookie singers or music bands, under the guidance of their mentors, showcase live music performances of Chinese songs. The songs that receive most votes from the audience at the end of each show will be incorporated in albums to make them hit the top music charts.
China’s Heroes of Remix’s participating mentors are diverse, including four big names in the industry; Chinese American singer Wang Leehom (王力宏), Park ‘Gangnam Style’ Jae-sang (PSY) from South Korea, Taiwan-based singer Harlem Yu (庾澄庆) and Chinese popular music duo Phoenix Legend (凤凰传奇). The show’s main sponsor is Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD Auto.
While EDM music has been quite popular and influential in the western world, China is not yet considered as a major production hub for electronic music. In an interview with People’s Daily, music producer Liu Zhou (刘洲) addressed China’s lack of prominent EDM culture:
“In China, the development of EDM somewhat lags behind, and we are not able to keep up with industry trends. If everyone else is making electronic music but we are not, we will stay behind.”
The significance of Heroes of Remix is that it not only adds new flavor to existing Chinese songs, but also redefines what EDM means in a Chinese context. One netizen wrote on Sina Weibo that Heroes of Remix challenges public misunderstanding about EDM just being “fast-tempo nightclub tunes”, and introduces “the true essence of electronic music”.
Various Chinese singers, including Zhang Yuge (张语格) and Lu Ting (陆婷), with their remix version of Chinese classic “The Moon Represents My Heart”.
Forbes Magazine recently reported that EDM still has much room for growth in the world today, one of the reasons being that out of all music genres, “electronic dance music is one of the most transportable”. One the reasons is that there is no language barrier to the music between different countries, as the instrumental music is often more important than the lyrics (if there are any). There are still many possibilities in the world of EDM even when it has topped out in the major developed countries, Forbes writes, “sort of like what happened with American jazz music of the 1950s and 60s.”
As international as the genre may be, the Chinese version of Heroes of Remix is unmistakenly Chinese, as it brings elements of Chinese traditional culture into remixes of Chinese songs. The performance by the hip-hop duo DanyLee and Ai Fei (李斯丹妮/艾菲), for instance, was incorporated with sounds of the pipa and singing parts of Beijing Opera.
But besides showing that electronic dance music can have a Chinese identity, Heroes of Remix also conveys the message that music has no borders – popular Korean idol groups performing on the show added new K-Pop components to it, receiving much praise from Chinese viewers on Weibo. On the first episode, the song “Beijing Beijing” by the Korean hit boy band iKon was voted as the most popular record of the eight.
In many aspects, Heroes of Remix is taking the music reality show genre in a new direction and is opening up numerous possibilities for electronic music-making in China. The popularity of the show on Chinese social media shows that China is ready for more EDM. Now let’s see if the world is ready for Chinese EDM – we’ll have to wait and see.
Heroes of Remix will be come out on JiangSu TV every Sunday.
Yanling Xu is a freelance writer and recent college graduate. Originally from Xiamen, China, she studied in the U.S. and received her Bachelor degree in Political Science and East Asian Studies from Grinnell College. Yanling currently resides in Chicago.
I watched every episodes, of course it was really good, electronic dance music EDM. It kinds of the most hit song that I’ve ever listened. Great work, Heroes of Remix China.
I’ve seen several videos on youtube, looks great, but unfortunately I understand nothing. I’d love to watch the whole episodes with english subtitles. If someone knows a website could please share the link with me? thanks!!
These days, a viral meme originating from the Chinese TV series Three Kingdoms (三国) has gained significant traction on Chinese social media.
In a memorable scene from the 2010 series, Cao Cao, a prominent warlord in Chinese history played by actor Chen Jianbin (陈建斌), angrily flips his rice bowl upon receiving news of a surprise attack, only to gather the spilled rice back into the bowl later.
This scene featuring an enraged Cao Cao has resurfaced and struck a chord with individuals reluctantly facing reality.
This short scene from the 2010 Chinese historical drama "Three Kingdoms" – in which Cao Cao angrily flips over his rice bowl on the table and then shortly after puts it all back in the bowl – has gained significant traction on Chinese social media recently. pic.twitter.com/DrM3Xgi35F
Turning into a popular meme, Cao Cao flipping the rice bowl has become widely employed to convey sentiments of self-inflicted humiliation or the hesitation to undertake certain actions.
The Context of the Scene
The specific scene comes from episode 12 of the Three Kingdoms. Warlord Cao Cao, who is governor of Yan Province, is enjoying his meal when his advisor comes in to inform him about a surprise attack by Chinese military general Lü Bu (吕布), capturing almost the entire province.
The meme of “曹操盖饭.” The term “盖” is often translated as “covering” or “capping.” When combined with 饭 (rice), it forms a noun that refers to a dish where various toppings, such as cooked meat or sauces, cover the rice, similar to a Donburi-style meal.
Upon receiving this alarming report, Cao Cao’s anger flared, and he promptly flipped his rice bowl upside down on the table, an act now commonly referred to as “Cao Cao flips the rice bowl” (曹操盖饭).
Cao Cao’s anger was intertwined with disbelief at Lü Bu’s audacity to execute such a daring attack. Cao Cao’s advisor swiftly clarified that the mastermind behind the attack was Lü Bu’s strategist, Chen Gong (陈宫), who was also renowned as a brilliant strategist during the Three Kingdoms era.
As he grasped the true situation, Cao Cao gradually regained his composure and meticulously gathered the spilled rice back into his bowl – an act now known as “Cao Cao retrieving his bowl of rice” (曹操撤回了一碗饭),- before resuming his meal.
The catchphrase that is used to describe Cao Cao retrieving his rice utilizes the word “chèhuí” (撤回), which means “to recall” or “to retract.” It can be understood as “Cao Cao recalled his bowl of rice,” drawing a parallel to the recall function in WeChat that allows users to retract or cancel a message after it has been sent.
How To Use the Meme
The contrast between the forceful act of flipping the rice bowl and the subsequent unwillingness and silence displayed while putting the scattered rice back into the bowl is a key factor contributing to the meme’s viral nature on the internet.
Netizens have creatively applied Cao Cao’s meme in various situations to express their own internal struggles or a sense of self-inflicted humiliation they experience (自己打自己脸).
For instance, the meme effectively captures the feelings of both white-collar workers and students who utilize the “Cao Cao flips the rice bowl” meme on Fridays. On this day, they express their frustration with the demanding work week and their eagerness to leave their tasks behind.
However, the arrival of Monday brings a sense of reality as they realize the necessity of returning to the office or school. The “Cao Cao retrieves his bowl of rice” meme is then employed to represent the unavoidable resumption of their daily routines.
In this regard, the meme is somewhat comparable to the English “F*ck This Job, *Goes to Work*” meme (link).
“Not Possible, Absolutely Not Possible”
It is not the first time for Three Kingdom‘s Cao Cao to achieve viral status through memes.
Prior to the emergence of the ‘Cao Cao flips/retrieves the rice’ meme, Cao Cao was already well-known for another meme phrase: “Not possible, absolutely not possible” (“不可能,绝对不可能”).
This meme originated from a scene where Cao Cao received news of Liu Bei’s rebellion, immediately after confidently asserting that Liu Bei, another major warlord, would never betray him.
“Not possible, absolutely not possible”
The meme captures the essence of self-deception and the unwillingness to accept the truth. Similar to the current popular meme, this meme is often used to depict situations where someone unintentionally exposes their own flaws or contradicts their previous statements, symbolizing a self-inflicted “slap in the face.”
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Fandom Meets Matrimony: Sea of Brides at Roy Wang’s Concert as Female Fans Show Up in Wedding Gowns
After showing up as brides at Roy Wang’s concert, some female fans attempted to return their gowns within the store’s 7-day ‘No Questions Asked Return Policy’.
A recent concert by Chinese celebrity Roy Wang (Wang Yuan 王源) has become a hot topic on Chinese social media as female fans attending the show collectively decided to wear wedding dresses to express their love for the singer.
Born in 2000, Roy Wang is best known as a member of the hugely popular TFboys idol group that debuted in 2013, but his solo career has also been thriving for years. Wang is an award-winning musician, who is now among China’s most influential young celebrities. On Weibo, he has nearly 85 million followers.
The sight of so many fans coming to Wang’s Chongqing concert wearing wedding dresses was already remarkable, but it garnered even greater attention when it turned out that some of the women’s boyfriends were so upset over their girlfriends wearing a wedding dress for another man that they ended the relationship because of it.
On Douyin (China’s TikTok), the related discussion made it to the top 5 trending daily topics list.
Female fans partying in their wedding dress. Photo posted on Weibo.
The story gained further traction when reports emerged that some female fans who had recently purchased wedding dresses for the concert attempted to return them to the store the next day, taking advantage of the store’s policy that allows returns within seven days without requiring a specific reason (7天无理由退货).
“I already wondered why business was suddenly booming,” one Chongqing wedding gown seller wrote on social media, complaining how the return policy was being abused by some of Roy Wang’s fans.
Others saw the fact that they wore the wedding dress to the concert as a unique selling point, and tried to resell their gowns online for more than the original price, claiming that the dress still had “a hint of the concert’s aroma.”
Scene of the concert.
Commenters bombarded these women with negative comments, as the topic also drew wider discussions on how far some fans are willing to go to show their love for their idols.
Some social media users expressed that a wedding dress has a symbolical or even sacred function, and that tying the concept of fandom to matrimony is inappropriate. They condemned the women for showing up to the concert as brides.
Given that many of the commenters criticizing the women were male, there were also feminist voices that condemned these men for their pettiness and chauvinistic attitudes. One comment stood out: “There will always be men whose ego is bruised when women they don’t even know won’t wear a wedding dress and save their chastity for them. Thanks to Roy Wang’s concert, I once again realize the diversity of species.”
In an online poll asking people “Can women only wear a wedding dress once in their lives” (#女生一生只能穿一次婚纱吗#) the majority of people replied that they should just wear whatever they like.
“My first thought is that this is romantic,” one popular entertainment blogging account (@娱大蜀黍) wrote: “My second thought is that it’s actually quite moving. In the midst of their youth, they are writing a passionate chapter for themselves. They will treasure it as a beautiful memory later on in life. They do what they love and they’re not bothering anyone. It’s perfectly fine.”
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Mey
July 18, 2016 at 10:31 am
I watched every episodes, of course it was really good, electronic dance music EDM. It kinds of the most hit song that I’ve ever listened. Great work, Heroes of Remix China.
Lita Delgado
July 22, 2016 at 10:26 pm
I’ve seen several videos on youtube, looks great, but unfortunately I understand nothing. I’d love to watch the whole episodes with english subtitles. If someone knows a website could please share the link with me? thanks!!